Toledo Mud Hens 13, Memphis Redbirds 6 (box)
The Toledo Mud Hens put up a baker’s dozen to beat the Memphis Redbirds on Saturday and take control of the series.
Toledo led from start to finish, scoring in the first inning and pulling away by the second. Max Clark scored the first run of the game, coming home on a Gage Workman sacrifice fly. Workman drove in Clark again in the second, but it shouldn’t have gone that way. Clark nearly had a grand slam, but a fan interfered and kept the ball in play. The umpires convened and ruled it a ground-rule double.
Clark’s double drove in two of the Mud Hens’ five second-inning runs. Jace Jung homered on the first pitch, and the broadcast almost missed it. Workman’s two-run single made it 6-0.
Troy Watson got the start for Toledo. He was great for three innings, working around a pair of leadoff walks, but things got hairy in the fourth. Memphis opened the frame with a double, single and triple, plating a pair of runs. Watson got two outs, but that was the end of the day for him — at 69 pitches; nice. He was responsible for the third run in the inning, but it went unearned thanks to a throwing error from Andrew Navigato at third.
The Redbirds pulled within a run in the fifth on a Jimmy Crooks homer. Konnor Pilkington hit a batter later in the inning, but he got out of it with his third and final strikeout of the day.
Toledo answered immediately to reestablish its lead. Tyler Gentry (bloop) singled in Eduardo Valencia, Navigato drove in Jung on a groundout, and Cal Stevenseon drove in Gentry on a liner to left. Just like that, the Mud Hens are back on top, 9-5.
Scott Effross took over for Pilkington after that, working around four hits over two innings for a hold. Memphis scored on him in the sixth, but it was another unearned run thanks to catcher’s interference, allowing the runner to reach.
Workman doubled in Clark for a third time in the bottom of the sixth, with a double, but Paul DeJong got thrown out at home.
Tyler Gentry drove in a pair with a triple to make it 12-6 in the sixth.
Drew Sommers got the eighth and ninth for Toledo. He was nearly perfect, retiring six of the seven batters he faced, including three strikeouts.
Eduardo Valencia tacked on another run for good measure in the form of a solo home run to left field.
Clark: 2-4, 2B (10), 3 R, 2 RBI, BB
Workman: 2-4, 2B (15), 4 RBI, K
Jung: 3-5, HR (3), 3 R, RBI, K
Gentry: 4-4, 3B (1), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
Valencia: 2-5, HR (5), 3 R, RBI, K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 2:05 p.m. ET start on Sunday; Toledo leads the series, 3-2.
Harrisburg Senators 6, Erie SeaWolves 5 (box)
The Erie SeaWolves pushed for their 10th-straight win on Saturday, but the Harrisburg Senators walked them off, 6-5, in the bottom of the ninth to end the streak.
Erie took an early lead, scoring two runs in the first off an Andrew Jenkins single. Jenkins drove in Brett Callahan and Peyton Graham. Callahan and Jenkins each had three-hit days, accounting for the bulk of Erie’s 11 hits on the day. Graham also reached base three times. He walked twice and then was hit by a pitch in the head, forcing him to leave the game.
Kenny Serwa got the start for the SeaWolves. He struck out three of the first four batters he faced, but things deteriorated after that. An error extended the second inning for him, leading to a single but no runs. The third is when things really went wrong. He got the first two outs of the inning and then went double, RBI single, walk, walk, two-run single.
It’s just one bad inning, but teams seem to figure out Serwa after a couple of innings these days. His 8.51 ERA on the year is pretty ugly. Fortunately, Erie scored a third run in the top of the inning. E.J. Exposito walked with the bases loaded.
The SeaWolves loaded the bases with one out in the fourth but couldn’t make anything happen. Serwa returned for the bottom of the fourth, but he was pulled after recording two outs around a single. Dariel Fregio took over and pitched through the fifth. A pair of singles in that frame put Harrisburg on top, 4-3.
Erie responded by tying the game up in the sixth. John Peck drove in Callahan, who reached on a base hit with two outs. The see-saw continued back and forth in the bottom half of the inning, as Johan Simon took over for Fregio and gave up an RBI triple.
Things kind of settled down from there. Simon got through the seventh and Tanner Kohlhepp did the same in the eighth, despite both dealing with a pair of baserunners.
The lone extra-base hit of the day for Erie came in the ninth, when Justice Bigbie doubled and set up a game-tying RBI single from Jenkins. Kohlhepp couldn’t force extra innings, though. Cortland Lawson took him deep with one out to end the game.
Callahan: 3-5, 2 R, K
Jenkins: 3-4, 3 RBI, BB, K
Serwa: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 1 p.m. ET start on Sunday; Erie leads the series, 4-1.
Dayton Dragons 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 (box)
West Michigan extended its losing streak to 13 games with a 5-3 loss to the Dayton Dragons on Saturday.
The Whitecaps have gotten close to snapping this streak, but something always seems to go wrong. This time it was a two-run ninth inning from the Dragons to break a 3-3 tie that held since the sixth.
West Michigan did all of its scoring early. Samuel Gil drove in Cristian Santana on a sacrifice fly in the second, and Bryce Rainer and Santana each had RBI doubles in the third. Dayton scored twice in the first off starter Max Alba, both runs coming on RBI singles. Alba only went three innings and struck out five with just one hit allowed after the first.
The Whitecaps held that 3-2 lead until the sixth. Luke Stofel pitched the fourth and fifth, giving up just one hit and a walk. Inohan Paniagua wasn’t as good in the sixth, blowing the save on the third pitch he threw. Yerlin Confidan took him deep to tie the game. Paniagua was fine after that, working around two walks and lasting through the seventh.
The only West Michigan hit after the third came in the seventh when Ricardo Hurtado singled with two outs. Dayton walked six batters, including three free passes in the eighth to load the bases, but the Whitecaps never took advantage.
Logan Berrier faced the minimum in the eighth to hold the 3-3 tie, but Thomas Bruss couldn’t do the same in the ninth. He gave up a one-out double after walking a batter, and a wild pitch on ball four scored the runner. Another single made it a two-run game, and all three Whitecaps hitters struck out in the bottom of the ninth.
Things are bad, bad, bad for this club right now.
Rainer: 1-3, 2B (3), R, RBI, BB, K
Santana: 1-1, 2B (2), R, RBI, 2 BB
Alba: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 2 p.m. ET start on Sunday; West Michigan is looking to avoid a second straight sweep.
St. Lucie Mets 3, Lakeland Flying Tigers 2 (box)
Beau Brieske got another opener start and looked good against the four batters he faced. There was plenty of contact but no hits. He lost an eight-pitch at-bat with Edward Lantigua, which ended in a walk. Everything else was hit in the air or to an infielder.
Caleb Leys took over in the second and retired six batters in a row after giving up a leadoff single. He wasn’t as lucky in the fourth, when a leadoff double came back to bite him. Chase Meggers broke the scoreless tie with a two-out RBI single.
Leys saw another run cross in the fifth, but it was unearned thanks to a throwing error from Jack Goodman at short. Still, back-to-back base hits made it feel like an earned run.
Luke Hoskins took over for the sixth. He worked around a baserunner in each inning he threw, lasting through the seventh. Anibal Salas helped cut into the lead with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the sixth. Jordan Yost drove him in with a sac fly to make it 2-1.
Lakeland had a chance to tie it in the seventh, with Edian Espinal on third base, but Salas grounded into a double play. Espinal got his chance in the eighth with the bases loaded, but a balk brought the run in. Espinal ended up striking out on a foul tip to leave the score tied at two.
Yendy Gomez took the loss. He gave up a leadoff single in the ninth and saw the run score on a double right after. Lakeland went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth.
Yost: 1-3, RBI
Brieske: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 0 K
Leys: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a noon ET start on Sunday; Lakeland leads the series, 3-2.