Toledo Mud Hens 3, Indianapolis Indians 2 (F/7)(box)(Gm1)
Sawyer Gipson-Long put together his best outing since coming off the injured list, and the bullpen did a nice job holding down Indy in Game 1 on Wednesday.
The right-hander tossed 3 2/3 innings of one-hit ball with two walks against six strikeouts. Still no sign of steady 94 mph velo though.
The Hens opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth when Jace Jung and Max Anderson started the inning with singles. With one out, Tyler Gentry reached on an error and a sac fly from Cal Stevenson made it 1-0.
Nick Sandlin allowed Indianapolis to tie it up in the fifth, and then Beau Brieske allowed a solo shot in the sixth. In the bottom half, Corey Julks answered back with a solo shot to tie the game 2-2.
Brenan Hanifee and Woo-Suk Go locked down the Indians the rest of the way while we got a look at former Tigers’ pitcher and 2015 Beau Burrows in the seventh. Go kept the runner on second from scoring in the top of the eighth, and a Tyler Gentry single walked this one off.
Malgeri: 2-4, 2B, 2 K
Jung: 1-3, 2 R, BB, K
Gipson-Long: 3.2 IP, 0 R, H, 2 BB, 6 K
Indianapolis Indians 3, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (F/7)(box)(Gm2)
On a bullpen day for Game 2, Konnor Pilkington started things off but allowed three runs in the first two innings, and that’s all it took.
The Hens got on the board in the bottom of the third when Max Burt led off with a double. He was advanced to third and scored with two outs on a wild pitch from José Urquidy.
So it was a 3-1 deficit, and the Hens missed a few minor opportunities until the sixth when Max Clark singled up the middle and Julks singled him to third. A Jung groundout scored Clark, but the hit they needed never arrived.
Tyler Mattison struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh inning that saw Indians’ hitting coach Eric Munson ejected for yelling at home plate umpire Jacob Metz, but that was the last notable event. Burt and Andrew Navigato drew one-out walks in the bottom of the seventh, but Malgeri took a called strike three and Clark lifted a routine fly to right field to end it.
Julks: 2-3
Clark: 1-4, R, K
Pilkington (L, 1-3): 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start at Fifth Third Park on Thursday.
Erie SeaWolves 10, Altoona Curve 6 (box)
The SeaWolves flexed enough power to overcome a bullpen implosion on Wednesday.
Veteran lefty Joe Miller gave the SeaWolves four scoreless innings, and Dariel Fregio tossed a scoreless fifth.
A nice pick from John Peck at shortstop helped Miller’s cause in the third.
The offense wasn’t exactly clicking, but in top of the fourth they got loose. Peyton Graham, who has been a nice sparkplug all season long for Erie, drew a leadoff walk and then stole his 24th base. John Peck struck out, but Thayron Liranzo and Justice Bigbie drew walks to load the bases. Chris Meyers smoked a sharp single to right to score Graham and keep the bases juiced for Izaac Pacheco, who unleashed a massive blast to right center field for a grand slam. 5-0 Erie.
The two most interesting position players after Liranzo are Brett Callahan and John Peck, and they combined to add on in the fifth. Callahan led off with a double to center field, and after Graham grounded out, Peck blasted home run number 8 on the year to make it 7-0.
Lael Lockhart Jr. took over in the sixth, and he allowed an unearned run on a Graham error at second base. In the seventh, the lefty gave up three more runs and Tyler Owens took over.
Justice Bigbie led off the eighth with a double and scored on a double down the right field line from Pacheco to make it 9-4. An Andrew Jenkins single moved Pacheco to third where he scored on a Bennett Lee sacrifice fly. 10-4.
Owens allowed a solo shot in the eighth and Yosber Sanchez gave up one in the ninth but the game was well in hand.
Pacheco: 2-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2B, HR, K
Lirnazo: 2-3, R, 2 BB
Callahan: 1-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 K, SB
Peck: 1-5, R, 2 RBI, HR, 3 K
Miller: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:00 p.m. ET start with the series tied at a game apiece.
South Bend Cubs 3, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (box)
The quest to win back-to-back games for the first time since mid-April failed on Wednesday.
Ben Jacobs continued his outstanding first pro season with four no-hit innings with four strikeouts to give his team a chance to build a lead. The best they could do was one run, as Andrew Sojka doubled, stole third, and scored on a Luke Shliger single in the fourth.
Duque Hebbert followed Jacobs with two scoreless frames, but Logan Berrier gave up two runs in the eighth to lose the lead, and the Cubs added one in the top of the ninth off of Luke Stofel.
Sojka: 2-4, R, 2B, K
Jacobs: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Thursday with the series knotted 1-1.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Bradenton Marauders 1 (box)
The Flying Tigers pitching staff was pretty dominant in this one, and they got a pair of home runs to help the cause as they made it two straight over the Marauders.
Cash Kuiper has been pretty up and down in his pro debut, but he was really good on Wednesday. The right-hander allowed a solo shot, but that was all as he struck out seven over his 3 1/3 innings of work. His slider and control did most of the lifting.
In the bottom of the third, down 1-0, Carson Rucker led off with a single and rode home on a two-run shot from Anibal Salas. Edian Espinal, who played infield in college before starting to convert to catching, a move the Tigers have solidified, launched a solo shot in the fourth to make it 3-1.
The Flying Tigers took advantage of quality bullpen work by tacking on a run in the sixth. Espinal walked with one out, took second on a back pick attempt gone wrong, and scored on a wild pitch.
In the seventh, Alistair Tanner allowed a double and then a walk. A single to left field followed, but last night’s walkoff hero, Jesus Pinto, fired a perfect strike home to cut down the lead runner, and Tanner worked out of the inning unscathed. The Marauders never threatened again as Eliseo Mota closed them out for his second save.
Salas: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR, K
Espinal: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB
Yost: 2-3, BB
Kuiper: 3.1 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 7 K
Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers will try to make it three straight at home over Bradenton on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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