Toledo Mud Hens 7, Columbus Clippers 4 (box)
It was an eventful night down in Columbus. Hens starter Drew Hutchison was pulled in the middle of the second inning, with the intention of calling him up to start for the Tigers on Sunday. Christin Stewart continued the outrageous tear he’s on, Daz Cameron returned from injury, and after the game, Jacob Robson was selected to make his major league debut with the Tigers as well.
Juan Centeno got Toledo on the board first, cracking a two-run shot to right in the second inning. Yariel Gonzalez doubled and scored on a Cole Peterson single in the fourth. Hens reliever Nivaldo Rodriguez allowed the Clippers to close the gap with two runs in the fifth, but the offense came right back with more. Peterson drew a two-out walk and scored on Cameron’s double. Kody Clemens followed with a single to score Cameron, and the Hens added solo runs in the seventh and the ninth to keep the Clippers at bay.
The run in the seventh came on another rocket off the bat of the red hot Christin Stewart. The long-time Tigers outfield prospect now has 12 home runs in his last 28 games and has been rolling since early June.
Gonzalez: 2-5, R, 2B, SO
Rodriguez: 2-4, R, RBI, HR, SO
Coming Up Next: First pitch on Thursday is set for 7:05 p.m. EDT.
Erie SeaWolves vs. Altoona Curve (postponed)
They were rained out in Erie on Wednesday. Instead the SeaWolves and Curve will play a doubleheader on Thursday, with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. EDT.
West Michigan Whitecaps at Lake County Captains (postponed)
Rained out in Ohio as well. This one is rescheduled as game two of a Friday doubleheader.
Palm Beach Cardinals 4, Lakeland Flying Tigers 3 (Gm 1)(F/7)(box)
The Cardinals started fast in this one, and Lakeland couldn’t quite make it all the way back. Starter Wilmer Flores was knocked around for three runs in the first inning, but to his credit, Flores did settle in to shut the Cardinals out the rest of the way, pitching into the sixth. The Tigers got on the board in the second. Colt Keith doubled with one out, and then took third on a wild pitch from the Cardinals’ Dionys Rodriguez. He scored on a Trei Cruz sacrifice fly.
They pieced together another run in the fifth when Dane Myers singled, stole second, and advanced to third on an errant pickoff throw. Austin Murr pulled a grounder through the right field of the infield to plate Myers, and they were within one. They got it in the sixth.
Keith reached on an error and Cruz drew a walk. Kingston Liniak struck out, but Alvaro Gonzalez came through with a game tying single. In the top of the seventh, they managed to load the bases with two outs, but Cruz struck out to end the threat. They needed the runs, as Gabriel Sequeira allowed a walk off single in the bottom of the inning to lose.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 7, Palm Beach Cardinals 4 (Gm 2)(F/7)(box)
Lakeland’s offense came alive in game two, pounding out 11 hits to split the doubleheader. As he has since his debut, Colt Keith was in the thick of things again. His two-run triple in the first inning set the tone for this one. Still, the Cardinals came back and took the lead against Lakeland starter Matt Walker. He allowed a run in the second, and then was tagged for a three-run homer in the third inning. However, the Tigers weren’t having it. Kingston Liniak came up with an RBI triple in the fourth, and after Ben Malgeri walked, Austin Murr singled to score them both and re-take the lead. Liniak tripled again with one out in the sixth, and then scored on a pop-up that went for a Carlos Irigoyen double somehow. Malgeri followed with a single to score Irigoyen. Lefty Carlos Pena took over in the third from Walker and blanked Palm Beach for five innings to get the win.
Liniak: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 3B, SO
Keith: 1-3, 2 RBI, 3B
Murr: 2-3, R, 2 RBI
Malgeri: 3-3, 2 R, BB
Coming Up Next: Nick Davila starts for the Flying Tigers on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EDT.