Toledo Mud Hens vs. Indianapolis Indians (postponed)
After the Hens lost 7-0 on Tuesday night, Matt Manning was supposed to make his last rehab start before returning to the Tigers on Wednesday, but they were rained out in Indianapolis. They’ll play two on Thursday starting with Game 1 at 11:05 a.m. EDT. Presumably Manning will start one of the two, and they may just have bump his entry into the Tigers rotation back a day.
Erie SeaWolves at New Hampshire Fisher Cats (postponed)
Garrett Hill dominated once again on Tuesday, striking out nine and allowing just one earned run on three hits and three walks. Hill has 52 strikeouts to 10 walks in 32 innings of work so far this year with a 2.25 ERA, and was promoted to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday night.
The 26-year-old was the Tigers 26th round pick back in 2018. A six-foot right-hander, Hill throws from a low release point with a low three-quarters delivery and a quick arm. His velo is typically 92-93 mph and there aren’t really any standout spin characteristics, but that low slot appears to give him good bat missing plane. He also seems to cut the fastball a little at times, and add a little tail at others. The heater has generated a ton of whiffs from Double-A hitters. He backs it up with a decent slider and a solid splitter.
The way the Tigers rotation is going, we may seem him Detroit pretty quickly.
Meanwhile, the SeaWolves’ bullpen struggled on Tuesday and were eventually blown up for nine runs in the ninth to lose 13-3.
The two clubs were rained out on Wednesday and will play two on Thursday starting at 4:35 p.m. EDT.
West Michigan Whitecaps 9, Fort Wayne TinCaps 0 (box)
Keider Montero put together a good outing after a shaky start to the season, and the Whitecaps blew the TinCaps away in Fort Wayne on Wednesday night to even the series at a game apiece.
Montero tossed five inning of one-hit ball with four strikeout to one walk, but the offense took center stage. They score single runs in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings, before blowing this one open in the final two frames.
Wenceel Perez and Colt Keith continued to rake, each recording three hit games with a double apiece, while Trei Cruz had two hits and also cracked his second home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the ninth inning to complete the bludgeoning. Ben Malgeri and Josh Crouch also had two-hit games and a double apiece in the winning effort.
Coming Up Next: The two clubs meet up again at 7:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday. The TinCaps will start lefty Noel Vela (1-0, 0.34 ERA) while the Whitecaps have yet to announce.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 3, Jupiter Hammerheads 1 (box)
The Flying Tigers took the first game of the set 8-5 on Tuesday night behind an excellent Garrett Burhenn start that including nine strikeouts in six innings of work. Manuel Sequera and Izaac Pacheco both homered in the contest.
The Flying Tigers made it two straight over the Hammerheads on Wednesday.
Wilkel Hernandez continued his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery with three scoreless frames with three strikeouts on Wednesday. Nick Davila then took it through seven, allowing just one run on five hits.
The offense got on the board in the third inning when Kingston Liniak walked, and Manuel Sequera and Izaac Pacheco singled back-to-back. They got two more in the fourth, as Eduardo Valencia singled with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Second baseman Alvaro Gonzalez doubled to center field to plate Valencia, and later scored on a Liniak RBI single.
Coming Up Next: The two clubs meet up at Publix Field again on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. EDT. No starters have been announced.