Nashville Sounds 9, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (box)
After the Mud Hens got up 3-1 in this six game set, the Sounds bounced back with victories on Saturday and Sunday to split the series.
On Sunday, Garrett Hill’s second Triple-A start did not go well at all. Nashville got to him for three runs in the first two innings, and finally chased him in the fourth with another run. Then Hens were able to tie things up in the bottom of the fourth, but Bryan Garcia and Miguel del Pozo were both blown up in relief as Nashville pulled away late.
Hill’s stuff remains a bit underpowered, despite a quality changeup and a solid slider. On Sunday, his command was more the issue as he walked three and repeatedly got himself in positions where one of two key pitches could’ve changed the course of his outing, but failed to make them. His own throwing error in the second cost him a run as well, though arguably he pitched better than his line appears.
Trayce Thompson got the Hens on the board when he led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo shot to center field. That made it 3-1, and after Hill leaked another run before departing in the fourth, the Hens mounted a comeback push. Brendon Davis led off with a walk and Jamie Westbrook homered. Dane Myers and Jacob Robson followed with back-to-back singles, forcing a Sounds’ pitching change. That move almost worked out as Zack Short bounced into a double play, but Short then stole second base and the throw went wild into center field as Short raced around third to score and tie the game at 4-4. Unfortunately the offense ran out of gas at that point, while the bullpen struggled.
Ryan Kreidler, back from his hand fracture in record time, went 2-9 with a double over two games played, and was in the lineup both on Friday and Sunday as they ease him back in.
Westbrook: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, SO
Thompson: 1-3, R, RBI, HR, BB, SO
Hill: 3.2 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 SO
Coming Up Next: It’s a quick turnaround, as the Hens head to Columbus tonight to do battle with the Clippers on Monday for Memorial Day, before taking Tuesday off and then completing the six game set the rest of the week.
Bowie Baysox 13, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)
After taking the first four games of the series, Bowie won on Saturday and Sunday to salvage a respectable home series for the Baysox. The SeaWolves just had no answers on Sunday as the bullpen and the defense melted down and let Bowie run away with it.
Austin Bergner has been excellent so far this year, and wasn’t too shoddy in this one. The right-hander went five innings, allowing four runs, three earned. Bowie got to him in the second inning with a single, a double, and a two-out home runs that made it 3-0 Bowie. A dropped would-be double play ball as Bergner threw to Gage Workman at second allowed another run in the fifth that was unearned.
The offense didn’t have much going on in this one. Kerry Carpenter continued his rampage with a solo shot in the sixth. Daniel Cabrera led off the seventh with a triple and scored on a Jon Rosoff single. Beyond that there was little to report as an Andre Lipcius error led to a parade of hits against reliever Yaya Chentouf. The Baysox scored five runs in the inning, though only one was technically earned. Gerson Moreno was also blown up in the eighth for three runs.
Cabrera: 2-4, R, 3B
Carpenter: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 2 SO
Bergner (L, 1-2): 5.0 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves will welcome in Harrisburg on Tuesday night as the Erie Piñatas for Copa de la Diversón night.
West Michigan Whitecaps 9, Dayton Dragons 7 (box)
The Whitecaps pulled out a win on Sunday, taking two of six with the Dayton Dragons in the series after losing on Friday and Saturday. They quenched the Dragons’ fires with a seven run first inning, but had to muster a two-run ninth inning to walk them off.
Keider Montero got the start in this one, and still hasn’t hit a good groove this season. Attempts to tune his high spin breaker and improve his command haven’t really taken root. Dayton got to him for two in the top of the first, and one more in the top of the second, but Montero settled down a little from there, spinning five innings of three run ball with five strikeouts, but allowed nine hits and three walks overall.
However, the Whitecaps had some offense to burn. Corey Joyce led off the bottom of the first with a walk, and the ‘Caps followed with four straight singles, scoring three runs. Austin Murr popped out, but things started right back up. Ben Malgeri singled home Wenceel Perez, and Trei Cruz followed with a two-run triple to make it 6-2. Joyce came up again and singled in Cruz to complete the scoring.
The Dragons managed to shut the Whitecaps’ offense down most of the rest of the game, and scored two runs in the sixth, one in the seventh, and one more to tie things up when they had to have it in the top of the ninth. It didn’t looked like West Michigan would answer back when Cruz and Ulrich Bojarski struck out to open the bottom of the ninth. However, Joyce came through with a single, and Colt Keith came up big with a two-run walkoff homer to right field to win it.
Keith: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, SO
Joyce: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, SO
Cruz: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, 3B, BB, SO
Montero: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 3 BB, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: West Michigan heads over to Eastlake, OH, just outside Cleveland, to tackle the Lake County Captains starting on Tuesday night.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 5, Tampa Tarpons 4 (box)
The Flying Tigers got a little help from a fella named Riley Greene Friday through Sunday, and it showed as the Flygers roared back to take the seven-game set with four straight victories from Thursday through Sunday.
Greene went 0-for-3 on Friday, putting the ball in play each time, and went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI on Saturday. Izaac Pacheco, speaking of prospects, also had a big game on Saturday with a triple and his sixth home run of the season. On Sunday, Greene was not in the lineup as he prepares for a presumed assignment with Triple-A Toledo this week.
The Tarpons got out to a 3-0 lead on Sunday, but the Flying Tigers fought back. In the fourth, Robert Campos led off with a double and then scored on a Daneurys De La Cruz double one batter later. They got another in the fifth as Kingston Liniak led off with a double and eventually scored on a Pacheco ground out. Still, Lakeland wouldn’t take a lead until the seventh.
Liniak led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and moved to third on Frank Veliz’s single. Pacheco reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Liniak, and after a pitching change, Campos singled in Veliz and Pacheco, making it 5-3 Lakeland. Reliever Aaron Haase allowed a solo shot in the eighth, but he and RJ Petit shut things down from there, Petit earning his first save of the year.
Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers welcome in the Bradenton Marauders on Tuesday night for a six-game set this week.