Louisville Bats 6, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)
Drew Hutchison returned to the fold after testing the free agent waters and finding no interest. His first start back with the Hens didn’t go too well, and the offense went silent after building a slim early lead on Thursday.
Zack Short got the Hens on the board in the bottom of the first with his second solo shot in as many days from the leadoff spot. Brendon Davis led off the second inning with a solo shot as well, his fifth of the season. Unfortunately, the offense was out of runs at that point, while Louisville was just getting started. They scored three against Hutchison in the third, and later dinged Chase Anderson for a couple runs in the seventh and eighth to pull away.
Baddoo: 1-3, 2B, BB
Short: 1-5, R, RBI, HR, 2 SO
Davis: 1-3, R, RBI, HR, 2B, SO
Hutchison (L, 1-1): 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 6 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez (3-4, 5.64 ERA) gets the start for the Hens on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. EDT.
Erie SeaWolves 13, Akron RubberDucks 9 (box)
Reese Olson’s command failed him in this one and Akron ambushed him for three home runs, but the offense didn’t need much help, racking up 15 hits and six walks on the night.
Olson walked the first batter he faced, then watched as Brayan Rocchio sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in right field. He struck out the next hitter he faced, then surrendered another home run, and issued a walk before settling down and getting out of the inning.
The offense set about remedying the situation quickly. Andre Lipcius doubled with one out, and Parker Meadows dumped a single into center field to score him, though Meadows was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Quincy Nieporte followed with a solo shot, and they’d trimmed the lead to one.
Olson being Olson, he then came out in the second and struck out the side. He got three quick outs in the third, but was then greeted with another first pitch solo shot to start the fourth. He punched out the next two hitters, but then gave up back-to-back singles before being lifted for reliever Dario Gardea.
By this point, the SeaWolves had already scored three in the third, and then just went off in the fourth, scoring seven runs capped by a two-run shot from Dillon Dingler. Gardea gave up two runs in the fifth, and the bullpen leaked three more runs in the eighth, but this one was never really in doubt after the fourth.
Dingler: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, SO
Perez: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 3B, SO, SB
Meadows: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
Lipcius: 2-2, 3 R, 2B, 3 BB
Olson: 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Chance Kirby (6-2, 2.08 ERA) takes on Akron’s RHP Tanner Burns (1-2, 2.20 ERA) on Friday night.
West Michigan Whitecaps 8, Fort Wayne TinCaps 4 (box)
Carlos Guzman was knocked around a bit in the first inning, but like the SeaWolves, the Whitecaps’ offense picked up their starter on Thursday evening.
Fort Wayne got to Guzman for three in the first, and he only made it 3 2⁄3 innings into the game, allowing four earned runs total. Jack O’Loughlin took over and kept the TinCaps off the board for 2 1⁄3 innings of work, and the bullpen blanked them the rest of the way.
The early lead for Fort Wayne evaporated in the bottom of the first. Daniel Cabrera and Ben Malgeri started the Whitecaps off with walks, and after Austin Murr flew out, Jake Holton crushed a three-run shot to center field for his 10th of the year. A Josh Crouch double followed, and Trei Cruz singled Crouch to third. Carlos Mendoza grounded out, but Crouch scored, and it was 4-3 West Michigan.
The Whitecaps kept it going in the second inning, starting the bottom half off with five straight singles. The last one, from Crouch, scored Malgeri and Murr to make it 7-3 Whitecaps. They got one more in the seventh when a sacrifice fly from Corey Joyce scored Trei Cruz to make it 8-4.
Holton: 2-4, R, 4 RBI, HR
Crouch: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 SO
Malgeri: 2-3, 2 R, 2 BB
Guzman: 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 SO
Coming Up Next: The two clubs lock up again on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. EDT. LHP Matt Walker (1-0, 5.40 ERA) makes his first start at the High-A level for the Whitecaps after a recent promotion from Lakeland.
Clearwater Threshers 5, Lakeland Flying Tigers 2 (box)
Nick Davila gave the Flying Tigers a really good start, but the offense couldn’t take advantage and the bullpen eventually imploded to lose this one.
Davila scattered five hits across five innings, shutting Clearwater out while striking out eight Threshers to one walk. The Flying Tigers seized control when Eduardo Valencia led off the fifth with a solo shot. Lazaro Benitez followed with a double and scored on an Alvaro Gonzalez line drive single.
That two run lead didn’t survive Jose Cisnero’s rehab appearance. The right-hander was wild, walking two and allowing four runs, three earned, without recording a strikeout. The offense never really mustered a threat outside of their two-run fifth, and went quietly in the late innings.
De La Cruz, J: 1-4, 2B, 2 SO
Valencia: 1-2, R, RBI, HR, BB, SO
Benitez: 1-2, R, 2B, BB
Davila: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 SO
Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. EDT on Friday night.