Toledo Mud Hens 10, St. Paul Saints 1 (box)
Cody Sedlock, recently acquired off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles, made his first start in the Tigers’ organization on Thursday, and it went pretty well. More importantly, the offense pummeled Saints pitching with four home runs to win easily.
RBI singles from Jamie Westbrook and Kerry Carpenter in the first inning got things off to a strong start. Kody Clemens homered in his third straight game with catcher Ali Sanchez aboard in the second inning and they were off to the races.
Sedlock allowed the lone run of his five innings of work in the third. He finished with four singles and a walk allowed with three punchouts. Daz Cameron got that run back in the fifth with a solo shot, and Sanchez added a two-run shot with Zack Short on base in the sixth. In the eighth, Carpenter added on with a two-run blast to right field. That was his second homer in 16 games since his promotion to Toledo. He now has 24 total on the year, holds a 1.190 OPS and in that very small sample with the Hens has only struck out five times.
Carpenter: 2-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB
Sanchez: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR, SO
Westbrook: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, SO
Sedlock (W, 5-1): 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Chase Anderson (3-3, 4.92 ERA) goes for the Hens on Friday night. RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-0, 4.25 ERA), the formerly Toronto Blue Jays starter, starts for the Saints.
Binghamton Rumble Ponies 5, Erie SeaWolves 1 (box)
The Ponies jumped all over Chance Kirby on Thursday, knocking him out after two innings with six runs in, five earned. Meanwhile the SeaWolves managed just seven hits without a walk, and could only muster up a single run. Quincy Nieporte lifted his 20th homer of the season in the seventh against starter Nick Butto, finally knocking him out of the game.
Nieporte: 3-4, R, RBI, HR, SO
Kirby (L, 6-3): 2.0 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 SO
Coming Up Next: No starters are announced for Friday night’s matchup.
West Michigan Whitecaps 8, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 7 (F/10)(box)
Ty Madden stumbled through a single rough inning in this one, but the offense rallied throughout the game and finally won in 10 innings on a Carlos Mendoza walkoff single to plate Trei Cruz with the game winner.
The Whitecaps scored two runs in the bottom of the second to take an early lead, but it quickly evaporated. Madden was fine outside of the third inning when he allowed back to back singles with one out. He got shaky from there, issuing three walks, and then surrendered a two-run single to Wes Clarke before finally escaping the inning with four runs in for Wisconsin.
Jake Holton tied things up in the bottom half with a two-run homer, his 11th, with Esney Chacon aboard. Jared Tobey allowed the Rattlers a run in the top of the sixth, but the ‘Caps came back with more in the bottom of the inning. Trei Cruz walked with one out, and Ben Malgeri reached on an error. Corey Joyce brought them both home with a triple to right, and then scored on Carlos Mendoza’s ground ball single up the middle. West Michigan led 7-5, but Andrew Shaps allowed two more run for Wisconsin in the seventh to tie it up.
Bryce Tassin, Jose Alvarado, and Jack O’Loughlin slammed the door over the final three innings of relief. In the bottom of the 10th, with Cruz starting on second, Ben Malgeri walked and Corey Joyce was hit with a pitch. Rattlers reliever Tyler Gillies fell behind Mendoza 1-0 and the young outfielder drove a single to center field, kickstarting a party at LMCU Park.
Mendoza: 3-4, 2 RBI, BB, 2 CS
Holton: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, HR, 2 SO
Cruz: 1-2, 3 R, 3 BB
Madden: 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Keider Montero (4-4, 5.53 ERA) starts for the Whitecaps on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. EDT.
Palm Beach Cardinals 7, Lakeland Flying Tigers 5 (box)
Marco Jimenez and the Flying Tigers’ bullpen had a rough night, and a late rally from the offense fell short in this one. Cristian Santana got Lakeland on the board first when he homered to left in the fourth inning. Jimenez was good for four innings, but crumbled in the fifth, leaving with only one allowed in the fifth, but with the bases loaded. Erick Rodriguez gave up a three-run double, it was 4-1 Palm Beach.
Lakeland got single runs in the sixth and seventh, but couldn’t put together an extended rally. In the sixth, Alvaro Gonzalez led off with a single, and Santana walked. Izaac Pacheco followed with a ground ball through the right side to load the bases with no outs. Manuel Sequera grounded into a double play, pushing in Gonzalez from third, and Roberto Campos struck out. They wouldn’t get a better chance to seize control, but they did tack on another run when Jose De La Cruz singled in the seventh and scored on a Daneurys De La Cruz double.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals scored three in the bottom half of the seventh, knocking Rodriguez out, and took a 7-3 lead into the ninth. Doubles from Daneurys De La Cruz, Austin Schultz, and Santana led to two runs, pulling with two of a tie, but that was as far as the rally got.
Santana: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR, BB, SO
D. De La Cruz: 2-4, R, RBI, 2 2B, 2 SO
Pacheco: 2-5, SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Trent Baker (4-6, 3.36 ERA) goes for the Cardinals on Friday night. Lakeland hasn’t announced a starter yet.