Louisville Bats 7, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (box)
Michael Pineda’s rehab appearance went pretty well in this one as he tossed four innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts. He had an early 2-0 lead to work with as Spencer Torkelson doubled home Ryan Kreidler in the first inning. A sacrifice fly from Daz Cameron then allowed Josh Lester to score from third. Elvin Rodriguez took over from Pineda in a 2-1 game in the fifth inning.
It didn’t go well for Rodriguez as he allowed a pair of runs in the sixth to give up the lead to the Bats. However, a Daz Cameron walk and this Andre Lipcius triple tied things back up at three apiece in the bottom half of the sixth.
After striking out the first two hitters in the seventh, Rodriguez got into another tight spot with a single and a walk allowed. Another walk to Spencer Steer loaded the bases for the Cubs, but Rodriguez racked up a third strikeout to escape with no more runs allowed.
In the end it didn’t matter as Miguel Diaz and Sam Howard suffered a combined meltdown in the eighth, each allowing a pair of runs as the Bats swarmed to victory.
Lipcius: 2-4, RBI, 3B
Torkelson: 1-3, RBI, 2B, BB, SO
Pineda: 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 SO
Coming Up Next: LHP Joey Wentz (1-2, 3.93 ERA) closes in on his major league return as he duels LHP Justin Nicolino (3-4, 5.27 ERA).
Erie SeaWolves 9, Harrisburg Senators 1 (box)
Another fine outing from Sawyer Gipson-Long and three home runs from the offense powered the SeaWolves over Harrisburg.
Gipson-Long tossed seven innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts in a very efficient outing. His offense also gave him a lead to work with from the start. With two outs in the first inning, Parker Meadows singled to right and then scored on a Quincy Nieporte double. Dane Myers followed with an RBI single, and they had a lead they would not relinquish.
Dillon Dinger and Gage Workman provided the fireworks with a two-run and a three-run shot, respectively. Parker Meadows continued to rake with a three hit game including a double and a walk. The outfielder’s swing adjustments are clearly paying dividends and he’s been red hot over the past two months after years of very slow progress.
Meadows: 3-4, 3 R, 2B, BB
Workman: 2-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, SO, CS
Gipson-Long (W, 2-1): 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: Erie has yet to announce a starter for tonight’s 6:30 p.m. EDT matchup.
South Bend Cubs 2, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (F/10)(box)
This promises to be a pretty good series for prospect hounds. With Izaac Pacheco back from a brief IL stint, he and Jung are the featured position prospects for West Michigan, with top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe slated to make his first High-A start on Wednesday. The Cubs meanwhile have a top 100 outfielder in Pete Crow-Armstrong on their side, as well as former Michigan standout outfielder Jordan Ngowu.
Things didn’t go the Whitecaps way in this one as neither offense really got it going. The ‘Caps scored first when Eduardo Valencia walked and scored on one of Jace Jung’s two singles on the night in the third inning. Matt Walker gave them 4.2 innings of solid work, but was responsible for the Cubs tying things up in the fifth. From there it was a grind as both bullpens held up well. Reliever Andrew Magno allowed a pair of baserunners in the top of the ninth but then struck out three batters in a row to send it to the bottom of the ninth. The Whitecaps couldn’t mount a threat beyond Trei Cruz drawing a two-out walk, and the Cubs put the game away with a run in the top of the 10th.
Jung: 2-5, RBI
Pacheco: 1-4, 2B
Coming Up Next: Game 2 is set for 6:35 p.m. EDT with RHP Jackson Jobe making his Whitecaps’ debut.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Forty Myers Mighty Mussels 2 (box)
The Flying Tigers were down early but chipped away and eventually seized control of this one to win on Tuesday.
Angel Reyes got the spot start and allowed a pair of early runs to the Mighty Mussels. Manuel Sequera did pick up the first of three RBI in the third with a single to score Jose De La Cruz. That briefly tied the game until the bottom half of the inning when the Mussels scored their second run and ended Reyes’ outing.
Danny Serretti doubled in the fifth and scored on Peyton Graham’s second single on the night. That knotted things at two apiece. Serretti’s second double of the night started a seventh inning rally as Sequera doubled him home. A wild pitch moved Sequera to third, and then Roberto Campos reached on an error, scoring Sequera to make it 4-2.
Serretti: 2-5, 2 R, 2 2B
Sequera: 3-5, R, 2 RBI, SO
Graham: 2-3, RBI
Coming Up Next: They’ll play a doubleheader on Wednesday with the first game starting at 4:30 p.m. EDT.