Rochester Red Wings 17, Toledo Mud Hens 0 (box)
Not a whole lot to say about this one. Austin Bergner got clobbered right out of the gate and knocked out of the game in the first inning. Things didn’t improve from there. The scoring was relentless, and the Hens were down 10-0 after the sixth inning. Zac Houston then completely melted down in a five-run relief appearance, while catcher Chris Rabago allowed a pair of runs in mop-up duty.
Cameron: 1-2, 2 BB
Lipcius: 1-4, 2B, SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Bryan Garcia (1-3, 3.42 ERA) gets the ball on Friday night as the Hens look to erase this one from the memory banks.
Erie SeaWolves 3, Bowie Baysox 2 (box)
Reese Olson was absolutely filthy in this one as Erie turned the tide after back-to-back losses to win on Thursday.
The young right-hander struggled in June and July after a strong start, but as his fastball command has started to improve, the month of August went much better. Hopefully he’s set for a strong finish, and he certainly looked it on Thursday, striking out nine Baysox. Olson allowed a solo shot in the first, yes, it was that damned Connor Norby again, and another run in the second, but really locked it down to eventually go six innings of two-run ball.
Gage Workman got the run back in the bottom of the first with a solo shot of his own, making it three straight games with a homer. Parker Meadows then walked, and Dane Myers launched a two-run shot, his 23rd on the year, to make it 3-1. Myers isn’t really a prospect, but it’s been somewhat gratifying to see it come together for him as a hitter after the Tigers spent a few seasons tinkering with him as a pitcher. The power has been impressive even if the approach remains rudimentary.
Both pitching staffs dialed it in after the second inning, and the SeaWolves only managed three hits on the night while striking out 13 times. They made those three hits count, and the SeaWolves bullpen was solid in holding the lead.
Workman: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, SO
Myers: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR, SO
Olson (W, 7-6): 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 9 SO
Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. EDT on Friday night. No starters are announced yet.
West Michigan Whitecaps 5, Fort Wayne TinCaps 2 (box)
The Whitecaps made it three in a row behind a strong outing from Keider Montero and big contributors from most of the prospects in the lineup.
Montero scattered three hits while blanking the TinCaps for five innings. He struck out four and didn’t allow a walk, enjoying being staked to an early lead.
In the top of the first, Danny Serretti singled and Jake Holton walked with one out. Jace Jung struck out, but singles from Josh Crouch and Izaac Pacheco made it 2-0 Whitecaps and they never looked back. Serretti singled home Ben Malgeri in the fourth. Eduardo Valencia launched a solo shot in the sixth. Jace Jung doubled and later scored on a wild pitch in the seventh. Chavez Fernander allowed a pair of runs in the eighth as the TinCaps finally broke through, but that was as close as they’d get.
It was a peculiar night for Jace Jung in particular. Not only did he score from second a wild pitch, he also managed to crack his bat fouling off a pitch in the first inning, and got his hand pinched in the crack. That’s a new one. He still managed to double twice in the contest anyway.
Before the @wmwhitecaps scored twice something strange happened to Jace Jung. Not exactly sure, but it appears he broke his bat on a foul ball and then got his hand pinched between pieces of wood. pic.twitter.com/K9PMAr7X1X
— Tigers Minor League Report (@tigersMLreport) September 1, 2022
Serretti: 3-5, R, RBI, CS
Jung: 2-5, R, 2 2B, 3 SO
Crouch: 2-4, RBI
Montero (W, 7-7): 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 4 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Dylan Smith (7-6, 4.42 ERA) is looking to get back on track after a midseason injury. He’ll take on LHP Jackson Wolf (6-8, 4.07 ERA) on Friday night.
Lakeland Flying Tigers vs. Clearwater Threshers (suspended)
Even the makeup games need makeup games in Florida during the summer months. The Flying Tigers were leading the makeup game from Wednesday’s rainout 5-0 in the third when play was again suspended. They’ll try to finish that game in seven inning fashion on Friday starting at 4:00 p.m. EDT, and hopefully get a doubleheader in to get this series back on course.