Tarik Skubal looks great in rehab start; Colt Keith homers yet again

Toledo Mud Hens 4, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 3 (F/12)(box)

Tarik Skubal’s rehab went very well, although they could’ve stretched him out more. In the end, they needed all the pitching they could get as this one took 12 innings to decide.

Skubal looked fantastic. He pumped 96-98 mph the whole outings, showing off good command of his fastball and slider. It took just 31 pitches, 24 of them strikes, to dispatch the IronPigs with only a single allowed over three innings. He struck out five.

The Hens scored first when Parker Meadows cracked home run number nine on the year after Joe Rizzo led off the fifth with a double. However, Bryan Sammons allowed two in the bottom half, and that would be all the scoring in regulation.

Neither team could get a run home in the 10th. In the 11th, with Justyn-Henry Malloy starting on second, Tyler Nevin grounded out to move Malloy to third. Nick Solak drew a walk, and Andre Lipcius lifted a sacrifice fly to left as Malloy tagged and scored. However, Aneurys Zabala allowed a run in the bottom half, as Simon Muzziotti singled home old friend John Hicks. Finally in the 12th, Michael Papierski singled home Andrew Knapp, and Matt Wisler spun a scoreless frame to end it.

Lipcius: 2-4, RBI, 2B

Meadows: 1-6, R, 2 RBI, HR, 3 SO

Skubal: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 SO

Coming Up Next: Matt Manning is up next as the Tigers rehab caravan takes over the Mud Hens. Lehigh Valley has yet to announce for Friday night’s 7:05 p.m. ET start.

Harrisburg Senators 4, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)

Colt Keith continued his assault on Eastern League pitching, and Sawyer Gipson-Long put together a nice start but the SeaWolves just couldn’t push across enough runs on Thursday night.

Keith cracked his 13th home run of the season in the top of the first to give Erie a quick lead. He singled off lefty Lucas Knowles in the eighth as well for his 20th multi-hit game on the year.

Gipson-Long got himself into some trouble in the bottom of the first courtesy of a double and a pair of walks, but was able to limit the damage to one run. He’d allow a solo shot in the fifth, but was quite good overall, striking out six in six innings of work.

With the score 1-1 in the top of the fourth, Wenceel Perez sparked a little opportunity by leading off with a walk and stealing second. A line drive from Andrew Navigato moved him to third, and the delayed double steal saw Navigato thrown out at second with Perez racing home to score. The home run Gipson-Long allowed in the fifth tied the game, and the SeaWolves couldn’t produce any more runs. The bullpen allowed two in the eighth to lose this one.

Keith: 2-4, R, RBI, HR, SO

Bigbie: 2-4

Navigato: 2-4, SO

Gipson-Long: 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 6 SO

Coming Up Next: Wilmer Flores (3-3, 4.53 ERA) takes on RHP Cole Henry (0-1, 9.82 ERA) on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET.

West Michigan Whitecaps 11, Lake County Captains 0 (F/7)(box)

They planned to play two on Thursday, but the weather didn’t cooperate as major storms rolled in during the afternoon. The Captains may have been happy for the chance to regroup after getting bludgeoned 11-0 in this one.

Troy Melton got the start and was overpowering. The fire-balling right-hander scattered three hits and a walk over five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Dario Gardea and Erick Pinales completed the seven inning shutout.

The ‘Caps jumped on Lake County right out of the gate, as Roberto Campos singled home Danny Serretti and Brady Allen in the top of the first. Five straight walks to open the second inning pushed across three more and it could’ve been far more as they didn’t record a hit in the inning. Allen singled in Izaac Pacheco and Luis Garcia in the third. Pacheco launched home run number six in what has been a disappointing season to date in the fourth inning with Campos aboard. It was 9-0 at that point. Jace Jung finished the job with a two-run shot of his own in the fifth.

Allen: 2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB

Campos: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, SO

Pacheco: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, SO

Melton (W, 1-0): 5.0 IP, 0 ER, BB, 7 SO

Coming Up Next: RHP Williander Moreno (3-0, 3.19 ERA) takes on LHP Rodney Boone (1-3, 6.86 ERA) on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET. They’ll look to make up the rainout this weekend.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Dunedin Blue Jays 3 (box)

Edgardo Ibarra gave Lakeland a solid start and the offense put together a four-run frame in the fifth to win on Thursday.

Ibarra spun four scoreless innings with just a single and three walks allowed. In the top of the fifth with the game knotted at 0-0, Cristian Santana led off with a single. After Seth Stephenson flew out, Luke Gold singled and Tyler Johnson and Peyton Graham drew walks to force in the first run of the game. A Mario Feliciano ground out scored Gold, while Lazaro Benitez and Jose De La Cruz came through with RBI singles to make it 4-0. The bullpen leaked a few runs, but Connor Holden was able to hold on to pick up the save.

Graham: 2-3, RBI, BB

De La Cruz: 2-4, RBI, 2B, 2 SO

Ibarra: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, H, 3 BB, 2 SO

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start set for Friday night.