Justice Bigbie homers again but Harrisburg downs Erie

Toledo Mud Hens at Iowa Cubs (postponed)

The were rained out in Des Moines on Wednesday. Game 1 is set for 6:08 p.m. ET on Thursday, with the makeup game coming afterwards.

Harrisburg Senators 10, Erie SeaWolves 3 (box)

Alex Faedo got the start on Wednesday, as the Tigers sent him down briefly as a contingency plan for a potential Eduardo Rodriguez trade. Interestingly, they did the same with catcher Donny Sands, and we’ve since learned that teams were calling on Jake Rogers leading up to the deadline.

Faedo was pretty good until the sixth when his outing came undone a bit. He blew a slim lead, and then Harrisburg beat the brakes off the SeaWolves’ bullpen to run away with this one.

Faedo surrendered a solo shot to Trey Lipscomb in the first inning, but shut the Senators down over the next four frames while the offense got to work. The SeaWolves had two-on with two-outs in the third, but Justice Bigbie struck out. He made up for it in the fifth when Luis Santana singled and Daniel Cabrera walked. Bigbie launched an opposite field three-run shot that gave Erie a 3-1 lead.

Unfortunately, Faedo ran out of gas in the sixth, allowing two runs. Lael Lockhart took over and allowed another run in the sixth, and two more in the seventh. RJ Petis was rocked for four runs in the eighth, and this one was over.

Bigbie: 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 SO

Cabrera: 1-2, R, BB, SO

Faedo: 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, BB, 8 SO

Coming Up Next: Harrisburg starts lefty Mitchell Parker (7-4, 4.88 ERA) on Thursday at 6:05 p.m. ET. The SeaWolves haven’t announced a starter yet.

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

Troy Melton and the Whitecaps bullpen dominated this one, while Luke Gold provided all the offense they needed.

Melton went five innings, allowing just two hits and more importantly for the fast rising prospect, no walks. He punched out five along the way, and Jordan Marks, Conner Holden, and Jack Anderson combined for four perfect frames to put this one away.

Brady Allen led off the bottom of the first with a walk, and Gold followed with a two-run shot, his first at High-A, to make it 2-0.

They broke the game open in the fifth. Austin reached on a bunt single with one out, and Allen walked. Gold followed with a solid single to left to score Murr, and then Andre Lipcius drew a walk to load the bases. Gage Workman and Roberto Campos followed with RBI singles to make it 5-0.

After missing a scoring opportunity in the sixth after Lazaro Benitez led off the inning with a double, they made up for it in the seventh. Workman led off with a single, and took third on a throwing error by Lake County’s third baseman. Campos drilled a ground ball back up the middle for an RBI single and later scored the final run of the game on a Murr line drive single to left.

Gold: 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB

Campos: 2-4, R, 2 RBI

Melton (W, 2-1): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: RHP Garrett Burhenn (4-5, 4.11 ERA) gets the start for West Michigan, while LHP Parker Messick (0-3, 6.75 ERA) goes for Lake County. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET as the Whitecaps look to run their season record to .500.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 10, Clearwater Threshers 6 (box)

The Flying Tigers have been an absolute terror in the Florida State League over the last five weeks and they bludgeoned the Threshers again on Wednesday.

A six-run first inning set the tone. Seth Stephenson led off the game with a single and then stole second. Cristian Santana walked. Dillon Dingler struck out, but Andrew Jenkins singled in Stephenson and took second on a throwing error. Jose De La Cruz then reached on an error on Clearwater’s shortstop, and Santana scored. Mike Rothenberg walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch scored Jenkins from third. Abel Bastidas lefted a sac fly to score De La Cruz, and Manuel Sequera put the cherry on top with a two-run shot to left. 6-0 Lakeland.

Starter Carlos Marcano allowed a run in the first and two in the second, but the sinkerballer settled in with that lead to go six innings, allowing no more runs in his outing.

Rothenberg doubled in two in the fifth, making it 8-3 at that point. Carlos Pelegrin singled, stole second, and scored on a Santana single in the sixth. Clearwater made a little push in the seventh and eighth, scoring three runs total, but that was as close as they got. They walked in another run for Lakeland in the ninth.

Jenkins: 3-5, 3 R, RBI, 2 SO

De La Cruz: 2-5, 2 R, RBI

Santana: 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO

Marcano (W, 3-4): 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, 5 SO

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Thursday night in Clearwater. Lakeland’s second half record stands at 23-9, and they haven’t really received any reinforcements from the draft yet, so it’s a general positive that the team is playing, and most particularly pitching, so much better than in the first half.