Max Clark and Luke Gold stay hot in weekend action

Rochester Red Wings 4, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (Friday)(box)

Toledo Mud Hens 9, Rochester Red Wings 5 (Saturday)(box)

Toledo Mud Hens 8, Rochester Red Wings 7 (Sunday)(box)

The Mud Hens bounced back with a strong offensive display on Saturday and Sunday to split this six-game set in Rochester, NY.

Friday night saw Brant Hurter post his first really strong start at the Triple-A level. The lefty allowed just two hits and an unearned run, striking out nine with no walks.

The offense just couldn’t get much going with only two hits on the night. Dillon Dingler launched his second home run of the year to lead off the third inning. That was about all there is to report.

Errors on Hiura and Buddy Kennedy helped the Red Wings tie the game at 1-1 in the fifth. In the sixth, Trey Wingenter was all over the place and got knocked around for three runs, two earned, and that was the difference in this one.

Dingler: 1-3, R, RBI, HR

Hurter: 5.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 9 K

On Saturday, Bryan Sammons got the start, allowing just a run on five hits and three walks, despite just one strikeout.

The Hens opened the scoring in the top of the third. Akil Baddoo walked and stole second before riding home on a Hiura double. Hiura launched a solo shot in the sixth, and then in the seventh the Hens blew the game open somewhat with a four-run inning.

Andrew Navigato led off with a missile to straightaway center field for his second homer of the season. The Red Wings went to the bullpen and Baddoo greeted new reliever Jake Alu with a double the opposite way. Malloy doubled to center, and a Jung single scored both to make it 5-1 Hens. Hiura grounded into a force of Jung at second, but a wild pitch moved him to second, where he scored on a Bligh Madris single. 6-1 Hens.

The Hens added three more in the top of the ninth on an Anthony Bemboom RBI single to score Hiura after he led off with a single. Vilade then cracked a two-run shot that made it 9-1.

Devin Sweet unraveled for four runs in the bottom half, so Bryce Tassin came in to slam the door and earn the save.

Hiura: 3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, HR, 2B, BB

Madris: 2-4, RBI, 2B, BB

Vilade: 1-5, R, 2 RBI, HR

Sammons (W, 2-1): 5.0 IP, ER, 5 H, 3 BB, K

On Sunday, starter Austin Bergner gave up a pair of runs in the second inning, but Hens bounced back with three in the third. Akil Baddoo singled, Justyn-Henry Malloy walked, and Jace Jung crushed his fourth home run of the season to make it 3-2 Hens.

The Hens got a pair of singles in the top of the fourth but couldn’t cash in. Bergner then surrendered a pair of solo shots in the bottom half and was knocked from the game. Wilmer Flores took over to get the final out of the inning.

In the fifth, Jung led off with a walk and Rochester misplayed a Keston Hiura pop up to put two on for Ryan Vilade, who came up with a two-run double. Corey Joyce singled in Vilade, and it was 6-4 Hens.

It wouldn’t be easy though. Flores transition to relief has been ugly, and he leaked a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings.

Bligh Madris got those runs back with a two-run homer with Hiura aboard in the top of the sixth, and it was 8-6 after six innings.

A Jung error to start the bottom of the ninth made things more tense than they had to be. Brenan Hanifee got the next two outs, but another Jung error at third allowed a run to score. Andrew Vasquez took over and allowed a single before finally recording the final out via strikeout to snatch his first save of the season.

Hiura: 4-5, 2 R

Vilade: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, BB

Jung: 1-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, 2 K

Flores (W, 1-0): 2.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, K

Coming Up Next: The Hens welcome in the Worchester Red Sox for six starting Tuesday night.

Erie SeaWolves 7, Akron RubberDucks 2 (Friday)(box)

Erie SeaWolves 6, Akron RubberDucks 5 (Saturday)(box)

Akron RubberDucks 2, Erie SeaWolves 1 (Sunday)(box)

The RubberDucks walked off the SeaWolves on Sunday to limit their damage in the series. The SeaWolves took all four games in the middle of the set to take it 4-2.

Friday was a really good day for the SeaWolves offense as they pounded out 11 hits to win 7-2. Jackson Jobe got the start, and while the Ducks got to him for a couple singles and two runs in the first, the Tigers top prospect settled in to retire the next 11 hitters he faced without a hint of hard contact. Jobe hit 99 mph on the gun, and really had the slider and changeup going once he settled into his outing.

In the fourth. Hao-Yu Lee singled with one out and then stole second base. A Chris Meyers single scored him to make it 2-1 Akron. TJ Hopkins tied the game with a solo shot in the top of the sixth.

Carlos Pena spun two scoreless frames in relief, and Angel Reyes handled the seventh without issue. They were all rewarded when the offense broke out for a four-run eighth inning to seize control of this one.

Alfonzo led off with a single, and Malgeri launched his first homer of the year to make it 4-2 SeaWolves. Trei Cruz followed with a walk and stole second base. Hopkins singled him to third and then stole second base. A Jake Holton single scored them both.

Malgeri doubled in Workman in the top of the ninth to make it 7-2 and put this one on ice.

Malgeri: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2B

Hopkins: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, HR, K, SB

Lee: 2-5, R, 2 K, SB

Jobe: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 5 K

Saturday saw the SeaWolves win behind a solid outing from Wilkel Hernandez. They had to overcome some defensive mistakes and a blowup inning to get there, however.

Hernandez allowed a run in the first, but settled in to go 4 ²⁄₃ without allowing another run.

The SeaWolves ran themselves out of a scoring chance in the first and were pretty quiet until they broke through in the fifth. 3B Carlos Mendoza led off the fifth with a walk and Ben Malgeri and Daniel Cabrera followed with singles to score him. Christian Molfetta, Erie’s catcher, dropped a bunt down and Malgeri scored on it. A Gage Workman RBI single made it 3-1 SeaWolves before Akron got out of the inning.

However, in the bottom of the sixth, the SeaWolves threw it all away. An error on Gage Workman, a hit by pitch, and then a wild pitch by PJ Poulin after he reliever Joel Peguero, led to a four-run inning with all of them unearned. 5-3 Akron.

Finally, in the eighth inning the SeaWolves seized control for good. Workman led off with a single and Chris Meyers was plunked with one out. Alfonzo singled in Workman, Malgeri singled in Meyers, and a double from Daniel Cabrera scored Alfonzo as the go-ahead run.

Andrew Magno was nails in the one, spinning two scoreless frames with three strikeouts to earn the save.

Workman: 3-4, R, RBI, BB

Cabrera: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B

Malgeri: 2-4, R, RBI, 2 K

Hernandez: 4.2 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K

On Sunday, Tory Melton blanked the RubberDucks for four innings on five hits, and no walks, striking out three. The offense just struggled for most of the afternoon, resulting in a tough 2-1 loss.

Despite four walks issued by Akron starter Ryan Webb, the SeaWolves couldn’t get anything done until Akron’s bullpen took over. Angel Reyes leaked the first run of the game in the seventh. The SeaWolves tied it up on an Eliezer Alfonzo RBI single to score Gage Workman in the eighth inning.

RJ Petit spun a clean bottom of the eighth, but the SeaWolves got mowed down 1-2-3 in the ninth, and Petit allowed two singles before a ground out scored the walk off run for the RubberDucks.

Meyers: 1-3, R, 2B, BB

Melton: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Great Lakes Loons 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 4 (Friday)(box)

Great Lakes Loons 9, West Michigan Whitecaps 8 (Saturday)(box)

West Michigan Whitecaps 8, Great Lakes Loons 4 (Sunday)(box)

After losing on Friday and Saturday, the Whitecaps bounced back to win Sunday and take the series four games to two.

On Friday, Dylan Smith got the start and again was okay at best. He allowed a solo shot in the first and another run in the third, but finished his outing in the lead after five innings.

A two-run double from Peyton Graham to score Luke Gold and Izaac Pacheco got their scoring started. In the fourth, Andrew Jenkins led off with a double and Gold then doubled him home, scoring later on a Pacheco ground out.

Luke Gold has been hot, but we’ll get to that later.

The Loons got to Max Alba for three runs, two earned in the seventh, and the ‘Caps offense ran out of steam against the Loons bullpen.

Gold: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, K

Graham: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2B, 3 K

Smith: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K

On Saturday, the Whitecaps built another early lead only to see the bullpen melt down to lose the game.

The ‘Caps opened the scoring in the second when Luke Gold led off with a single and stole second base. Pacheco singled him in and reached second on an error. Peyton Graham and Josh Crouch walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch scored Gold. The Loons went to the pen, but another wild pitch scored Graham before they escaped the inning. 3-0 ‘Caps

In the top of the third, they got loose again. Andrew Jenkins led off with a single and Gold ripped a double to left to get him to third. A Pacheco single scored them both. 5-0 ‘Caps.

Unfortunately, Colin Fields then leaked two runs in the third and the fourth inning. He’s been rolling so far, but the Loons had his number a bit in this one.

In the fourth, Roberto Campos walked and stole second base. Gold singled him in to make it 6-2, and then Fields allowed the second pair of runs to make it 6-4 after four innings.

A hit by pitch, and a Gold throwing error, helped the Loons drop five runs on Tanner Kohlhepp in the sixth. They’d never relinquish that 9-6 lead.

In the eighth, Jenkins walked with one out, and Gold mashed an opposite field shot, his third home run already, to make it 8-6, but that’s as close as they’d get. Gold really tucked this one inside the right field foul pole…or did he?

Gold: 4-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR, 2B, K, SB

Pacheco: 2-5, R, 3 RBI

Fields: 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K

On Sunday, Carlos Marcano gave the Whitecaps a pretty decent start, allowing one run over four innings of work. He walked three and allowed three hits, but racked up four punchouts and limited the damage from traffic on the bases.

Meanwhile, Luke Gold remains on a rampage.

Austin Murr homered to lead off the game, and with two outs, Gold singled and stole second base before he was stranded.

In the fourth, Danny Serretti hit a solo shot to make it 2-1 ‘Caps. Pacheco walked, stole second base, and scored on a Jose Sibrian single to make it 3-1.

In the fifth, Jenkins singled with one out, and Gold ripped a line drive double to left. Jenkins was cut down at the plate by the Loons left fielder, but Gold reached third on the play and scored on a Serretti single. 4-1 ‘Caps.

The Loons got a run in the sixth, but a fine play from Roberto Campos snuffed out a potentially big rally. He then got the Whitecaps going in the seventh as they pulled away again. With two outs, Campos singled, Serretti walked, and Pacheco dropped a single into right field to score Campos and Serretti both on a messy play by the Loons. Peyton Graham singled in Pacheco to make it 7-2.

The Loons got two back in the bottom half of the seventh against Cleiverth Perez, but they got no closer. Gold smoked another opposite field solo shot in the top of the ninth to make it 8-4 for good. That’s four long balls for Gold, who holds a 1.118 OPS in the early going. He’s started playing more first base to go with his work at third base and occasionally second when Max Anderson is the DH. Austin Murr is also off to a hot start after a tough 2023 campaign.

Zack Hess struck out the side to end this one.

Gold: 3-5, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2B, K, SB

Serretti: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, BB, K

Murr: 3-5, R, RBI, HR, 2 2B, K

Marcano: 4.0 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps head home from Midland to welcome in the Lake County Captains on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. ET. April Dollar Days are still in effect at LMCU Park.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 10, Palm Beach Cardinals 5 (Friday)(box)

Palm Beach Cardinals 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1 (Saturday)(box)

Palm Beach Cardinals 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (Sunday)(box)

The Flying Tigers dropped both weekend games to lose this series 2-4 to the Palm Beach Cardinals.

On Friday, the Flying Tigers took advantage of nine walks to win easily.

Hayden Minton got the start and was good for three innings before running into a buzzsaw in the fourth inning. The Cardinals got to him for four runs in the inning to take a 5-0 lead into the late innings. It wasn’t until the seventh that the Flying Tigers mounted a comeback.

Lakeland wasted some early chances. Max Clark walked and stole second in both the first and third innings, but the RBI hits never arrived.

Finally, with one out in the seventh, David Smith singled, Samuel Gil walked, and then Clark singled to right to load the bases. A Josue Briceño line drive single to center scored Smith, and Clayton Campbell smoked a double to left to score Gil and Clark. A balk then scored Briceño before the inning ended. 5-4 Palm Beach.

In the top of the eighth, Cristian Santana led off with a single, and John Peck followed with a walk. Dom Johnson singled to load the bases, and Smith drew a walk to tie the game. Gil singled in Peck. Clark singled in Johnson, and a wild pitch brought Smith in to make it 8-5 Lakeland. Briceño walked, and Campbell bounced a grounder to third that went for a two-run error.

Luke Stofel handled the eighth and ninth without allowing anything.

Clark: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB

Gil: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 K

Briceño: 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, K

Minton: 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 10 H, 0 BB, 6 K

On Saturday, the offense just didn’t get much going. Garrett Hill made another ugly rehab appearance, allowing two runs and failing to get through the first inning. All four Flying Tigers pitchers leaked runs, while the offense managed just four hits.

The last one was notable, however, as Max Clark crushed a solo shot to right field for his first pro home run. It left the bat at 103.9 mph.

They don’t have a broadcast in Palm Beach, but our own David Rosenberg and a few others on hand got the video. Clark has been rolling with a 165 wRC+ and a .444 on-base percentage over his last 10 games. Nice to see him get rewarded for a good swing here.

Clark: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, K

Jarvis: 2-4, 2B

Hill (L, 0-1): 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB

On Sunday, the bats were really quiet again as Clark got the day off. Cole Stupp gave the Flying Tigers a decent outing with one run allowed over three frames with no walks and four strikeouts. The bullpen leaked five more runs, but the Flying Tigers never really mustered any offense.

Josue Briceño had a pair of singles, while the rest of the lineup went hitless. Jim Jarvis and David Smith were both caught stealing in the game after drawing walks, and those were just about the only baserunners they had.

Briceño: 2-3, BB

Stupp (L, 0-1): 3.0 IP, ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers hold a 9-6 record so far. They’ll stay on the road as they traverse the peninsula to take on the Tampa Tarpons starting Tuesday night.