Kevin McGonigle leads Flying Tigers as they crush Tampa

Toledo Mud Hens 3, Worcester Red Sox 2 (Gm2)(F/7)(box)

Keider Montero struggled with his control in Game 2 on Wednesday, but the bullpen was nails and the offense did just enough to sweep the doubleheader.

Montero gave up a walk and a then allowed the runner to advance on a pickoff throw that went wild in the first inning, but he bounced back for a pair of strikeouts to escape. In the second he walked two and was really all over the place, but again slipped the trap. Finally in the third the Red Sox cashed in on a mistake. A one out single and a walk were followed by a Mark Contreras triple to center field that scored two. Montero ended the inning by catching Contreras off third and he was retired in a rundown.

The Hens fought right back in the bottom half of the inning as Corey Joyce led off with a single and Andrew Navigato doubled him to third. Joyce scored on a Justyn-Henry Malloy ground out, and then Jace Jung lifted a fly ball to the wall in left field and it was misplayed into a double, scoring Navigato to tie things up at 2-2.

Devin Sweet took over for a taxed and wild Montero in the fourth and struck out the side all swinging over his changeup. Then the offense got right back to work as Ryan Vilade lined a two-out single to center field and scored on a Joyce double to make it 3-2.

Ty Adcock took over from Sweet and quickly loaded the bases before escaping with a pair of strikeouts. The game settled down from there with a few missed opportunities for both teams. The Hens loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth against starter Grant Gambrell, but he wiggled out of it to throw a six-inning complete game.

Drew Anderson issued a walk in the top of the seventh but struck out a pair to collect his first save of the year.

Joyce: 2-3, R, RBI, 2B, K

Jung: 1-3, RBI, 2B K

Vilade: 2-3, R

Montero: 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 K

Toledo Mud Hens 5, Worcester Red Sox 3 (Gm1)(F/7)(box)

Matt Manning actually got knocked around for the first time this season, but again the offense and the bullpen had things in hand.

Akil Baddoo was the ignition switch in this one. He singled to lead off the bottom of the first and stole second and third base, scoring on a Jung sacrifice fly.

In the second inning it was Bligh Madris leading off with a single and stealing second. Justice Bigbie smoked a double to center field to score him and then took third after having to hold up and tag on a scorched ball to center off the bat of Dillon Dingler that went for a double. An infield single scored Bigbie to make it 3-0, and Dingler would later score on a Malloy ground out. 4-0 Toledo.

Manning didn’t give up much hard contact, but in the top of the third an infield single and a walk set the table for the Red Sox to score three runs. Manning eventually escaped the long inning and pitched the fourth without incident.

The Hens then made it 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth when Vilade led off with a double, was awarded third on a pitcher disengagement call, and scored on a Baddoo sacrifice fly.

Beau Brieske got into trouble trying to earn the save, but got a double play ball to wrap this one up.

Madris: 2-3, R, 2B

Baddoo: 1-3, R, RBI, 2 SB

Vilade: 2-3, R, RBI, 2B, K

Manning: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start set for Thursday night in Toledo.

Harrisburg Senators 3, Erie SeaWolves 2 (F/10)(box)

Ty Madden remains inconsistent but the SeaWolves got the good version in this one. It wasn’t enough as a quiet offense couldn’t take advantage of seven walks and eventually they lost this in 10 innings.

Madden allowed just three hits and a walk, blanking the Senators for five innings with seven strikeouts. The fastball command was good, the slider was sharp, and he consistently got ahead of hitters in this one.

In both the first and third innings, Hao-Yu Lee got into scoring position after drawing walks, but the SeaWolves couldn’t bring him home. Madden had one shaky inning in the fourth when he gave up two singles to start the inning. However, a pop up, a strikeout of Brady House, and a ground out got him out of the inning.

Finally, in the bottom of the seventh, a one out walk to Carlos Mendoza and a two-out walk to Stephen Scott set the table. A walk to Gage Workman loaded the bases and a two-out single from Lee put the SeaWolves up 2-0.

Adam Wolf leaked a run in the eighth, but PJ Poulin had a save chance in the top of the ninth. However, a two-out double and then a single tied the game before he could get out of the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, the SeaWolves had a chance to walk this off when Gage Workman drew a two-out walk and stole second. Lee reached for the fourth time in the game on an infield single, but TJ Hopkins flew out to send this to extra innings. Poulin allowed the runner on second to score, while the SeaWolves went down 1-2-3 to lose.

Lee: 3-4. 2 RBI, BB, K

Workman: 1-3, 2 BB, SB

Madden: 5.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: 6:05 p.m. ET is the start time on Thursday as the SeaWolves look to break a three game losing skid.

Lake County Captains 4, West Michigan Whitecaps 2 (box)

Well, Jaden Hamm is apparently human. The Captains got to him for two runs and managed to pull away against the Whitecaps bullpen on Wednesday.

Austin Murr got the Whitecaps going in the bottom of the first when he led off with a single and later scored on a two-out triple off the bat of Roberto Campos.

In the third, Hamm allowed a single, and with two outs Alex Mooney lined a two-run shot over the wall in left to make it 2-1 Captains. That was all Hamm would allow, as he went right back to dominating hitters. He’s now issued just one walk and allowed three earned runs over 16 ¹⁄₃ innings of work with 25 strikeouts. The hype train is well underway.

In the fourth, the ‘Caps tied things up. It was Campos again making things happen. He led off with a single and stole second base. With two outs, Peyton Graham slashed a double into the right field corner to score him and tie the game at 2-2.

Unfortunately, Tanner Kohlhepp’s comeback continues to be marred by poor control. He gave up two runs in the sixth that proved to be the deciding ones.

The ‘Caps had a chance to tie things up in the seventh when Peyton Graham reached on an infield single and stole second base. A Dom Johnson ground out moved Graham to third, and then Archer Brookman was hit by a pitch and Austin Murr walked to load the bases. Captains reliever Alaska Abney was lifted at that point with Max Anderson at the dish, but a line drive off the bat was snared by the first baseman to turn the Whitecaps away.

Campos singled in the eighth and Graham again in the ninth, but they couldn’t get the runners home.

Campos: 3-4, R, RBI, K, SB

Graham: 3-4, RBI, 2B, SB

Murr: 1-2, R, 2B, 2 BB, SB

Hamm: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start at LMCU Ballpark on Thursday.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 14, Tampa Tarpons 5 (box)

With Kevin McGonigle back in the lineup alongside Max Clark and Josue Briceño, this Flying Tigers offense did serious business on Wednesday afternoon.

McGonigle got them rolling right out of the gate, leading the game off with a double. Max Clark tripled to the wall in center field to score him, and then Briceño drew a walk. Eduardo Valencia pulled a double down the left field line to score Clark. Back-to-back strikeouts put things in Jim Jarvis’ hands, and he spanked a single into center field to score Briceño and Valencia before the inning ended. 4-0 Lakeland.

Joe Adametz allowed a solo shot in the bottom half, then settled in to pitch into the fifth without allowing another run. By then this thing was all but over.

In the second, McGonigle singled and stole second with one out and Clark walked. However they couldn’t score them as Briceño, playing first base in this one, flew out and McGonigle was thrown out at third. Instead, they had to wait until the third inning to blow this one open.

In the top of the third, Brett Callahan walked with one out, stole second, and scored on a Jose De La Cruz single. Jim Jarvis smacked an automatic double to right center field and Cristian Santana walked to load the bases. A David Smith ground out scored one while forcing Santana at second. McGonigle lined a 106.3 mph single to center field to score Jarvis. The ball was hit too hard for more. Max Clark then walked and a wild pitch scored Smith to make it 8-1.

The scoring parade continued in the fourth. Valencia and Callahan walked to start the frame and De La Cruz singled to load the bases. Jarvis came through with another double to right to drive in two runs and get De La Cruz to third. A Santana sacrifice fly scored him, and then David Smith crushed a two-run shot to right field. 13-1 Lakeland.

On the plus side for Tampa was the fact that they proceeded to get McGonigle out for the first time in the game, and though Clark singled, Briceño mercifully grounded out to end the inning.

Valencia singled and scored again in the seventh to make it 14-2. The bullpen leaked a few runs, but this one was long over.

McGonigle: 3-4, R, RBI, 2B, SB

Clark: 2-4, R, RBI, 3B, 2 BB, 2 K

Jarvis: 3-6, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 2B, SB

De La Cruz: 3-6, 2 R, RBI, 2 K

Adametz: 4.2 IP, ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers look to make it three in a row on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.