Hao-Yu Lee powers SeaWolves winning streak to seven as Hamm and Melton dominate

St. Paul Saints 3, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (Fri)(box)

Toledo Mud Hens 1, St. Paul Saints 0 (Sat)(box)

St. Paul Saints 5, Toledo Mud Hens 4 (Sun)(box)

The Hens had some opportunities to win on Friday, but the Saints made the big pitches when they needed them. Lefty Bryan Sammons continued to pitch quite well overall for the Mud Hens, but one big mistake was all it took in this one.

Twice the Hens got a runner to second with less than two outs and couldn’t score them in the early innings. In the bottom of the fifth, Parker Meadows reached on bunt single and reached second on a throwing error by Saints’ starter Randy Dobnak. Gio Urshela shot a ground ball single into right field but Matt Wallner threw Meadows out at the plate.

Meanwhile, Sammons would cruise until the fourth when he gave up a leadoff single. Sammons got a strike out and a shallow fly out, but a swinging bunt single brought Yunior Severino to the dish and he lifted a towering fly ball to left for a three-run shot. Sammons settled right back in and went 5 ²⁄₃ innings, striking out nine hitters, but that was the ball game.

The Hens got a one-out walk to Riley Unroe in the seventh. Andrew Navigato, still swinging a pretty hot bat, drilled a double that unfortunately went for a ground rule double, preventing Unroe from scoring. Meadows struck out, Keston Hiura walked, and Justice Bigbie struck out to strand them. Saints reliever Ryan Jensen just overpowered them both with mid-90’s hardball.

Dillon Dingler hammered a line drive to the wall in center field for a double to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Unroe struck out, but Navigato pulled a ground ball that went for an error on the Saints’ third baseman. Dingler scored and Navigato reached second base. Meadows grounded out and Hiura flew out to end it.

Dingler: 2-4, R, 2B

Meadows: 2-5, 2 K

Sammons (L, 4-2): 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 9 K

The Mud Hens had to scramble a bit to prepare for Saturday’s matchup with Matt Manning scratched so that he can re-join the Tigers rotation. Akil Baddoo was called up for Kenta Maeda, who hit the IL with an illness. Jace Jung also sat this one out though he was available off the bench. The Hens bullpen came through in a big way to shut out the Saints.

Twins prospect David Festa was more than up to the challenge, however. The Hens couldn’t get much going offensively either. Festa shut them out for six innings, scattering three hits and three walks, striking out 10.

Bryce Tassin and Angel Reyes each one-hit the Saints for three innings apiece. Ty Adcock sruck out two in the seventh, and then Beau Brieske handed the eighth and ninth, allowing just a walk in picking up the six-out save.

The Hens got two men on with one out in the third, but Justice Bigbie grounded into a double play. Bligh Madris singled and stole second to lead off the fourth, but they couldn’t push him across. Finally in the seventh, Dillon Dingler smoked a double to center field in leading off the inning. Riley Unroe bunted him over to third, and Andrew Navigato’s infield single was enough to score Dingler with the only run of the game.

Madris: 2-3, BB, K

Navigato: 1-2, RBI, BB, K

Tassin: 3.0 IP, 0 R, H, 2 BB, 2 K

Ty Madden put together a good start on Mother’s Day, but the bullpen let down the Hens as they did the Tigers.

The right-hander fired five innings of one run ball, allowing three hits and three walks to seven strikeouts. Madden’s results since making the jump from Erie have been shaky, but he really does look improved this season. His velocity is good, he’s locating his fourseamer, the slider is lethal, and he’s mixed in good curveballs more this season as well, giving him another look for hitters.

Like many of the Tigers young pitchers, from Jackson Jobe, to Matt Manning to Keider Montero, Madden has a new wrinkle on his offspeed offering in a new split change grip. Early returns have been positive and if Madden can control lefties doing damage against him, he’ll be about ready to test at the major league level.

The Saints scored a run in the first, and they would never let the Hens take over in this one.

The Hens offense was quiet early but tied things at 1-1 in the fourth when Parker Meadows led off with a double to right field and scored on a Gio Urshela single. Incidentally, while this was Urshela’s fourth rehab game, Sunday’s comments from A.J. Hinch sound like Urshela is ok but not quite 100 percent. They want to be sure he’s ready to go all out when he returns, so it may be a few more days until we see him back in Detroit. Or, he could be back on Tuesday after Matt Manning starts on Monday. Doesn’t sound exactly imminent at the moment.

Wilmer Flores took over in the sixth, fresh off his best relief outing of the season on Thursday. He still had the high 90’s gas, but his command was bad again and he blew up for a four-run inning that just about put this one out of reach.

The Hens got a single from Urshela to open the bottom of the sixth, and Justyn-Henry Malloy, back after a minor lower half injury, and Keston Hiura drew walks to load the bases with no outs. The big hit just didn’t arrive as they pushed across two runs on a ground out and a Dillon Dingler sacrifice fly to make it 5-3.

Brenan Hanifee, Sean Guenther, and Trey Wingenter each spun a good inning in relief, but the Hens got Andrew Navigato to second with one out in the seventh and couldn’t score him. In the eighth, Hiura walked, took second on a Bligh Madris ground out, and scored on a Dillon Dingler single, but again hopes for a rally ran out of steam. Dingler, at least, continues to swing a much better bat the past two series.

Buddy Kennedy was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but he was erased trying to steal second to get into scoring position, and Navigato and Meadows struck out to end it.

Urshela: 3-3, R, RBI

Dingler: 1-3, 2 RBI, 2B

Bigbie: 1-4, 2 SB

Madden: 5.0 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: A 4-2 series victory moves the Mud Hens to 22-17, second place in the West division. They’ll head to Indianapolis for six with the Indians on Tuesday evening.

In other news, 24-year-old utility man Carlos Mendoza has been promoted again, this time to Triple-A Toledo. He started the year with the West Michigan Whitecaps, He played just seven games before moving to Double-A for 14 games, and now to Triple-A. Mendoza can handle some corner outfield but mainly plays second and third base. There isn’t much pop in the bat but Mendoza is really disciplined at the plate.

Erie SeaWolves 8, Richmond Flying Squirrels 0 (Fri)(box)

Erie SeaWolves 8, Richmond Flying Squirrels 3 (Sat)(box)

Erie SeaWolves 7, Richmond Flying Squirrels 0 (Sun)(box)

Troy Melton was really good and the offense took over in the middle innings as the SeaWolves made it five straight wins on Friday night.

Melton allowed a pair of singles to lead off the top of the second, got a double play ball, and then struck out the next four hitters in a row. Three singles were all he’d allow over five innings of three-hit shutout ball. He struck out five with no walks, and needed just 58 pitches. Pitching on the farm is strong even with Mr. Jobe temporarily sidelined.

The SeaWolves got a double by Eliezer Alfonzo with one out in the second inning, but couldn’t advance him. They did better in the third. Ben Malgeri and Stephen Scott sprayed solid singles and Gage Workman lined a double the opposite way. Malgeri scored and Scott moved to third where Hao-Yu Lee singled them both in and then got caught between first and second on the play. 3-0 Erie.

They struck again in the fifth when Gage Workman led off with a walk and Carlos Mendoza singled to center field. Lee ripped a double to left scoring both runners and again drawing the throw and getting caught trying to take third.

Jake Higginbotham took over from Trevin Michael in the eighth after two solid innings from Michael. A leadoff single and a double put Higginbotham in trouble, but he got a couple of fly balls and wiggled out of the jam to maintain the shutout.

That momentum carried over as Trei Cruz drove a solo shot to right center field in the bottom half of the inning. Austin Murr walked and reached third on Ben Malgeri’s infield single and an error. Stephen Scott singled in Murr, and Mendoza singled in Malgeri to make it 8-0 where it ended.

Lee: 2-5, 4 RBI, 2B, K

Workman: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB, K

Mendoza: 2-4, R, RBI, BB

Melton (W, 1-2): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K

Saturday’s game started with a pretty good pitching duel for five innings. Austin Bergner won out, and then the SeaWolves lit up the Flying Squirrels bullpen to cruise to their sixth straight victory.

Bergner was pretty great in this outing, striking out 11 hitters in five innings of two hit, one run ball. He gave up a single and a double to open the game, and was down 1-0 the rest of his outing. Bergner struck out five of the next hitters he faced and really throttled them the rest of the way.

The SeaWolves finally struck against the Squirrels Carson Ragsdale in the fifth. Trei Cruz crushed a solo shot to right to lead off the inning and tie the game. Two batters later, Chris Meyers followed suit to right field.

Carlos Mendoza remains a bit of a spark for the SeaWolves’ offense early in his Double-A career and would be called up to Toledo on Sunday. He dumped a pop up into left field in the sixth with one out. A wild pitch moved him to second. Another wild pitch walked Hao-Yu Lee and moved Mendoza to third. He then stole home. Trei Cruz doubled to center to score Lee, and it was 4-1 Erie.

Andrew Magno allowed a solo shot in the seventh but was otherwise really sharp for two innings of work.

Ben Malgeri homered after Chris Meyers was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the seventh. The SeaWolves did a nice job extending the inning. Stephen Scott singled and Gage Workman struck out for the first out of the inning. Mendoza doubled Scott to third, and Lee pulled a single through the left side of the infield. 7-2 Erie.

Trei Cruz lined a single to center in the eighth and eventually scored on a balk after a Meyers double moved him to third. RJ Petit allowed a run in the ninth, but this one was in the bag.

Mendoza: 2-4, R, 2B, 2 K, SB

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

Meyers: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, K

Malgeri: 1-2, R, 2 RBI, HR, 2 BB, K, CS

Bergner: 5.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 K

Despite the lack of Jackson Jobe, the great pitching continued for Erie on Sunday as they completed the sweep of the series over Richmond and ran their winning streak to seven games. Lael Lockhart pitched well again, and Hao-Yu Lee was the hero offensively.

Lockhart didn’t have the slider working in this one and only struck out two, but he also allowed just one hit and two walks, shutting out Richmond for five innings to drop his ERA to 1.93 on the young season.

Gage Workman got the scoring started with a leadoff single in the bottom of the third. He moved to second on a Trei Cruz ground out, and Hao-Yu Lee singled him home to make to 1-0. In the fifth, Lee blasted an opposite field solo shot for his second quadrangular of the year, and in the sixth the SeaWolves blew this one wide open.

Ben Malgeri led off with a single and Stephen Scott drew a walk. Austin Murr struck out, but Christian Molfetta was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Workman lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Malgeri and make it 3-0. Cruz then singled in Scott, and Lee stepped to the dish and crunched a three-run shot to left center for his second homer of the day.

The bullpen made easy work of the Squirrels the rest of the way.

Lee: 3-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR

Cruz: 2-4, R, RBI

Workman: 1-4, R, RBI, K

Lockhart (W, 2-2): 5.0 IP, 0 R, H, 2 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves are now 19-11 as they head out to Harrisburg to tangle with the Senators again. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday night, and a doubleheader is set for Tuesday to make up for an April 28th rainout.

Fort Wayne TinCaps 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 (Fri)(box)

West Michigan Whitecaps 4, Fort Wayne TinCaps 3 (Sat)(box)

Fort Wayne TinCaps 7, West Michigan Whitecaps 6 (Sun)(F/10)(box)

Friday’s matchup was a pretty tight game, but ultimately the Whitecaps’ bullpen cracked first.

The Whitecaps struck first with two outs in the bottom of the first. Max Anderson singled with two outs and Cole Turney drew a walk before Roberto Campos singled in Anderson. In the second, Josh Crouch reached on an error and Peyton Graham singled him home to make it 2-0.

Garrett Burhenn was rolling early on, but leaked three runs over the fourth and fifth innings. Campos evened things up when he smoked his second home run to left field to make it 3-3.

Conner Holden gave up two runs in the top of the ninth and the Whitecaps couldn’t match them.

Campos: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, 2 K

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

Burhenn: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 3 K

After Melton’s performance on Friday, Jaden Hamm followed suit on Saturday for the Whitecaps. The pitching prospects are rolling. Hamm dominated Fort Wayne for five innings in this one, and the bullpen just managed to hang onto the lead late.

The Whitecaps got on top quickly in this one. Seth Stephenson was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the first, and Max Anderson promptly homered to left to make it 2-0. That was Anderson’s third of the season. The Tigers 2023 second rounder hasn’t taken High-A by storm just yet, but he’s holding his own already in his first season of pro ball.

Hamm went out and tossed five more shutout innings to run his ERA to a clean 0.94 on the year. He’s struck out 38.6 percent of hitters he’s faced. In seven starts and 28 ²⁄₃ innings, he’s walked three hitters and allowed one home run. He’s still refining his breaking stuff, but the delivery, ride, velocity, and fastball command are way too much for High-A hitters right now. Look for him in Erie, PA before long.

The ‘Caps added a run in the fourth when Peyton Graham led off with a walk. Bennett Lee and Dom Johnson struck out, but Seth Stephenson and Max Anderson came through with singles to score Graham and make it 3-0.

The TinCaps got a run across against Cleiverth Perez in the sixth. Max Alba allowed two in the eighth and suddenly the game was tied. Danny Serretti led off the bottom half with a walk and Bennett Lee doubled him to third where he scored the eventual game winner on a Johnson ground out.

Matt Merrill struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth for his second save with the Whitecaps.

Anderson: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, HR

Turney: 1-3, BB, 2 K

Hamm: 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 6 K

On Sunday, the Whitecaps dropped one in 10 innings on Mother’s Day, still taking the series four games to two over the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Dylan Smith had quite the wild outing in this one. He allowed one hit and no runs over four innings of work, but he walked six along the way, striking out three.

The Whitecaps gave him a big lead to work with as they racked up four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Seth Stephenson was hit by a pitch to leadoff, and Max Anderson doubled him home. Luke Gold and Roberto Campos followed with doubles as well, and quickly in was 3-0. John Crouch singled in Campos to make it 4-0 before the inning ended.

They got another run in the second as Anderson doubled again and Gold followed with a single to move Anderson to third. Campos and Izaac Pacheco each drew a walk to force in the Whitecaps fifth run.

And then they went quiet. Smith walked two in the first, two in the third, and two in the fourth. He weaseled his way out of all that trouble. In the third, Ethan Salas lined into an unassisted double play by Luke Gold. In the fourth the walks came with two outs and Smith got a ground out to escape.

And so, it was 5-0 Whitecaps headed into the seventh. Erick Pinales gave up two runs in the seventh, and Zach Hess melted down for four runs in the eighth. The TinCaps held a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Luke Gold came through in the clutch with a solo shot to straightaway center field, his seventh round tripper of the season already.

That sent things to extras, but the TinCaps pushed the runner on second across, and the Whitecaps did not as Peyton Graham struck out, Danny Serretti lined out, and finally after a walk to Dom Johnson, Seth Stephenson pulled a liner to the third baseman to end it.

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

Campos: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, BB, K

Anderson: 2-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, K

Smith: 4.0 IP, 0 R, H, 6 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps climbed to 15-18 with the 4-2 series victory, but still languish in fourth place in the East division.

Daytona Tortugas 15, Lakeland Flying Tigers 4 (Fri)(box)

Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Daytona Tortugas 0 (Sat)(box)

Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Daytona Tortugas 4 (Sun)(box)

Zack Lee pitched well on Friday, and the Flying Tigers had the lead for most of this one, but the bullpen absolutely imploded as the Tortugas stopped Lakeland’s three-game streak in the series.

The Flying Tigers got on the board first in the top of the third. Jim Jarvis led off with a double and rode home on Alvaro Gonzalez’s first homer of the season. Kevin McGonigle followed with a single and later scored on a Josue Briceño single to make it 3-0.

Lee allowed runs in the bottom of the third and fourth, but in the top of the sixth, Brett Callahan singled with one out and eventually scored on a Cristian Santana sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

Quinn Gudaitis was then sorely rocked for five runs in the bottom of the sixth. The bullpen gave up eight in the bottom of the eighth courtesy of Garrett Hill and Luke Stofel. And that was that, as they say.

De La Cruz: 2-4, 2B, 2 K

Gonzalez: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K

Lee: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K

Andrew Sears pitched great on Saturday, and the bats had more than enough to take a 4-1 lead in the series. The right-hander spun five innings of one-hit, shutout ball, striking out nine to one walk. The offense had it from there.

The Flying Tigers struggled early, with the first 13 hitters going down in order before Jose De La Cruz singled with one out in the fifth. Jim Jarvis singled him to third and Samuel Gil walked. Archer Brookman then pulled a ground-rule double to left to score De La Cruz and Brookman. In the sixth, Kevin McGonigle led off with a triple and scored on a bliner from Max Clark that dropped into shallow center field.

Eiker Huizi and Donye Evans pitched well in the final two innings but this one was over. The Flying Tigers added three more runs in the top of the eighth. Brett Callahan singled with two outs and De La Cruz ripped a ground-rule double to left to get Callahan to third. Jim Jarvis walked to load the bases, and Samuel Gil sprayed a two-run single to right field. Brookman singled in Jarvis to make it 8-0 where it ended.

Brookman: 2-4, 3 RBI, 2B, K

McGonigle: 2-5, R, 3B

De La Cruz: 3-4, 2 R, 2B, K

Sears (W, 1-1): 5.0 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 9 K

On Sunday, the Flying Tigers rallied in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie and win the game, taking the series five games to one. In the process they ran their record to 22-11 tied for first place with the Clearwater Threshers in the West division.

The Tortugas got to Dugue Hebbert for three runs in this one, but he settled in well after a tough first inning, striking out seven in four innings of work with just one walk allowed. However, the Tortugas scored two in the first to take an early lead and it took the offense a little while to get anything going.

After 11 hitters went down in a row, Josue Briceño broke the spell with two outs in the fourth by drawing a walk. Jose De La Cruz, David Smith, and Samuel Gil followed with singles and it was 3-2 Lakeland.

Hebbert hit the first batter he faced in the bottom of the fifth and was lifted for Cam Brown. Brown allowed a run to score but shut down any further trouble. 3-3 game.

The two clubs traded runs in the sixth. Max Clark led off with a single and scored on a Briceño triple. Quinn Gudaitis allowed Daytona to tie things back up at 4-4.

Luke Stofel handled the seventh, and Thomas Bruss the eighth. In the top of the ninth, De La Cruz led off with a single. Gil and Jarvis followed with singles as well, scoring De La Cruz and getting Gil to third. A Cristian Santana sacrifice fly made it 6-4, and after Bruss collected an out but then walked the second hitter in the bottom of the ninth, Yosber Sanchez took over. He issued two walks and two wild pitches, but managed to close the deal anyway for his fourth save.

De La Cruz: 2-4, 2 R

Gil: 2-4, R, 2 RBI

Clark: 2-4, R

Briceño: 1-2, R, RBI, 3B, BB

Hebbert: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers welcome Fort Myers in for six starting Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET.