Iowa Cubs 7, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (Gm1)(F/7)(box)
The Hens swung the bats well in Game 1 but Dylan File took a beating from the Cubs. The right-hander gave up seven runs, six earned on 10 hits and a walk, with five strikeouts.
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Hao-Yu Lee opened the scoring in the top of the first with a two-run shot with Gage Workman aboard. The Cubs tied it up against File in the bottom of the first. Tyler Gentry’s solo shot in the second inning made it 3-2 Hens, but the Cubs tied it back up in the bottom half.
File lost it a bit in the bottom of the third, and the Cubs racked up four more runs to take a commanding lead. Eduardo Valencia launched a solo shot, his 12th homer, in the fourth to make it 7-3 Cubs. In the fifth, Workman doubled and scored on a Lee single to make it 7-5, but they couldn’t complete a comeback.
Lee: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 K
Anderson: 2-4
File (L, 4-2): 6.0 IP, 7 R, 6 ER, 10 H, BB, 5 K
Toledo Mud Hens 8, Iowa Cubs 1 (Gm2)(F/7)(box)
Excellent outings from Carl Edwards Jr. and Tyler Mattison locked down the Cubs, and the Hens built a lead and then erupted late to take Game 2 on Saturday.
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Ricky Vanasco was the opener, but he allowed a run in the first inning. Edwards Jr. took over, and after several pretty grim outings since the Tigers picked him up, the veteran right-hander blanked the Cubs for 3.1 innings, striking out seven without a walk allowed.
Edwards Jr. got whiffs on fastballs and curveballs, and particularly with a mid-80’s offering that was registering on Statcast as a fourseamer, but looked like a nascient cutter in development. Tyler Mattison took over to close out the fifth and then handled the sixth, striking out four with one hit allowed.
The Hens tied the game in the second inning when Hao-Yu Lee walked and scored on a Jace Jung double. In the fourth, Lee was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and both pitcher Vince Velasquez and Cubs’ manager Denver Dangerfield were ejected in a lengthy row. A batter’s interference call on Tyler Gentry to end the inning led to more frustration from the coaching staffs, and Hens’ manager Gary Jones was tossed out of the game on that one. Pitching coach Doug Bochtler took over the argument, and he got tossed out there as well. On a long hot day for the doubleheader, tensions were running high.
Back to baseball, as Cal Stevenson led off the fifth with a triple. Max Clark singled him in, and then in the top of the sixth, Workman and Lee both hit solo shots to make it 4-1 Hens. Three batters later, Gentry hit a homer with Jace Jung aboard, and Tomás Nido capped a big inning with a solo shot as the Hens batted around. 7-1 Hens. Gage Workman doubled, took second on a Lee single, and scored on a Trei Cruz sacrifice fly.
Lee: 2-2, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB
Workman: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, K
Jung: 1-3, R, RBI, 2B, BB, K
Edwards Jr. (W, 2-4): 3.1 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K
Coming Up Next: The Hens lead the series 4-1 heading into a 2:08 p.m. ET matchup on Sunday.
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Richmond Flying Squirrels 8, Erie SeaWolves 7 (box)
The Seawolves had this one in the bag until Wandisson Charles melted down late to blow a big lead.
Erie jumped all over the Squirrels in this one. Seth Stephenson led off the game with a walk and Peyton Graham drew a walk. John Peck doubled in Stephenson, and Brett Callahan drilled an opposite field, three-run shot to make it 4-0. Callahan’s 9th homer took him to a .n .877 OPS on the year. They weren’t done either, as Justice Bigbie singled and was wild pitched to second and then to third, scoring on a wild pickoff attempt. 5-0 SeaWolves.
On a bullpen day after Joe Miller left due to what looked like an arm injury after an inning, Johan Simon allowed a run in the second and then the third, but in the fourth, Stephenson led off with a single and stole second and third, scoring on a Peyton Graham single. 6-2 Erie.
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Tyler Owens tossed two scoreless innings of relief, and Luke Taggart and Trevin Michael gave them an inning of scoreless relief as well. In the eighth, Graham walked with two outs and scored on Peck single.
So it was 7-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Wandisson Charles then melted down to allow five runs. Infielder Andrew Jenkins took over with the SeaWolves out of arms, and he allowed a walk off double to Onil Perez to lose it.
Callahan: 3-5, R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR
Peck: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, BB
Graham: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
Charles: 1.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves need to bounce back and win on Sunday to split the series. First pitch is at 5:05 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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West Michigan Whitecaps 11, Dayton Dragons 3 (box)
The Whitecaps got a nice outing from Rayner Castillo and a nice offensive performance to win on Saturday to take a 3-2 lead in the series.
Castillo fired 4.2 innings of one-run ball, walking two against four strikeouts. He allowed a run in the second inning and then really settled in. It’s been a frustrating season so far for the young right-hander, so hopefully he can build on this one.
The offense got going early as Jackson Strong and Ricardo Hurtado singled in the first inning. Bryce Rainer lofted a sacrifice fly to score Strong for a 1-0 lead. Luke Shliger cracked a two-run shot with Clayton Campbell aboard for a 3-1 lead in the second inning.
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In the third, Hurtado walked, and Bryce Rainer singled him to third, then stole second base. Campbell was hit by a pitch, and Junior Tilien cleared the bases with a three-run double. 6-1 Whitecaps. Rainer singled in Strong in the fourth to make it 7-1.
In the fifth, they kept pouring it on. Shliger singled in Woody Hadeen, and later in the inning Strong cracked a three-run shot, his fourth of the year, to make it 11-1.
Jalen Evans allowed two late runs, but this one was in the bag already.
Rainer: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB
Strong: 2-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, 2 K
Tilien: 2-5, R, 3 RBI, 2B, K
Castillo: 4.2 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 2:00 p.m. ET matchup in Comstock Park with Tarik Skubal starting in his first rehab outing for the Whitecaps. One would think they’ll have a good chance to win the series. We’ll see how many pitches Skubal is allowed to throw.
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Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, 5, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (box)
Caleb Leys was knocked around a bit, while the offense struggled to get anything going on Saturday.
The southpaw allowed a run in the first, then two more in the fourth. He wasn’t hit that hard, but a pair of walks and a two-run shot allowed didn’t help his cause.
Eliseo Mota allowed a pair of runs in the sixth.
The offense managed just five hits in this one, and then couldn’t capitalize on its few opportunties.
Ankeney: 1-3, 2B, BB, K
Yost: 1-4
Leys (L, 0-3): 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: The Mussels are up 4-1 in the series, which concludes on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. ET.
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FCL Yankees 8, FCL Tigers 1 (box)
Owen Hall was charged with six runs in this one, but it wasn’t as bad as the statline. Hall was rocked in the first. He gave up a single, two doubles, and two walks before he was lifted due to pitch count per inning restrictions. Gabriel Rosado came on and immediately allowed a grand slam. Hall came back out to pitch the second, third, and first out of the fourth, allowing just one hit, while striking out three the rest of the way. Cris Rodriguez and Steven Madero each had a hit but it was a rough game for the Tigers’ offense.
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