St. Paul Saints 8, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (box)
Sawyer Gipson-Long was mauled again, and the Hens couldn’t get much going offensively on Tuesday.
Gipson-Long surrendered three homers in this one, and gave up four runs in the bottom of the first. The first season after Tommy John can be tough, but it’s hard to believe the right-hander is going to hang onto a 40-man roster spot much longer.
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In the third, Seby Zavala drew a leadoff walk. A Max Burt double got him to third, and a Cal Stevenson ground out scored him to make it a 4-1 game.
In the fourth, Max Anderson led off with a double and moved to third on a John Peck single in his first game back off a rehab stint. Peck drew an errant pickoff throw and Anderson scored, but that’s all they’d get. Gipson-Long gave up a solo shot in the fourth to make it a 5-2 game.
In the top of the seventh, the Hens closed the gap when Josue Briceño singled off the wall in right with two outs and Peck smoked an opposite field double to move him to third. Good to have Peck back. He’s going to be a factor in 2027. A wild pitch scored Briceño, but again they couldn’t sustain a rally.
Hayden Minton’s second outing as a reliever went poorly, as he surrendered two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Jack Little gave up a run in the eighth with help of a passed ball on Zavala, and that was that.
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Peck: 2-3, 2B, K
Anderson: 2-5, R, 2B, K
Gipson-Long (L, 2-6): 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s an 8:07 p.m.. ET start, because why be normal, in St. Paul on Wednesday.
Altoona Curve 7, Erie SeaWolves 6 (box)
Zyhir Hope hit an absolute nuke in this one, while Peyton Graham set a new single season stolen base record for Erie as he stole his 59th and 60th bases of the season. However, the pitching staff let them down late as the Curve walked this one off.
Woody Hadeen opened the game by drawing a walk and stealing second. Thayron Liranzo singled him in and took second on the play. Peyton Graham lined out, but E.J. Exposito singled him in for a 2-0 lead.
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Carlos Peña got the start, and the lefty surrendered a solo shot in the bottom of the first, and then three runs in the second.
Hope got a run back with a moonshot over the batter’s eye in center field to open the third inning. Liranzo followed with a single but was stranded. Peña allowed one more run in the bottom of the fifth before his outing ended, and it was 5-2 Altoona.
In the top of the sixth, Roberto Campos singled with two outs and rode home on Seth Stephenson’s second homer of the year to tie the game.
In the top of the ninth, the SeaWolves seized control. Hadeen and Hope singled, and a sacrifice fly from Liranzo plated the go-ahead run. Unfortunately Graham struck out and Exposito popped out to end the inning.
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Zane Barnhart entered the game, replacing Moises Rodriguez, and looking for the save. He got two quick outs, and then walked to hitters and gave up a single that tied the game, and Easton Carmichael stepped to the plate and lined a single to left to walk it off.
Hope: 2-5, R, RBI, HR, K
Liranzo: 2-4, R, 2 RBI
Hadeen: 2-4, 2 R, BB, 2 SB
Graham: 1-5, K, 2 SB
Pena: 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:00 p.m. ET start on Wednesday.
Peoria Chiefs 2, West Michigan Whitecaps 0 (box)
Rayner Castillo threw another good game and then just ran out of gas at the end of his outing, but it mattered little as the Whitecaps were held to just two hits.
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Castillo punched out nine last time out and is really coming on strong late in the season as his breaking balls and changeup have been much sharper. The easy mid-90’s gas on the big right-hander’s sinker continues to be a little scarce compared to late 2024 and early 2025, but at least he’s finishing the season strong.
He cruised through five innings, before issuing a one-out walk in the sixth as he topped 80 pitches. A double followed to score the run, and a Samuel Gil error allowed the runner to take third. Logan Berrier took over and immediately gave up the RBI single. Beyond that, the ‘Caps bullpen was nails.
Doubles from Beau Ankeney and Cristian Santana were the Whitecaps only hits, and after leaving between the eighth and ninth innings of Sunday’s game, Bryce Rainer wasn’t in the lineup. Nothing really seemed amiss when he came out of the game, so I doubt it’s anything serious but we’ll have to wait and see.
Santana: 1-3, 2B
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Strong: 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K, SB
Ankeney: 1-4 , 2B, K
Castillo (L, 2-10): 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Wednesday night.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Clearwater Threshers 5 (box)
Caleb Leys struggled in his start, but the kids brought their hitting shoes and some serious pop to take the first of six in Lakeland on Tuesday.
The Flying Tigers had the lead early when Jordan Yost led off the bottom of the first with a single and then stole second base. Tigers 2026 second rounder Tyson LeBlanc was the DH in this one for his first pro at-bat and he grounded out. Jesus Pinto came through with a single to get Yost to third, and he scored on a grounder from Angel de los Santos that went for an error. Cris Rodriguez’s first A-ball at-bat did not go well either, as the center fielder grounded into a double play to end the inning.
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Leys dug himself into a hole in the second, and a two-out error from Yost contributed as the Threshers came back with three runs. Leys bounced back with a better third inning, although a foul ball down the first base line was close enough to really irritated the Threshers, with an ejection of the manager to follow. LeBlanc spanked a single up the middle for his first pro hit in the bottom half, although that went nowhere. Leys was wild in the fourth and again dug himself a deep hole and couldn’t escape, while another error, this one from De Los Santos at second didn’t help the cause.
So it was 5-1 Clearwater, but at that point the Flygers pulled it together and began the comeback. In the fifth, Pinto singled but was forced on a De Los Santos grounder. That worked, as Rodriguez hammered a 423 foot shot to right center field for his first home run in full season ball.
Rodriguez’s strikeout rate in the Complex League really put me off my feed as far as his future. There aren’t any examples of players striking out 30 percent of the time against that level of competition and succeeding, even at age 18. But we’ll see if he can make signficant progress next year or not before getting too down on his chances.
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In the sixth, Brady Ballinger doubled, and Javier Osorio blasted a 109 mph shot to left to tie the game. Between Pinto, De Los Santos, Anibal Salas, and Osorio, the Tigers have a really talented, athletic group down there alongside the better known names like Yost, Michael Oliveto, whose bat looks outstanding btw, and Rodriguez.
Frenny Grant, Jose Guzman, and Pedro Garcia did great work out of the pen to smother the Threshers offense. Finally, in the bottom of the eighth, Yost walked, and singles from Salas and Pinto plated the go-ahead run. Garcia locked it down to earn the victory.
Osorio: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR
Pinto: 4-4, BB
Yost: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K, SB
Leys: 3.1 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Wednesday night.
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