Iowa Cubs 8, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (box)
Jackson Wolf’s outing crumbled in the fourth as the Cubs roared back to win and even the series on Friday.
The left-hander was actually pitching well until he got into a jam in the top of the fourth. With runners on, Wolf failed to make a good throw on a comebacker, then hit a batter, then walked in a run. Tyler Mattison allowed two of Wolf’s runners to score as well. When the smoke cleared the Cubs had a five-run inning and the lead.
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That was unfortunate, because things were promising early on. Josue Briceño led off the bottom of the second with a single and took second on a Chris Meyers ground out. Cal Stevenson tripled him in, then scored on a Michael Siani sacrifice fly.
In the third, Wolf gave up a leadoff double, but he got a ground out and then Siani made a great catch and throw in to Bennett Lee at the plate to cut down the runner trying to tag and score from third. The defense couldn’t do much to help Wolf in the fourth.
So, it was 5-2 in the fifth when Mattison left the game with one on and one out. Hayden Minton, freshly converted to relief work, made his debut with a runner on base. Unfortunately he gave up a pair of singles that allowed the inherited runner to score. Minton did handle the sixth without any issues.
Andre Granillo wild pitched in a run in the seventh for a 7-2 Iowa lead. Siani singled and scored on a Justice Bigbie single in the ninth. Brenan Hanifee surrendered a run in relief before it was over.
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Cruz: 2-5, 2 K
Meyers: 1-3, 2B, BB, K
Stevenson: 1-3, R, RBI, 3B, BB, K
Wolf (L, 1-1): 3.2 IP, 5 R, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)
Max Alba threw a good game but the bats were pretty quiet in this one.
Alba went six innings with just one earned run allowed for his best start of the year. He struck out five and walked one, giving the SeaWolves every opportunity to win this one.
They did strike first in this one. Peyton Graham ripped a two-out double to left in the bottom of the first, and Thayron Liranzo nearly decapitated pitcher Johnny King with a screamer that clipped him in the ribcage as he ducked and then carried out into center field. A 1-0 lead was all they mustered there though, and Alba gave up the tying run in the fourth on a pair of doubles.
Moises Rodriguez coughed up three runs in the top of the ninth to lose this one. Woody Hadeen hit his first Double-A homer in the bottom of the ninth, but the solo shot didn’t spark any magic.
Hadeen: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, K
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Graham: 1-4, R, 2B, 2 K
Liranzo: 1-4, RBI, K
Alba: 6.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start with the series now tied up.
South Bend Cubs 7, West Michigan Whitecaps 5 (box)
JoJo Ingrassia struggled in his start and the bullpen didn’t do much better as South Bend evened up the series on Friday.
Ingrassia surrendered three runs in three innings of work, all of them in the bottom of the third inning. Preston Howey took over and gave up a run in the fourth before throwing a scoreless fifth. Ethan Sloan handled the sixth, and then the offense finally got something going in the top of the seventh.
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Cristian Santana started the inning with a single and rode home on Carson Rucker’s first High-A home run. Nolan McCarthy followed with a single, and with one out, Jackson Strong doubled him to third. Bryce Rainer was pitched carefully and walked. He would not extend his five-game homer streak, sadly. Beau Ankeney did lift a sacrifice fly to score a run and make it 4-3 South Bend.
Unfortunately, Sloan then gave up three runs in the bottom half, and the ‘Caps were right back where they started. In the top of the eighth they made another push, as Andrew Sojka led off with a single and stole second. Santana walked, and they pulled off a double steal. Rucker got Sojka home with a ground out, and McCarthy lifted a sacrifice fly to score Santana, but that made it 7-5 Cubs, and they wouldn’t get any closer.
McCarthy: 3-3, R, RBI, 2B
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Strong: 2-5, 2B, 2 K
Rainer: 1-2, 3 BB, SB, CS
Santana: 1-3, 2 R, BB, 2 K, SB
Ingrassia (L, 0-1): 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start in South Bend on Saturday, and this series is now also tied up at two games apiece.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, St. Lucie Mets 3 (box)
The Flying Tigers just keep rolling. They did a nice job taking advantage of seven walks while issuing just one free pass to make it four straight over the Mets.
Malachi Witherspoon got the start, and they kept it a short one though he and Michael Oliveto behind the dish worked well together. He blanked the Mets for three innings and threw 25 of 37 pitches for strikes. The right-hander allowed three hits, but zero walks! and struck out five. I’m not sure how to proceed with Witherspoon, but it’s his first year of pro ball, so probably they’ll keep him starting and try to get his mechanics into a more consistent place next year.
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Jude Warwick opened the scoring with a solo shot in the top of the second inning, his ninth of the season.
Javier Osorio followed with a walk and then moved to third on an Enderson Delgado double. Jordan Yost singled in Osorio and Oliveto singled in Delgado for an early 3-0 lead.
Lefty Carlos Rodriguez took over from Witherspoon in the fourth and collected two outs before the standard August in Florida rain delay. Xiomer Guacache took over when play did resume.
In the top of the fifth, Jesus Pinto walked and stole second with one out. He then took third as Zach MacDonald struck out, and Anibal Salas singled him home for a 4-0 lead.
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Guacache allowed a run in the bottom of the fifth and then a solo shot to start the bottom of the seventh. So it was 4-2 Lakeland. Jose Guzman then allowed a solo shot in the eighth to pull the Mets within one.
In the top of the ninth, the Flying Tigers were looking to restore some cushion. Pinto and MacDonald walked to lead off the inning, and a wild pitch let them both advance. Warwick hit one to second but it got booted, allowing Pinto to score. Osorio later lifted a sacrifice fly to score MacDonald for a 6-3 lead.
Guzman collected the save, his fifth on the year.
Pinto: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 SB
Oliveto: 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Salas: 2-5, RBI, 3 K
Delgado: 3-5, R, 2B, K
Witherspoon: 3.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:10 p.m. ET start in St. Lucie on Saturday as the Flying Tigers hunt for a sweep.
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