Omaha Storm Chasers 7, Toledo Mud Hens 6 (box)
Sawyer Gipson-Long got the start, and after a few false starts coming off the injury list, is at least working regularly back toward full strength. He wasn’t good in this one, however. He gave up three runs in two innings of work. Konnor Pilkington took over and gave up two more in the third before handling the fourth and fifth without issue.
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Jace Jung smacked a solo shot in the top of the second to get the Hens on the board. Corey Julks followed with a single and stole second base, scoring on a Cal Stevenson double. So it was 5-2 after four innings.
In the fifth, Eduardo Valencia and Jung led off with singles. Julks advanced them both with a ground out and Stevenson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Then Tyler Gentry was clipped by a pitch to force in a run. That was all they’d get as Andrew Navigato popped out and Luke Ritter struck out.
Tyler Mattison allowed a solo shot in the sixth to make it 6-3 Omaha. In the seventh, Jung walked and took second on a wild pitch. Gentry singled him in with two outs, and a Navigato doubled and then a Ritter single followed, scoring Gentry. So it was 6-5 Omaha, and in the eighth, Valencia, Jung, and Julks singled in a row to tie the game 6-6.
Tanner Rainey pitched a scoreless seventh, and Jack Little a scoreless eighth.
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So it was all tied up in the ninth. Ritter struck out in the top of the ninth, but Ben Malgeri reached on an error. Max Clark battled through an eight pitch AB but flew out to left. That left it up to Valencia as the Storm Chasers went back to the bullpen to bring in lefty, and former Tigers’ outfielder, Anthony Gose. Gose wild pitched Malgeri to second, but Valencia took a called strike three to send it to the bottom of the ninth still tied.
It didn’t take long for resolution. Little came out and in a 2-2 count, fired a fastball at the top of the zone. Kameron Misner cranked it to left for a walkoff home run.
Jung: 3-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2 BB
Valencia: 3-5, 2 R
Stevenson: 2-4, RBI, 2B, K
Gipson-Long: 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, K
Coming Up Next: The Mud Hens are now 21-21 on the year. They’ll start it up again on Friday at 8:05 p.m. ET.
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Erie SeaWolves 14, Richmond Flying Squirrels 7 (box)
Thayron Liranzo and Brett Callahan piiled up the RBIs in this one, while a solid start from Joe Miller got them deep into the game with a lead they would only expand in the middle and late innings. The SeaWolves move to an even 18-18 on the year.
Miller surrendered a run in the second inning and one in the fifth, but only one was earned. Meanwhile, the offense got rolling in the bottom of the second.
Izaac Pacheco walked with one out, and E.J. Exposito followed with a single. Aaron Antonini walked, and Callahan singled in two runs. Peyton Graham was hit by a pitch, and a wild pitch scored Antonini. Walk to Peck and Liranzo forced in another run, and Andrew Jenkins hit into a double play that scored Graham before the inning ended. 5-1 Erie.
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In the fourth, Peck singled and Liranzo walked, before Jenkins lined a single to left to load the bases. Pacheco singled in two runs to make it 7-1. An RBI single from Peck and then a sac fly from Liranzo made it 9-2 in the bottom of the fifth.
In the bottom of the seventh, Callahan and Graham walked with one out. Peck flew out, but Liranzo cranked his second home run, hitting right-handed, to make it 12-2. They would push across two more in the eighth.
Eric Silva gave the SeaWolves two scoreless innings of relief before John Stankiewicz gave up four runs, three earned acoress the eighth and ninth innings. Tyler Owens came on to finally shut the door.
Liranzo: 1-1, 2 R, 5 RBI, HR, 3 BB
Callahan: 1-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, K
Pacheco: 2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, K
Peck: 2-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 SB
Miller (W, 1-1): 5.0 IP, 2 R, ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Friday.
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Great Lakes Loons 3, West Michigan Whitecaps 2 (box)
The Whitecaps have now lost 16 of their last 17 games. Much like their parent club, a few injuries and a weak bullpen have been the biggest contributors to the losing stretch that has the Whitecaps 13-23 on the year.
Once again, starting pitching wasn’t the issue. Lucas Elissalt gave up one run in 4 2/3 innings of work. He wasn’t exactly crisp, as he got a little wild at one point and walked four, but he only allowed two hits while punching out four on the day.
The bullpen did a nice job as well. Thomas Bruss struck out three while collecting four outs after Elissalt was done. CJ Weins fired two perfect frames with four strikeouts.
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They just couldn’t score until the top of the ninth. Samuel Gil led off with a single, and took second on a passed ball. Bryce Rainer singled him in as the game tying run. Ethan Sloan handled the bottom of the ninth without issue.
In the 10th, a ground out from Juan Hernandez moved Cristian Santana to third, and he scored on an Andrew Sojka fly ball. That one run wasn’t enough, as Sloan surrendered two in the bottom of the 10th as Clearwater walked it off.
Gil: 1-4, R, K
Rainer: 1-4, RBI, 2 K, SB
Elissalt: 4.2 IP, ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Friday.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 8, Clearwater Threshers 0 (box)
Malachi Witherspoon blanked the Threshers while the offense bashed three home runs to win on Thursday. Lakeland moves to 21-15 on the year.
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Witherspoon was a buzzsaw in this one, though he didn’t pile up anything like his 10 strikeout performance last time out. He needed just 50 pitches to spin five scoreless innings, and he didn’t walk a batter. He allowed just two hits, striking out three.
Jude Warwick has suddenly started flashing some nice power, and the shortstop cranked his third home run of the year in the third for a 1-0 lead.
The Flying Tigers wouldn’t do a whole lot more at the plate until the late innings. In the seventh, Hunter Dobbins doubled with one out, and Newremberg Rondon cracked a two-run homer to make the lead 3-0. Edian Espinal hit a solo shot in the eighth, and the Flygers went on to tack on four more runs in the inning. The big blow was a two-run double from Jesus Pinto.
Jan Carabello struck out a pair in two scoreless innings of relief. Eliseo Mota and Pedro Garcia each spun a scoreless frame to close this one out.
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Espinal: 4-4, R, RBI, HR, BB, SB
Rondon: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, K
Osorio: 2-5, R
Witherspoon (W, 2-0): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Friday as the Flying Tigers look to make it four straight.
FCL Tigers 11, FCL Blue Jays 8 (box)
All the Tigers most notable hitting prospects at this level homered on Thursday. Cris Rodriguez, Ronald Ramirez, Angel de los Santos, and Steven Madero all went deep as the Tigers piled up 11 runs.
De Los Santos: 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3B, HR, 2 K
Ramirez: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, SB
Bushnell: 2.2 IP, 3 R, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, K
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