Rochester Red Wings 10, Toledo Mud Hens 9 (box)
More than half of the 19 runs scored between Rochester and Toledo came in the final two innings. Both teams put up a four-spot in the eighth, and Yohandy Morales walked it off for the Red Wings in the ninth.
Matt Seelinger took the loss and a blown save on one swing, but much of the defeat lies on Chase Lee’s shoulders. Lee came in for a 1-2-3 seventh, but completely melted down in the eighth, after getting a 5-run cushion. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Nick Schnell with no outs. He didn’t get enough of it to go over the fence, but the ball sailed over the head of Akil Baddoo and sliced toward left-center.
Schnell’s bases-clearing triple was the momentum shifter, and Rochester easily chipped away at Seelinger after Toledo made the pitching change. Somehow, Lee walks with a hold in all this, which feels undeserved.
Nick Margevicius was the starter for Toledo. He gave up four earned runs over as many innings on six hits. His first three innings were fine, even though he gave up a pair of home runs, but Rochester started hitting him consistently in the fourth. A leadoff double and two singles brought the other two runs around.
Toledo outhit Rochester for most of the game, though. The Hens jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, scoring in each of the first three innings. Max Anderson doubled in Baddoo and Trei Cruz — both walked — in the opening frame, Brian Serven got one by first base to bring in Andrew Navigato (walk) in the second and Eduardo Valencia brought in Jace Jung (single) in the third.
Serven’s base knock could have brought in two had Gage Workman successfully stolen third base after doubling to lead off the inning. In hindsight, the decision to run looks much worse than it really was. Toledo was up 2-1 with no outs early, and some aggression can put pressure on the team trailing. Still, it would have been nice to have that run when Morales went deep.
Baddoo hit a solo home run in the sixth, and Anderson hit a three-run shot in the eighth. Jung also drove in a run during the big inning.
Bailey Horn was the only member of Toledo’s pitching staff who kept the Red Wings off the board. He gave up one hit in two innings of relief.
Anderson: 2-4, 2B (3), HR (3), 1 R, 5 RBI
Jung: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Margevicius: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K; 71 pitches (50 strikes)
Erie SeaWolves 6, Harrisburg 2 (box)
Max Clark returned to action after leaving Tuesday’s game with some discomfort in his hands. The non-contact nature of the injury had some speculating a potential hamate problem, but it appears Detroit’s No. 2 prospect has avoided the worst of it.
Clark could be playing through a minor injury, but he looked just fine at the plate in Erie’s 6-2 win on Tuesday. He crushed a 2-run homer over the wall in right field in the fourth inning, extending the SeaWolves’ lead to four runs. He also scored a run in the first inning after a leadoff walk, grounded out on a bunt attempt and flied out deep to right.
Justice Bigbie drove Clark in with a sacrifice fly, and John Peck poked a single through the right side to score Thayron Liranzo in the 2-run opening frame. It could have been an even bigger inning, but Jake Holton was doubled up at second base on the sac fly from Bigbie. Harrisburg didn’t even try to get Clark on the tag.
Bigbie traded another out for an RBI in the third, and Seth Stephenson doubled in the final SeaWolves run of the night in the seventh. Stephenson actually didn’t get the RBI because an error allowed Carlos Mendoza to score. Ten hits on the day is never bad, but you’d like more than one in 11 opportunities with runners in scoring position.
Kenny Serwa had the worst outing of his career last week against Chesapeake, and he didn’t exactly rebound against Harrisburg. Instead of giving up 14 hits and nine runs, Serwa walked five, including six consecutive balls to start the game.
He settled in through the second but didn’t make it through the third. Serwa found the backstop several times. The umpire missed an important call before the snowball started downhill, calling a foul tip while Eliezer Alfonzo argued that the batter swung through. A replay suggests Alfonzo is correct, but the call stood and the batter ended up walking. Serwa just doesn’t have it right now and is clearly frustrated, but he’s bounced back from command issues before.
Austin Bergner replaced Serwa and immediately walked a batter on four pitches. It was smooth sailing after that, though. He got out of the third without letting the inherited runners score and held the Senators hitless through the fifth. He earned his seventh win of the season.
Duque Hebbert recorded a two-inning hold, and Blair Calvo also recorded his first Double-A hold in the eighth. Fun fact: Calvo has pitched at all five levels of Detroit’s minor league teams, even the FCL club. Too bad he couldn’t take a trip to the Dominican Republic for a game with the DSL squads. Calvo gave up a run, but Erie has a big cushion by that point
Yosber Sanchez had to work around a pair of two-out base hits before closing it out.
Clark: 1-3, HR (5), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Liranzo: 2-5, 2B (13), 1 R, 1 K
Serwa: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K; 76 pitches (41 strikes)
(F/10) West Michigan Whitecaps 3, Lansing Lugnuts 2 (box)
The West Michigan Whitecaps remain the winningest team in baseball with victory No. 82 on the year, courtesy of a walkoff sacrifice fly from Peyton Graham.
Both teams enjoyed strong pitching and defense throughout the game, except for the top of the ninth when West Michigan blew a one-run lead. It all worked out in the end, but an errant pickoff throw extended this game beyond what it needed to be.
Joe Miller continued a strong August with five innings of 1-run work agaisnt Lansing. Miller now boasts a 1.42 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over 19 innings this month, striking out 15 to three walks. After working around a double and a walk in the first, Miller went 1-2-3 in the second.
He ran into trouble again in the third, giving up the lone run on his final line. Ben Newton tripled down the third base line, and TJ Schofield-Sam lined one softly into shallow center for the RBI.
Several bloops found the grass in this one, the most interesting coming in the fourth, when Ali Camarillo singled into right field. With right fielder Brett Callahan and the rest of the outfield slightly shifted toward left, Camarillo’s ball dropped within two feet of the foul line and about halfway between the infield cut and the right field wall.
First baseman Andrew Jenkins nearly chased it down, but the ball was just out of reach. Callahan quickly fired it over to second to catch the runner trying to stretch out a double, though, so everything worked out. Jenkins was involved in another notable defensive play in the third, when he collided with a Lansing baserunner as they both tagged first base. Jenkins got the out and checked on the runner after.
Miller ended his outing with a 1-4-3 double play in the fifth.
It took some time for the offense to get going. Jenkins left Peyton Graham stranded at second in the first, after a one-out single up the middle. Graham took a jammer up the middle and beat out the throw. He stole second after a series of foul balls and pickoff attempts.
Both Woody Hadeen and Patrick Lee reached scoring position in the second. Hadeen walked, and Lee blooped one into right. Lee also got his 23rd stolen base of the year. Archer Brookman left both stranded with a liner directly at the left fielder.
Lansing’s pitching staff settled in, retiring nine of the next 10 batters, with some help from the defense — diving catches and the like. Austin Murr’s one-out double is the only other hit until the sixth.
West Michigan finally got on the board in the sixth on a Jenkins single. Graham (hit by pitch) scored the run, and Izaac Pacheco (walk) moved to third with the game now tied. Murr couldn’t bring him in, but Callahan got the job done with a sacrifice fly to dead center.
Haden Erbe, Woo-Suk Go and Dariel Fregio all held the 2-1 score over the next three innings. Go and Fregio worked around baserunners, but Erbe got through the sixth with eight pitches, erasing a leadoff walk with a double play.
Things went bad went Fregio returned for the ninth. He struck out the first two batters quickly, and even got down to the last strike, but a two-out walk got the ball rolling. Fregio threw the ball away, trying to pick off the runner and moving him into scoring position. Cameron Leary tied the game up with a pinch-hit single, and a scoreless bottom of the ninth means extra innings!
Lansing made a mistake on the bases in the 10th, running into an out at third base on a grounder hit to the left side. Patrick Lee nearly did the same thing for West Michigan, but he slid around the tag, setting up the walkoff.
Miller: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K; 76 pitches (49 strikes)
Lakeland Flying Tigers 3, Dunedin Blue Jays 1 (box)
Lakeland’s pitching staff was lights out against Dunedin in a 3-1 win, where the Blue Jays only had two hits.
Unfortunately, one of those hits was a home run, ruining the shutout, but it’s still a great day for the staff. Dylan Smith made his first rehab start, tossing a scoreless first inning. His fastball velocity was lacking but that’s not unexpected in his first appearance.
Fast rising prospect Kelvis Salcedo took over in the second inning and was again pretty impressive. The 19-year-old right-hander looked great for 4 2/3 innings. He scattered a single and two walks, topping out at 97.4 mph while piling up 13 whiffs spread between his fourseam, sinker, cutter, and changeup. All was well until a solo shot by Jake Casey ended Salcedo’s outing. He struck out five, walked two, and allowed just two hits.
The Flying Tigers put the first run of the game on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Sergio Tapia led off with a single and with two outs, scored on a Nick Dumesnil double. So it was 1-1 when Salcedo departed in favor of Andrew Pogue who cleaned up the sixth inning.
Carson Rucker walked to start the bottom half and Ricardo Hurtado singled him to second. A walk drawn by Junior Tilien loaded the bases, and Cristian Santana flared a two-run single to center field. The offense never threatened again, but Pogue, Pedro Garcia, and Logan Berrier were all good in relief to smother any hope for the Blue Jays.
Dumesnil: 2-4, 2B, RBI, K, SB
Salcedo: 4.2 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K