Beau Brieske got the start in this one as his rehab progression advanced to Triple-A. He gave up a run in the first, but tossed a clean second inning. Brieske averaged 95.9 mph on his fourseamer, and mixed in some good changeups in his outing. He looks fairly close to rejoining the Tigers.
Will Vest blessedly has avoided a tendon or ligament injury and is working his way back as well. He tossed a scoreless third inning. averaging 95.8 mph with his fourseamer. Vest struck out one in a perfect inning of work, but may need another outing before rejoining the Tigers’ pen.
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In the top of the second, Corey Julks singled and later scored on a Tyler Gentry single to even things at 1-1. That’s how it stayed until the fifth, when Max Clark reached on an infield single and Eduardo Valencia mashed a two-run shot to left center field.
Troy Watson took over after the rehab work was done, allowing one run in five innings of work. Matt Seelinger handled the ninth, looking for a save. He got Josh Rojas to fly out, but allowed a single to John Rave. That brought the dangerous Kameron Misner to the dish. Seelinger carved him up with cutters for a strikeout, and then blew Drew Waters away with a good fastball to earn the save.
Valencia: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR
Clark: 1-4, R
Watson (W, 1-0): 5.0 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 0 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 8:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday with the series all tied up.
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Erie SeaWolves 8, Richmond Flying Squirrels 6 (box)
The SeaWolves were down early in this one, but another Thayron Liranzo blast got them back into the game and they held off the Squirrels on Friday.
Max Alba made a spot start, and it didn’t go too well. The right-hander allowed three runs in the second inning. He did settle in to pitch in the fifth without more trouble.
In the bottom of the third, catcher Bennett Lee doubled with one out, and took third on a wild pitch. Brett Callahan and Peyton Graham didn’t press in their at-bats, and both walked to load the bases. A sacrifice fly from John Peck scored Lee. Liranzo stepped in against lefty Cesar Perdomo, and for the second day in a row crushed a right-handed homer, this time a three-run job to left, seizing a 4-3 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Callahan reached on a fielder’s choice, and Graham singled him to third. Another Peck sacrifice fly made it 5-3. In the bottom of the sixth, Richmond’s Will Bednar walked four straight hitters and Bennett Lee smoked a two-run double to make it 8-3.
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Wandisson Charles leaked a late run, and Tanner Kohlhepp surrendered two more, but they held on to win.
Liranzo: 1-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, K
Graham: 3-3, R, BB, SB, CS
Lee: 2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, BB, K
Alba: 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 1:35 p.m. ET start on Saturday with the series tied up at two apiece.
Great Lakes Loons 9, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 (box)
The crumbling Whitecaps are now 1-17 in their last 18 games.
Junior Tilien singled in Luke Shilger for a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but that was the last the Whitecaps would see of the lead. Unfortunately, Carlos Marcano is still stretching out after a late start to the season. He gave the Whitecaps two scoreless frames before turning things over to Duque Hebbert. Things went straight downhill as Hebbert allowed six earned runs across the third and fourth innings.
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In the sixth, Clayton Campbell drew a leadoff walk, and Jackson Strong launched a two-run homer that made it 6-3 Loons. Outfielder Caleb Shpur pitched the eighth as the ‘Caps waived the white flag, allowing three runs.
The Whitecaps are struggling with injuries like the parent club, but even getting Ben Jacobs up from Lakeland and into the rotation hasn’t done much for them. Malachi Witherspoon isn’t far from joining them, and there may be a few more young arms working their way up shortly, but there’s no telling when the Whitecaps will get some of their veteran hitters back.
Strong: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB, 2 K
Tilien: 3-3, RBI, BB
Marcano: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Saturday.
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Clearwater Threshers 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 2 (box)
Kelvis Salcedo’s start was a short one after a long second inning that saw him lifted due to pitch count per inning restrictions.
In the top of the second, Edian Espinal singled, and Carson Rucker doubled Espinal to third. A Javier Osorio sacrifice fly brought the run home. Unfortunately, after striking out the side in the first, and two more in the second along with two singles and an error that scored a run, Salcedo suddenly lost control and walked back-to-back hitters before surrendering a two-run double and exiting the game.
Yendy Gomez gave up two more runs in the sixth, and it was a 5-1 game. A pair of a walks and a sacrifice fly from Jack Goodman made it 5-2, but the bullpen allowed another run in the bottom half, and the Flying Tigers couldn’t muster a comeback.
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Espinal: 2-3, R, BB
Yost: 1-4, 2B, 3 K
Salcedo: 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start with the Flying Tigers up 3-1 in the series.
FCL Blue Jays 4, FCL Tigers 3 (box)
LHP Andrew Sears, our 11th ranked prospect for the Tigers in the preseason, and currently 9th for MLB Pipeline, emerged from injury blackout to spin a pair of perfect innings with four strikeouts in his first rehab assignment. He’ll need plenty of time to build himself up, but the hope is to return to Erie by early June. If he can get back and get it going, he’s a solid bet to help the Tigers out in the second half.
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De Los Santos: 1-4, R, CS
Rodriguez: 1-3, RBI, BB, K
Sears: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K
