Joey Pankake’s grand slam leads Flying Tigers to win

Toledo Mud Hens 8, Louisville Bats 5 (box)

The Mud Hens jumped out to an early lead, scoring six runs on seven hits off Louisville starter Stephen Johnson in just 2 1/3 innings before he departed. Casey McGehee led the way with four hits and a pair of runs scored, while Tyler Collins homered and drove in five runs. Starter Thad Weber wasn’t perfect, allowing four runs on nine hits in six innings, but the Toledo bullpen closed the door from there.

McGehee: 4-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, SO
Collins: 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 5 RBI
McVaney: 2-4, 2B, R, SO, SB
Weber (W): 6.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, BB, 3 SO

Coming up next: The Triple-A season is now in its All-Star break, so the Mud Hens are off for the next three days. The Triple-A All-Star Game will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Altoona Curve 7, Erie SeaWolves 3 (box)

Erie had a 3-0 lead after two innings and a 3-2 lead when starter Tommy Collier departed after the sixth, but their bullpen gave up five unanswered runs to seal the loss and the series sweep. Collier had a solid game, limiting the Curve to two runs on five hits. Reliever Austin Kubitza was nowhere near as sharp, walking four in just two-thirds of an inning when Altoona took the lead. Paul Voelker allowed three runs in the ninth inning, pushing his ERA up to 4.99 for the season. Corey Jones homered for the SeaWolves, his fifth of the season.

Jones: 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, SO
Krizan: 2-4, 2B, R
Greiner: 1-3, 3B, RBI
Collier: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 SO
Kubitza (L): 0.2 IP, H, 2 ER, 4 BB, SO

Coming up next: The SeaWolves are off for the next three days as well, having reached the Eastern League All-Star break. The All-Star Game will be played in Akron, Ohio on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 9, Palm Beach Cardinals 1 (box)

Michael Gerber and Joey Pankake homered for the Flying Tigers, who were able to score nine runs on just seven hits on Sunday. The Flygers also drew five walks on the afternoon, and were an efficient 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Their homers accounted for six of their nine runs, with Pankake’s being a grand slam (there’s a breakfast joke in there somewhere). Warwick Saupold worked three innings as part of a rehab assignment, and 2016 draftee Burris Warner earned the win with two innings pitched in relief.

Pankake: 1-3, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB
Gerber: 1-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
Presley: 1-3, 2 R, BB
Saupold: 3.0 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, SO

Coming up next: Lakeland’s Jeff Thompson (5-4, 3.48 ERA) will start on Monday as the Flying Tigers and Cardinals finish up their four-game series.

West Michigan Whitecaps 2, Fort Wayne TinCaps 1 (box)

Sandy Baez was brilliant, limiting the TinCaps to five hits and one run while striking out six in eight strong innings. The effort earned him his fifth win of the season, and the Whitecaps their 47th victory this year. The Whitecaps offense was able to string enough hits together to score a couple of runs; Will Allen and Arvicent Perez had the RBI. Adenson Verastegui pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season.

Laffita: 1-2, 2B, SB
Brown: 2-4, R, SB
Allen: 1-4, RBI
Hill: 0-4, SO
Baez (W): 8.0 IP, 5 H, ER, 6 SO

Coming up next: Toller Boardman (4-3, 1.85 ERA) will start for the Whitecaps on Monday against Padres top prospect Jacob Nix (1-4, 4.37 ERA) and the TinCaps.

Lowell Spinners 4, Connecticut Tigers 1 (box)

The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead off Lowell starter Josh Pennington, but that’s all the offense they would muster on the afternoon. The Spinners pulled ahead with a four-run fifth inning, all unearned runs against Connecticut starter Locke St. John. He struck out six in five innings, but suffered his second loss of the season. The Tigers offense only managed three hits, but walked seven times. Daniel Pinero, the Tigers’ ninth round pick in 2016, walked three times. Sixth round pick Bryan Garcia made his professional debut, throwing a scoreless inning.

Pinero: 0-1, R, 3 BB, SB
Bauml: 1-4, 2B, SO
Machonis: 1-3, BB
St. John: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R (0 ER), BB, 6 SO

Coming up next: Gregory Soto (0-0, 3.45 ERA) will start against Ronnie Williams (2-1, 2.96 ERA) of the State College Spikes on Monday as the two teams begin a series at Dodd Stadium.