Tigers prospect Kyle Funkhouser works 3 scoreless innings in Connecticut Tigers win

West Michigan Whitecaps 7, Kane County Cougars 6 (box)

The Whitecaps jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, then weathered a furious Kane County comeback attempt to pick up their ninth win of the second half. Jose Zambrano and Brett Pirtle hit home runs and drove in three for West Michigan, who racked up 15 hits on the evening. Arvicent Perez also had three hits for the Whitecaps, while Derek Hill reached base twice. Spenser Watkins got the win after striking out seven in five innings.

Pirtle: 3-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
Zambrano: 3-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
Perez: 3-4, 2 R
Hill: 2-5, RBI, SO
Watkins: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO

Coming up next: Eudis Idrogo (1-3, 6.75 ERA) will start for the Whitecaps against Kane County’s Carlos Hernandez (4-5, 2.77 ERA) as the two teams continue their three-game series.

Connecticut Tigers 4, State College Spikes 0 (box)

The Tigers were out-hit 8-7, but a home run from Blaise Salter helped them pick up their 17th win of the season. Salter had three hits and drove in all four Connecticut runs on the afternoon. The rest of the lineup combined for only four hits, but Will Savage and Sam Machonis both reached base twice atop the Tigers’ batting order. Starter Kyle Funkhouser had a solid game, holding the Spikes scoreless for three innings. Ryan Castellanos picked up the win in relief, working four scoreless frames.

Salter: 3-4, HR, R, 4 RBI
Machonis: 0-2, 2 R, 2 BB, SO
Funkhouser: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER
Castellanos (W): 4.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 SO

Coming up next: Alfred Gutierrez (1-2, 4.21 ERA) will start for the Tigers on Thursday as they kick off a three-game series with the Tri-City ValleyCats. The Tigers currently lead the New York-Penn League’s Stedler division by two games.

★★★

The Lakeland Flying Tigers saw their game against the Charlotte Stone Crabs postponed due to rain on Wednesday. The two teams will play a doubleheader at Charlotte Sports Park on Thursday starting at 5:05 p.m. ET. Trent Szkutnik (0-2, 7.36 ERA) will start the first game for Lakeland, and Tyler Alexander (6-6, 2.24 ERA) is scheduled to start the nightcap. The Flying Tigers are 5-12 in the second half and 7 1/2 games behind first-place Dunedin in the standings.

The Mud Hens and SeaWolves did not fare well in their respective All-Star Games on Wednesday. Casey McGehee and Chad Huffman both started for the International League in the Triple-A All-Star Game, but went a combined 0-for-4. Huffman struck out twice. The International League All-Stars won anyway, picking up a 4-2 win. Austin Pruitt got the win for the International League, and Ty Blach took the loss for the Pacific Coast League.

The Eastern League All-Star Game was even more damning for the Tigers farm system. Outfielder Jason Krizan went 0-for-4 atop the Western Division's lineup, while Connor Harrell and Corey Jones both went 0-for-2. The Eastern Division won handily, racking up 10 runs on 20 hits in a 10-2 blowout.