Tigers prospect Miles Jaye strikes out 11 in SeaWolves victory

Columbus Clippers 3, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)

Starter Matt Crouse was erratic, allowing six hits and four walks in just 4 1/3 innings of work on Saturday. He gave up three runs, and thanks to a Mud Hens offense that managed just six hits of their own, suffered his fourth loss of the season. The Hens bullpen combined to allow just one hit over the final 5 1/3 innings, but Toledo’s toothless offense couldn’t knot the score in the later innings. Jeff McVaney had two hits, and Casey McGehee doubled and drove in a run. Newly signed outfielder Alex Presley singled and scored a run; he is 3-for-11 so far with the Mud Hens.

McVaney: 2-4, 2 SO
McGehee: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 SO
Presley: 1-4, R
Machado: 0-3, RBI
Crouse (L): 4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO

Coming up next: Thad Weber (7-8, 3.77 ERA) and the Mud Hens will try to force a split of their four game series on Sunday against Cody Anderson (0-2, 4.32 ERA) and the Clippers.

Erie SeaWolves 1, Akron RubberDucks 0 (box)

Miles Jaye had his best outing of the season for Erie, working 8 1/3 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in a narrow win over the RubberDucks, the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Jaye limited Akron to just two hits and did not walk a batter, and was pulled after allowing a baserunner with one out in the ninth inning after 98 pitches. Closer Joe Jimenez induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat, notching his ninth save at the Double-A level. The SeaWolves managed seven hits on the game, but Wynton Bernard’s solo home run in the top of the fourth was their only source of offense.

Bernard: 2-4, HR, R, RBI, SO
Bortnick: 2-4
Ficociello: 1-3, 2 SO
Jaye (W): 8.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 11 SO

Coming up next: The SeaWolves and RubberDucks will finish up their four-game series on Sunday. Nick Pasquale (1-2, 3.38 ERA) will start for Akron.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 10, Lakeland Flying Tigers 9 (F/8) (box)

Warwick Saupold allowed four unearned runs in 2 2/3 innings in his second rehab start with the Flying Tigers, coughing up most of an early 6-0 lead provided by the Lakeland offense. The Stone Crabs would eventually battle back and tie the score off Burris Warner and Gerson Moreno in the sixth, then scored a run in the eighth to clinch the win. Christin Stewart had two hits and drove in four runs for the Flygers, who only managed one extra base hit in the game. The game was the first of a scheduled doubleheader between the two clubs, but the nightcap was rained out.

Stewart: 2-4, R, 4 RBI
Verlander: 2-4, RBI, SO
Simcox: 2-4, 2B, 2 R, BB
Gerber: 1-5, 2 R, 2 SO, SB
Saupold: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R (0 ER), 3 BB

Coming up next: A.J. Ladwig (9-6, 3.66 ERA) will start for the Flying Tigers today as they kick off a series against the Fort Myers Miracle. Fernando Romero (1-1, 2.35 ERA) will start for Fort Myers.

Clinton LumberKings 4, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 (F/11) (box)

The Whitecaps scored two runs in the top of the third inning and stretched their lead to 3-0 in the sixth, but Clinton’s Dalton Kelly tied the game with a three-run homer off a tiring Fernando Perez in the bottom of the sixth. Five innings later, the LumberKings broke through with a walk-off RBI single to win the series opener. Perez allowed three runs on six hits for the Whitecaps, and reliever Jordan Smith was saddled with the loss, his sixth of the season. Will Allen had three hits and an RBI for West Michigan. Cam Gibson also reached base three times and had the team’s only extra base hit, a double in the third inning.

Allen: 3-5, RBI, SO
Maddox: 2-4, R, BB, SO, SB
Gibson: 2-3, 2B, R, BB
Perez: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO

Coming up next: Kyle Dowdy (6-1, 2.66 ERA) will start for the Whitecaps on Sunday as they continue their series against the LumberKings. Joey Strain (3-2, 3.53 ERA) will start for Clinton.

Connecticut Tigers 4, Tri-City ValleyCats 3 (box)

Cole Bauml hit a bases-loaded RBI single in the top of the ninth to cap off a comeback win for the Tigers on Saturday. The Tigers fell behind early, as starter Gregory Soto allowed two runs in just 1 2/3 innings of work (he threw 65 pitches in that time). After Oswaldo Castillo allowed a run in the fourth, the Connecticut bullpen clamped down, keeping Tri-City scoreless for the rest of the game. Recent draftees Bryan Garcia and Mark Ecker combined for five strikeouts in 3 2/3 scoreless innings, and Ecker picked up the win after Connecticut took the lead.

Bauml: 1-4, 2 RBI, BB
Lester: 1-4, 2B, R
Savage: 1-3, R, 2 BB, SB
Soto: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, SO
Ecker (W): 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 SO

Coming up next: Austin Sodders (0-1, 1.59 ERA) will start for the Tigers against 2016 No. 6 overall pick A.J. Puk (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and the Vermont Lake Monsters on Sunday.