Anthony Castro leads West Michigan Whitecaps to their 24th shutout

Buffalo Bisons 5, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)

Myles Jaye pitched a decent game on Friday, but faded late in his outing to surrender the lead. Bryan Holaday and Jeimer Candelario drove in the Hens’ two runs, but the offense was stymied by the Bisons’ bullpen. Blaine Hardy gave up a pair of runs in relief, and that was all she wrote.

Collins: 2-4

Holaday: 1-4, RBI, 2B

Jaye (L): 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 2 SO

Coming Up Next: Buck Farmer (6-4, 3.95 ERA) gets the start as the magic of Lego Weekend comes to Fifth Third Park.

Erie SeaWolves 4, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 3 (box)

Matt Hall miraculously held the Fisher Cats to three runs, two earned, in five innings of work. Hall walked six batters, allowed five hits, and struck out four. But the SeaWolves brought the thunder to get back into this one. Gabriel Quintana cracked his 19th and 20th homers of the season, while Steven Moya added a solo shot of his own. Quintana then drove in the go ahead run in the bottom of the ninth with a sac fly. Paul Voelker picked up his fifth save.

Quintana: 2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR

Castro: 2-3, 2B, BB, SO, SB

Hall: 5.0 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, HR, 6 BB, 4 SO

Coming Up Next: Saturday will see Beau Burrows (5-3, 4.85 ERA) looking to settle in at Double-A after a 10 strikeout performance his last time out. UPMC Park will also unleash the largest fireworks display in team history after the game.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 3, Clearwater Threshers 2 (box)

Spencer Turnbull’s comeback continued unabated on Friday. The big sinkerballer powered through eight innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on eight hits. Eduardo Jimenez picked up his third save with Lakeland. The Tigers scored all three runs in the third on an Ignacio Valdez two-run double. He then came home on a single off the bat of Jose Azocar.

Valdez: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 SO

Alcantara: 2-4, SO, CS

Turnbull (W): 8.0 IP, 2 R, ER, 8 H, HR, 5 SO

Coming Up Next: Sandy Baez (4-7, 4.32 ERA) gets the ball for Lakeland on Saturday.

West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Great Lakes Loons 0 (box)

The storm that is the West Michigan Whitecaps raged again on Friday. Starter Anthony Castro and reliever Trent Szkutnik dominated and sipped cool beverages between innings while their offense put together a ho-hum six run performance. Derek Hill tripled, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs. Danny Woodrow drove in three and scored a run. The end of the lineup got on base and the 1-2 hitters drove them in as the Whitecaps cruised to their Midwest League leading 34th win in the second half. They have just 12 losses and a .739 winning percentage. And the shutout marked the 24th time the Whitecaps’ pitching staff has shutout the opposing lineup, breaking a 43 year old Midwest League record. Fun times in Grand Rapids.

Hill: 1-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3B, BB

Woodrow: 2-4, R, 3 RBI, 2B

Castro (W): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 SO

Coming Up Next: Lefty Eudis Idrogo (6-4, 3.07 ERA) looks to extend the Whitecaps current winning streak to six on Saturday evening.

Connecticut Tigers 4, Batavia Muckdogs 3 (box)

Every season, there’s a minor league team name that slips my mind as being among my favorite. Until I’m reminded. So it is with the Batavia Muckdogs, who fell to Connecticut on Friday. The Tigers’ pitching was strong early, with Oswaldo Castillo pitching 3 ²⁄₃ innings to start. Jhonny Mateo got knocked around in the seventh, with some sloppy play contributing, and the Muckdogs scored three to take a 3-2 lead. The Tigers scored a run in the 8th and again in the 9th on a Will Savage RBI single to score Garrett McCain for the walkoff win.

Rosa: 3-4, 2 RBI

Warner: 2-3, R, 2B, BB

Castillo: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 SO

Coming Up Next: Ken Figueroa (1-1, 4.05 ERA) starts on Saturday, which is also Tigers T-shirt giveaway day. Enjoy.