Erie SeaWolves tee off on former teammate Kyle Dowdy

Toledo Mud Hens: no game

The Hens had the day off on Monday and will open a three-game set in Louisville on Tuesday night with A.J. Ladwig (5-4, 6.39 ERA) on the bump. Ladwig was 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA and 40-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in seven starts down in Erie. Toledo enters the series 4 ¹⁄₂ games back of Indianapolis for the division lead and 3 ¹⁄₂ games back of Wild Card-leading Columbus.

Erie SeaWolves 11, Akron RubberDucks 5 (box)

Erie jumped out to an early 6-0 lead against their former mate, Kyle Dowdy, and never looked back. Josh Lester smashed a pair of home runs off Dowdy en route to a six-RBI night. Jake Rogers hit his team-leading 16th deep fly of the season in the second inning, and all nine SeaWolves starters tallied at least one hit. Spenser Watkins earned the win in his 2018 Double-A debut. Watkins worked around a pair of walks in each the third and fourth innings, and then was finally touched for a three-run homer in the fifth, his final inning. Erie put things away for good in the sixth with a four-run rally, jump-started by a Danny Woodrow lead-off home run.

The two teams will meet again Tuesday night, with Alfred Gutierrez (2-2, 4.73 ERA) scheduled to start for the SeaWolves.

Watkins: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO
Baez: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 SO
Lester: 3-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI
Rogers: 2-5, HR
Castro: 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 SO

Lakeland Flying Tigers: no game

Lakeland had an off-day on Monday. They return to action Tuesday night on the road in Daytona. Liarvis Breto (3-1, 2.17 ERA) is the probable starter.

West Michigan Whitecaps 3, Lake County Captains 1 (box)

It was a bittersweet night for the ‘Caps, as Elvin Rodriguez flipped five brilliant innings of shutout ball but then took a liner off the top of his foot and had to be carted off the field. Clate Schmidt came on and picked up right where Rodriguez left off, pitching three shutout innings in relief. Jordan Pearce broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a two-out RBI single that plated Brady Policelli. The 1-0 score would hold up until the ninth when Anthony Pereira singled in a run and Reece Hampton followed with a bases loaded walk. Lake County pushed across a harmless run in the ninth against Johan Belisario, but the Caps improve to 63-63 on the year, their first time at .500 since July 30th.

Rodriguez was taken to a local hospital for x-rays and the extent of his injury has not yet been reported. Jesus Rodriguez (5-7, 4.75 ERA) will be on the hill tonight, as the Caps return home to face the Dayton Dragons on Dime Dog Night at Fifth Third Ballpark.

Rodriguez: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 6 SO
Schmidt: 3 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, 5 SO
Pearce: 3-4, 2B, R, RBI
Perez: 1-5, 3B

Hudson Valley Renegades 3, Connecticut Tigers 1 (box)

Connecticut’s bats were silenced yet again, and the bullpen couldn’t hold down a 1-0 lead in the late innings. Adam Wolf and Juan Aguilera held the Renegades scoreless through six. A Jeremiah Burks RBI single broke the scoreless tie in the bottom half of the sixth. Converted catcher Arvicent Perez was touched for a pair of runs in the seventh and Connecticut’s offense had no answers in the final three innings, mustering just a one-out walk in the ninth. The Tigers have dropped four straight and six out of seven heading into tonight’s contest with Hudson Valley.

Wolf: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 2 SO
Aguilera: 2.2 IP, H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO
Burks: 2-3, RBI, BB