Durham Bulls 7, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box)
Sloppy defense and a spotty effort from the Hens’ bullpen doomed the Hens in this one. Gregory Soto got the spot start and was alright until a hit by pitch and a Dustin Peterson throwing error helped the Bulls to a two-run inning. Eduardo Jimenez allowed a run in the fifth, and then Hall was burned by a Willi Castro throwing error on a play that would’ve ended the inning. The Bulls cracked three straight singles to make it 5-1, and the Hens never got back into the game. JaCoby Jones had two hits, including the Hens’ only RBI in this one.
Jones: 2-3, RBI ERA
Kozma: 1-3, 2B, R, SO
Soto (L, 0-3): 3.0 IP, 2 R, ER, 3 H, BB, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: The two clubs meet up again on Wednesday night at 7:05pm ET.
Erie SeaWolves 5, Akron RubberDucks 3 (box)
Matt Manning struggled a bit with his command, and with some clear mistakes from the home plate umpire, but the offense picked him up. Manning went five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with two walks against five strikeouts. There were quite a few long at-bats against Manning as he struggled with his secondaries, but there were also several close pitches with two strikes that weren’t called. Still, Manning didn’t have much beyond his fastball to turn to, which has been the trend for him over the last month. Josh Lester got the Hens on the board with a solo shot in the second inning. They came back to score three more in the bottom of the fifth to build a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Paredes: 2-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, SO
Azocar: 2-4, RBI
Lester: 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB
Manning (W, 7-4): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: Tarik Skubal (0-1, 0.90 ERA) gets the start against the RubberDucks on Wednesday at 12:05pm ET.
Update: Per Emily Waldon of The Athletic, Skubal’s start has been pushed back a day. Kyle Funkhouser will go for the SeaWolves on Wednesday night.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 8, Dunedin Blue Jays 4 (Gm 1)(F/7)(box)
Casey Mize looked rusty in the first inning of his second rehab outing, but settled everyone’s fears by cruising for three more innings. Mize allowed two runs in a lengthy first inning, but faced the minimum the rest of the way, throwing 73 pitches in total. He should be close to a return to Erie, if not a promotion to Toledo.
Lakeland got on the board first with a Brock Deatherage home run to lead off the game. Brady Policelli hit his 10th homer of the year in the fourth, and the Flygers added two more runs in the inning. They scored three more in the fifth, with a Kody Clemens two-run double landing the big blow of the inning. Sandy Baez allowed a pair of runs in his return to action, but the Flying Tigers had the game in hand by then.
Deatherage: 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI
Policelli: 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI
Mize: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 SO
Lakeland Flying Tigers 2, Dunedin Blue Jays 0 (Gm 2)(F/7)(box)
The Flying Tigers made it a sweep behind a strong effort from the bullpen. Billy Lescher, Mark Ecker, and Angel De Jesus combined to throw a one hitter with nine strikeouts. Ecker allowed the only hit, while De Jesus picked up the save by punching out the side in the seventh. The Flygers got the only run they needed in the fourth courtesy of Kody Clemens. He doubled, advanced to third on a flyout and then raced home on a wild pitch. Cole Peterson singled home John Valente in the top of the seventh for an insurance run.
Valente: 2-3, R, SO
Peterson: 1-3, RBI
Ecker (W, 4-0): 3.0 IP, H, 3 SO
Coming Up Next: Tom de Blok (0-8, 3.80 ERA) gets the start on Wednesday night at 6:30pm ET.
West Michigan Whitecaps (idle)
The Whitecaps will get back to action on Wednesday at 7:30pm ET with Wilkel Hernandez (6-5, 4.31 ERA) on the mound as they take on the Benoit Snappers.
Connecticut Tigers (idle)
The Tigers were off on Tuesday. They’ll get back into action against the Aberdeen IronBirds with a doubleheader. Game one will complete a July 2 game that was suspended in the third inning with the Tigers up 3-1.