Anthony Castro throws another strong game in a SeaWolves victory

Lehigh Valley IronPigs 5, Toledo Mud Hens 4 (F/10) (box)

Beau Burrows was solid and the Hens led early, but the IronPigs stormed back against the bullpen to win on Thursday. The Hens scored first, collecting four runs in the fourth inning. With two in already, Jake Rogers came through with a two-run double to stake Burrows to a 4-0 lead. Burrows allowed single runs in the fifth and sixth, but departed in good shape. He still doesn’t look back to 100 percent, and struggled to get swings and misses, but it was another step in the right direction. Unfortunately, an error by Willi Castro with two outs in the bottom of the ninth extended the inning, and John Schreiber leaked two runs to tie things and send them to extras. Daniel Stumpf allowed the walk-off winner in the 10th inning.

Rogers: 1-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SO
Peterson: 2-3, RBI, BB, SB
Burrows: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Coming up next: Ryan Carpenter (5-5, 4.50 ERA) gets the start on Friday night as the Hens take on the Syracuse Mets. Throw more curveballs, Ryan. That’s all we’ve got.

Erie SeaWolves 9, Trenton Thunder 8 (F/7) (box)

Tarik Skubal finally managed not to dominate the opposition, but the SeaWolves came from behind in the bottom of the seventh to walk off the Thunder. Skubal gave up a home run to the first batter of the game and the Thunder scored in every inning against him. The hits fell for them, but Skubal wasn’t as sharp as we’ve seen for the most of the year. He allowed five runs in just 3 ¹⁄₃ innings, striking out six and issuing two free passes.

Fortunately, the SeaWolves offense scored two in the first, four in the third, and one more run in the fourth. When Nolan Blackwood surrendered two runs in the fifth, the game was tied at seven apiece. Ethan DeCaster allowed a run in the top of the seventh, but the SeaWolves got an RBI triple from Cam Gibson to tie the game again, and Chace Numata produced a sacrifice fly that allowed Gibson to race home with the game winner.

Gibson: 2-3, 3B, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB
Azocar: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, SO, SB
Skubal: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Erie SeaWolves 5, Trenton Thunder 1 (F/7) (box)

Anthony Castro walked four, but struck out eight in a strong one-run performance in the nightcap. The fastball command was somewhat lacking, but Castro poured a steady dose of nasty breaking balls in there to confound the Thunder hitters. Derek Hill jumped on the first pitch he saw in the first inning, cracking his 12th home run of the season. Frank Schwindel came up with an RBI double in the third, and the SeaWolves scored two more in the fourth. Josh Lester capped their scoring with a sixth inning solo shot as they went on to sweep the doubleheader.

Lester: 1-2, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, SO
Hill: 1-2, HR, R, 2 RBI
A. Castro (W, 4-2): 5.2 IP, 7 H, ER, 4 BB, 8 SO

Coming up next: The two clubs meet up again on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. ET.

Fort Myers Miracle 3, Lakeland Flying Tigers 2 (F/10) (box)

Jesus Rodriguez threw a strong game but the offense just couldn’t get it going. Rodriguez didn’t walk a batter, allowing two runs over six innings with six strikeouts. Still the Flygers entered the ninth down a run. Brady Policelli drew a one-out walk, and consecutive singles from Nick Ames and Chad Sedio scored him to send the game to extras. In the bottom of the 10th, the Flygers took the tack of walking the leadoff hitter to start things off with runners at first and second. They got the lead runner on a sac bunt attempt, but a single and a sacrifice fly allowed the Thunder to walk it off.

Clemens: 1-4, 3B, RBI
Rodriguez: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 6 SO

Coming up next: Garrett Hill (2-4, 2.55 ERA) takes on the Miracle on Friday night.

Lansing Lugnuts 8, West Michigan Whitecaps 0 (box)

Robbie Welhaf had a very rocky outing and the offense stayed quiet most of the night. Welhaf surrendered six runs, including a pair of home runs, in five innings of work. The Whitecaps went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Rey Rivera picked up two hits, while Andre Lipcius remains an on-base machine, reaching three times.

Lipcius: 1-2, 2 BB, SO
Rivera: 2-4, SO
Welhaf (L, 3-5): 5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 6 SO

Coming up next: Gio Arriera (3-7, 7.77 ERA) takes on the Lugnuts on Friday night.

Staten Island Yankees 8, Connecticut Tigers 1 (box)

Xavier Javier was hit hard, and the offense was largely silent on Thursday night. Javier allowed five runs on nine hits, recording just one strikeout. Riley Greene had a double and three hits, exiting after fouling a ball off his leg and then coming back in the at-bat to drill a double in the seventh. The Tigers pushed across a run in the frame, but the bullpen had already assured that this one was out of reach.

Greene: 3-3, 2B
King: 2-3
Javier (L, 2-1): 3.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R (4 ER), SO

Coming up next: The Tigers take on the Tri-Cities ValleyCats on Friday night.