Joey Wentz and Isaac Paredes power another SeaWolves victory

Pawtucket Red Sox 7, Toledo Mud Hens 4 (box)

The Mud Hens made a late push, but a rough start from Beau Burrows put them too deep in the hole. Burrows struck out six in just three innings of work against an aggressive Red Sox lineup, but they also punished him for five runs in that span. Burrows allowed home runs in both the first and third innings and was lifted with his pitch count at just 63. Austin Adams gave up another run in the sixth. Pete Kozma got the Hens on the board with a two-run shot in the sixth. Frank Schwindel added a solo shot in the eighth, and they later added another run in the inning, but that was as close as they’d get.

Schwindel: 2-4, HR, 2B, R, RBI

Kozma: 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI

Burrows: (L, 2-6): 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 SO

Coming Up Next: The Hens and Red Sox meet up on Saturday night at 6:15pm ET.

Erie SeaWolves 5, Akron RubberDucks 1 (box)

For the third straight outing since coming over from the Atlanta Braves in the Shane Greene deal, Joey Wentz gave the SeaWolves a good outing. This one was probably his best. Wentz wasn’t terribly efficient, but he was dominant. The big lefty punched out seven over five innings of scoreless work. He scattered four singles and didn’t walk a batter. The tall lefty really showed off his changeup again and had the Ducks off-balance all night.

His teammates staked Wentz to a nice early lead. Derek Hill led off the bottom of the first with a single and rode home on the red-hot Isaac Paredes’ 11th home run. Jose Azocar cracked his 10th homer, a solo shot, in the third inning to give Wentz some cushion. Wladimir Pinto spun a pair of scoreless innings of relief, while Jose Fernandez allowed a run in his two innings of work. The SeaWolves pulled away late, as Anthony Gose was a mess in the seventh, walking in a run for Erie, while a Derek Hill RBI single in the eighth produced their final run.

Azocar: 2-4, HR, R, RBI

Hill: 2-5, R, RBI

Wentz (W, 2-0): 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 7 SO

Coming Up Next: Casey Mize (6-3, 3.22 ERA) will take on old friend Kyle Dowdy on Saturday night at 7:05pm ET.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Bradenton Marauders 2 (box)

Paul Richan was good in this one, and the Flying Tigers pulled away late on Friday night. Richan went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits without walking a batter. He punched out seven Marauders. After Richan allowed a run in the third, the Flygers came back via an RBI bunt single from Brock Deatherage. Richan allowed his final run in the sixth, giving the Marauders a 2-1 lead, but Lakeland got to work in the bottom half of the inning. After Chris Proctor led off with a single, Kody Clemens launched a ground rule double to left field and Brady Policelli was then hit with a pitch. With the bases juiced, a double play ball off the bat of Ulrich Bojarski, and then a Jordan Pearce double, scored three runs for Lakeland. Angel De Jesus threw two good innings with four punchouts, while Max Green was a little shaky but picked up his second save.

Clemens: 3-4, 2 2B, R, SO

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

Proctor: 2-2, R

Richan (W, 1-1): 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 7 SO

Coming Up Next: Elvin Rodriguez (10-7, 3.73 ERA) gets the start on Saturday at 6:00pm ET.

West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Great Lakes Loons 3 (box)

The Whitecaps jumped on the Loons early, and got a solid outing from Chance Kirby to win on Friday. Parker Meadows and Bryant Packard each had RBI singles in the bottom of the first as the Whitecaps jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Riley Greene singled home Zach Malis in the second inning for what would eventually prove the game winner. Kirby allowed runs in the fifth and sixth innings as the Loons closed to within one run, but the offense pulled away again in the seventh. Daniel Reyes cracked an RBI double to plate Meadows, and then rode home on a Cooper Johnson single.

Meadows: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, SO

Joyce: 3-4, 2B, R, BB, SO

Lipcius: 2-4, 2B, SO

Packard: 2-4, RBI

Kirby (W, 5-7): 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 SO

Coming Up Next: Brad Bass (4-3, 2.98 ERA) starts for West Michigan as they welcome in the Lake County Captains.

Hudson Valley Renegades 3, Connecticut Tigers 1 (box)

Jack O’Loughlin threw a pretty good game for the Tigers, but the bats didn’t show up in this one. They managed just two hits, with a Jake Holton solo shot in the second inning accounting for their only run. O’Loughlin went six solid frames, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out six and threw 79 of 50 pitches for strikes.

Holton: 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB

O’Loughlin (L. 2-4): 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 SO

Coming Up Next: Action moves to Lowell, Massachusetts on Saturday, as the Tigers take on the Spinners at 5:05pm ET.