Tigers prospect Riley Greene delivers fireworks in his Whitecaps debut

Toledo Mud Hens 5, Buffalo Bisons 1 (box)

Spencer Watkins returned from Lakeland in style, spinning a solid game while Ronny Rodriguez brought the house down with an eighth inning grand slam. Watkins tossed 5 ¹⁄₃ innings of one-run ball while punching out nine. The Hens were scoreless until the eighth inning when Jacob Robson singled home Mikie Mahtook to tie the game. That left the bases loaded, and after Josh Harrison flew out, and Christin Stewart struck out, Rodriguez drilled a home run to right centerfield to put the Hens up by the final score.

Rodriguez: 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, SO
Robson: 2-3, R, RBI, BB
Watkins: 5.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 3 BB, 9 SO

Coming up next: Tim Adleman (5-4, 3.55 ERA) gets the start on Friday night as the Mud Hens welcome in the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Portland Sea Dogs 9, Erie SeaWolves 0 (box)

It was a rough day for Alex Faedo and the SeaWolves. Faedo allowed a pair of solo shots and just looked a little off in his four innings of work. He appeared to injure himself making a nice play toward first base in the third inning, and was lifted from the game after four despite a low pitch count. No further details were available as of this writing. Recent acquisition Alex Lange entered in Faedo’s place and was rocked for three runs in two innings of work. Ethan DeCaster had even less success in the seventh inning, and the offense ran into outs on the basepaths and had a quiet day at the plate overall.

Faedo (L, 6-7): 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 SO

Coming up next: Matt Manning (9-4, 2.71 ERA) gets the ball on Friday night as the SeaWolves take on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and starter Yennsy Diaz (8-7, 4.15 ERA) in a weekend road set.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Florida Fire Frogs 0 (box)

Jake Thompson pitched well in his return to the Tigers’ organization and the Flying Tigers got a big night from Nick Ames to win on Thursday. Ames homered with Brady Policelli aboard in the second inning, and drove in Policelli again with a double in the sixth. A.J. Simcox singled home Ames for the Flygers final run. As for Thompson, he’s attempting to reset his career and several levels lower than he’s pitched before, so it wasn’t too surprising that he handled the Fire Frogs well. Thompson struck out five and allowed just three hits in five innings of work. Joe Navilhon and Will Vest were good in relief to lock this one down.

Ames: 2-3, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
Policelli: 1-3, 2 R, BB, 2 SO
Rosoff: 2-3, BB
Thompson (W, 3-0): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

Coming up next: Paul Richan (0-0, 9.00 ERA) gets the ball on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. ET as the road series with the Fire Frogs continues.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 9, West Michigan Whitecaps 6 (box)

Starter Gio Arriera struggled, and the Whitecaps lost, but the story was Riley Greene’s Class-A debut. The Tigers first round selection in the 2019 draft, Greene has looked very comfortable against older players in the New York-Penn State League, and he looked right at home in West Michigan on Thursday night. Fifth Third Park saw a distinct surge in ticket sales and Greene made his presence felt with his first at-bat, lofting a sacrifice fly to center field to score Wenceel Perez from third. He later made a spectacular diving play in center field. And in the ninth inning, he capped his night with this.

That’ll do kid. That’ll do.

The Whitecaps actually built an early lead and collected 10 hits on the night. The Hot Rods seized control against reliever Jose Vasquez in the sixth, and they kept scoring, rendering a couple of late runs from the Whitecaps, including Greene’s inside-the-parker, moot.

Greene: 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
Perez: 2-5, 3B, R
Packard: 2-4, 3 RBI
Arriera: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Coming up next: Adam Wolf (3-9 6.30 ERA) gets the ball on Friday night as the home series with the Hot Rods continues.

Bonus

Here’s that catch from Greene.

Brooklyn Cyclones 3, Connecticut Tigers 2 (F/10) (box)

Marco Jimenez threw a decent game, but the offense struggled to capitalize on their opportunities. The Tigers led early, courtesy of a groundout from Eliezer Alfonzo that scored Kona Quiggle in the second inning. Shortstop Ryan Kreidler mashed his second home run of the season in the third. Meanwhile, Jimenez went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, with three strikeouts. The Tigers were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and eventually succumbed in the 10th inning.

Kreidler: 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, 2 SO
Quintana: 2-4, SO
Jimenez: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Coming up next: The Tigers stay in Brooklyn as the two clubs meet up at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday night.