Spencer Torkelson homers in Mud Hens victory

Toledo Mud Hens 6, Louisville Bats 2 (box)

Entering the weekend down 2-1 in the six-game set in Toledo, the Mud Hens took three straight to win the series, capped by a convincing 6-2 win on Sunday.

Michael Pineda’s final rehab start went reasonably well as he spun five innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts and no walks. The Bats got to him for a pair in the first inning, but he was excellent the rest of the way and the Hens’ bats took over the game from that point on.

The offense got on the board in the third courtesy of a leadoff triple from John Valente, and an Ali Sanchez ground out to score him. They took over in the fourth when Josh Lester drew a leadoff walk and Spencer Torkelson smoked a two-run shot to right center field to make it 3-2. Daz Cameron pulled a solo shot to left moments later, and they were off to the races.

Brendon Davis hit his seventh of the year, a solo shot, in the sixth inning. The Bats walked in a run in the eighth. Meanwhile the bullpen allowed just three hits and no walks over four innings to hold the Bats in place.

Torkelson: 2-3, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB

Lipcius: 2-3, R, BB

Pineda (W, 1-2): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 SO

Coming Up Next: The Hens travel to Rochester to take on the Red Wings starting Tuesday night. They hold the fourth best record in the International League currently, but Nashville is nine games up, with the Columbus Clippers second, and pretty much out of reach in the West division.

Erie SeaWolves 5, Harrisburg Senators 3 (box)

Like the Mud Hens, the SeaWolves were down 2-1 in the series coming into Friday night’s game, but took three in a row to take the series with a 5-3 win on Sunday.

Chance Kirby overcame a line drive off his backside to spin a solid five innings of two-run ball, and the SeaWolves offense took over late to win this one. A Gage Workman single followed by an Andrew Navigato home run gave them an early 2-0 lead in the second inning, but Kirby allowed those two runs in the fifth as the Senators tied it up.

Reliever Elvis Alvarado allowed Harrisburg to seize the lead in the seventh as they plated a run to make it 3-2. However, in the eighth, Daniel Cabrera and Dane Myers led off with back-to-back singles, and after Parker Meadows grounded out, Dillon Dingler ripped a two-run double to left. 4-3 Erie.

Dingler went on to steal third, but he was cut down trying to score on a Workman ground ball. It mattered little as the bullpen held on, and they added an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Daniel Cabrera doubled in Corey Joyce to reach the final score.

Navigato: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, 2B, 2 SO

Dingler: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 SO, SB

Cabrera: 2-5, R, RBI, 2B, SO

Kirby: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 SO

Coming Up Next: Next week should be fun for SeaWolves fans. Erie and the Bowie Baysox are tied for best record in the Eastern League overall, as well as the Southwest Division. Each team holds a .647 winning percentage in the second half. The Baysox will be in UPMC Park to sort this out starting Tuesday night at 6:05 p.m. EDT.

South Bend Cubs 7, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (box)

It was a fun weekend in Comstock Park as Jackson Jobe made a solid High-A debut on Saturday, and Jace Jung launched his first pro home run. Unfortunately the Cubs were able to bounce back to win on Sunday and split the six-game set.

Dylan Smith hasn’t looked quite the same since returning in early August. He’s posted a couple solid short outings as the Tigers look to manage his innings, but got knocked around in this one. Smith started off well with strikeouts of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Brennan Davis in the first inning. He allowed a run in the second, but it wasn’t until the fourth when he ran into some trouble with one out. A pair of walks and a single, plus the close eye on his pitch count, saw Smith depart in favor of Chavez Fernander who allowed all three runners to score. The Cubs went on to beat up the bullpen in the fifth, and the offense could only manage one run in the eighth.

Cruz: 1-2, R, 2B, BB, SO

Smith (L, 7-6): 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 SO

Coming Up Next: After finishing fourth in the Midwest League East division during the first half, the Whitecaps currently are third in the East division, though with the fourth best record in the league. They’ll head to Fort Wayne to battle the Tin Caps Tuesday night.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 2 (Gm 1)(F/7)(box)

A good four inning start from Williander Moreno got the Flying Tigers off on the right foot in this one, and eventually the offense came through in the late innings to take the first of two on Sunday in Fort Myers.

Moreno allowed an unearned run on four hits, with a walk and six punchouts. Lakeland was thus down a run in the top of the fifth when they scored two. Cristian Santana was hit by a pitch with one out, and singles from Andrew Jenkins and Manuel Garcia followed to score Santana. Fort Myers later balked home Jenkins to make it 2-1 Lakeland. However, Tyler Mattision allowed a run in the bottom half to tie the game back up. In the sixth, Peyton Graham led off with a single and a batter later rode home on Danny Serretti’s second pro home run. The bullpen held the lead in the bottom of the eighth and ninth, with Cameron Brown picking up a six-out save.

Graham: 2-3, R, SB

Serretti: 1-3, R, 2 RBI

Moreno: 4.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 SO

Lakeland Flying Tigers 9, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 4 (Gm 2)(F/7)(box)

Home runs from Adinso Reyes and Jose De La Cruz powered the Flying Tigers in the second game. As a result they took the series, including a makeup game, 4-3 over the Mighty Mussels.

De La Cruz landed the first blow in this one, launching his 10th homer with two aboard in the second inning to make it 3-0 Lakeland. Fort Myers fought back with four runs in the third and fourth inning to take the lead but in the fifth, a rehabbing Eric De La Rosa led off with a single. Serretti walked, and Roberto Campos tripled them both home. Mike Rothenberg later singled in Campos and it was 6-4 Lakeland. Serretti stayed red hot with a two-run double in the sixth that put this one away, and Adinso Reyes launched an opposite field solo shot for emphasis in the top of the seventh.

Serretti: 1-2, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 BB, SO

De La Cruz: 1-5, R, 3 RBI, HR, SO

Reyes: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2 SO

Coming Up Next: The Clearwater Threshers come to Lakeland for a six-game set starting on Tuesday night.