Tigers Minor League Recap for April 26.

The Tigers swept the Orioles to improve to 17-10, which is the best record in the American League. With that piece of news out of the way, let’s recap all the action starting in Toledo, where the Mud Hens have found their stride against Omaha.

Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)

Toledo 3-1 Omaha

Top Performers: 

Brewer Hicklen 1/2, 2B, K, R
Hao-Yu Lee 0/3, R
Bligh Madris 1/3, 2B, K, 3RBI
Riley Unroe 1/2, R

Bailey Horn
2IP H 4K

Matt Manning
4IP 4H R 3BB 5K

Andrew Chafin
IP H K

Game Notes:

Bailey Horn leaned on his cutter in game 1, using heavy spin and movement to compete. Matt Manning brought the heat, sitting 90–92 and touching 96–97, pairing it with a sharper curveball that racked up whiffs. Andrew Chafin came in and did what he does best, which is threw sliders, missed bats, and kept hitters quiet. Mixed night overall, but Manning’s uptick was the big takeaway.

Game 2: 

Toledo 4- Omaha 1

Bligh Madris 1/1 HR(2) 2BB
Jahmai Jones 1/3, R
Riley Unroe 1/2, BB, R
Carlos Mendoza 2/2, 2B, 2RBI, SB

Lael Lockhart
3.2IP 3H 4BB 6K

Game notes:

Lael Lockhart Jr. got the start and was in complete control from the jump. The left-hander piled up 11 swings and misses over four scoreless innings, mixing his sinker, slider, and changeup effectively while keeping Omaha off balance. His fastball sat in the mid-80s, but he commanded it well and used his secondary pitches to miss bats consistently. Ricky Vanasco followed out of the bullpen, relying on his curveball and fastball, but wasn’t able to generate the same level of whiffs. Brendan White and Ryan Miller finished it off for Toledo, who have won five in a row.

The offense gave Lockhart Jr. early breathing room. In the second inning, Bligh Madris opened the scoring with a solo homer to right-center, his second of the season. In the fourth, Toledo added on when Riley Unroe ripped a single to right to score Madris, and an error moved another runner into scoring position. Carlos Mendoza then cashed in, singling to center to drive in two more and stretch the lead to 4–0.

Toledo looks for the six-game sweep starting tomorrow at 2:05pm.

Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)

Final: Erie 8, Harrisburg Senators 3

Top Performers:

Trei Cruz 2/5, K, 2R
Max Anderson 3/5 HR(4) 2B, 2R, 2RBI
Thayron Liranzo 1/5, 2B, K, R, 2RBI
Roberto Campos 2/3, BB, K, R, RBI
Eduardo Valencia 2/4 HR(2) 3RBI

Garrett Burhenn
5IP 5H 3ER 7K

Dylan Smith
2IP 2K

Drew Sommers
2IP 2H 2K

Game Notes:

Erie shook off an early deficit and exploded offensively to knock off Harrisburg, 8–3.

The SeaWolves found themselves down 2–0 early after Harrisburg pieced together RBI singles in the second and third innings. However, Erie flipped the game in the fourth. Max Anderson opened the frame with a double, and Thayron Liranzo followed with a two-run double to tie it. Roberto Campos kept the line moving with an RBI single, giving Erie a 3–2 lead. Harrisburg briefly answered with a solo homer from Joe Naranjo in the bottom half to tie it at 3–3, but Erie quickly took control for good.

Anderson struck again in the fifth, blasting his fourth homer of the season to left-center, a two-run shot that put Erie up 5–3. Eduardo Valencia added insurance with an RBI single in the sixth and then broke the game open in the eighth, launching a two-run homer to left-center.

Max Anderson led the way at the plate, finishing 3-for-5 with a home run, double, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Valencia drove in three runs with a two-hit night, while Campos chipped in two hits, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. Trei Cruz added two runs out of the leadoff spot.

On the mound, Garrett Burhenn battled through five innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out seven. Dylan Smith and Drew Sommers took it from there, combining for four scoreless innings out of the bullpen with four total strikeouts.

With the win, Erie took the series win. Joseph Montalvo takes the mound tomorrow on Sunday, starting at 1pm.

West Michigan Whitecaps (High-A)

Final: Dayton 5 — West Michigan 4 (Final in 10 innings)

Top Performers:

Max Clark 0/3, 2BB, K, 2R
Seth Stephenson 1/4, 2B, 2K, R, RBI
Josue Briceño 1/4 HR(5) BB, K, 3RBI
Jack Penney 2/4

Rayner Castillo
5IP 3H 3ER 2K

Micah Ashman
2IP 3K

Game Notes:

West Michigan’s offense struck early and rallied midway through, but a late comeback by Dayton handed the Whitecaps a tough 5–4 extra-inning loss on Thursday.

Seth Stephenson got the scoring started in the third, ripping a two-out RBI double to left that brought home Max Clark and gave the Whitecaps a 1–0 lead. However, Dayton answered back in the fifth, when a two-out, three-run homer from Connor Burns flipped the game and put West Michigan behind 3–1.

In the sixth, the Whitecaps quickly responded. After Stephenson was hit by a pitch and Clark reached, Josue Briceño launched a three-run homer to right — his fifth of the season — to give West Michigan a 4–3 lead.

Rayner Castillo worked five innings for West Michigan, allowing three earned runs on three hits while striking out two. Micah Ashman followed with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out three and keeping Dayton at bay into the late frames.

Dayton tied the game in the bottom of the ninth when Leo Balcazar doubled home the tying run. After West Michigan came up empty in the top of the tenth, Dayton walked it off with a sacrifice fly by Connor Burns.

At the plate, Briceño drove in three runs with his home run, Stephenson added a double, an RBI, and a run scored, and Jack Penney chipped in two hits. Max Clark reached twice on walks and scored two runs from the leadoff spot.

Lakeland Flying Tigers (Single-A)

Final: Bradenton 9 – Lakeland 3

Top Performers:

Ricardo Hurtado 1/4, K, R
Nomar Fana 1/2, 2BB, R, RBI
Jose De La Cruz 1/4, K, R, SB
Patrick Lee 1/4, 2K, RBI

Josh Randall
4.2IP 7H 4ER 4K

Ronny Chalas
2.1 IP 3BB 2K

Game notes:

Lakeland battled back to even the score early but couldn’t keep pace late, falling 9–3 to Bradenton on Thursday.

Bradenton struck first in the second inning when Joel Mendez launched a two-run homer to left-center, putting the Marauders up 2–0. Lakeland responded in the bottom half as Patrick Lee ripped a ground-rule double to score Nomar Fana, and then tied it in the third when Fana delivered an RBI single to plate Ricardo Hurtado.

Josh Randall kept Lakeland in it early, working into the fifth inning, but ran into trouble after a two-run homer from Konnor Griffin put Bradenton back ahead 4–2. Randall finished with 4.2 innings pitched, allowing seven hits, four earned runs, and striking out four.

Lakeland made a push in the seventh. Jose De La Cruz stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error, and scored on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 4–3. However, Bradenton pulled away in the late innings, scoring five unanswered runs, capitalizing on defensive miscues and timely hits to break the game open.

Offensively, Nomar Fana reached base three times with a hit, two walks, a run, and an RBI. Ricardo Hurtado and Jose De La Cruz each added a hit and scored a run, with De La Cruz also adding a stolen base. Patrick Lee drove in a run with his second-inning double.

Ronny Chalas pitched 2.1 innings in relief, striking out two but issuing three walks.