We saw day games galore as three different affiliates entertained school kids on Wednesday. And those squads put on a show for the children, with dominant pitching in West Michigan, a career performance for Erie, and a walk-off in Toledo. Read all about it below.
Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (W 3-2) vs. Indianapolis in Game One, (L 3-2) in Game Two – 23-24 Overall
Tuesday’s rain meant Toledo had two games to play on Wednesday, and they ended up in a pair of tight contests. Sawyer Gipson-Long drew the start in game one, and he was dominant in a truncated outing. Gipson-Long allowed just three baserunners while striking out six in 3.2 scoreless innings. The Hens scored the first run of the game in the 4th on a Cal Stevenson sac fly, but Indianapolis scored the next two runs on a Termarr Johnson single and an Esmerlyn Valdez homer off a rehabbing Beau Brieske.
But Corey Julks quickly evened the score in the 6th with his 7th home run of the season. Neither team scored again in regulation, so they went to an 8th inning. Woo-Suk Go was excellent in the extra frame, getting two strike outs and a routine grounder. And then Tyler Gentry was the 2-out hero smashing the ball to the wall in right to let Jace Jung score with winning run.
Game two was close, but not particularly thrilling. Indianapolis took an early 2-0 lead on another home run from Valdez, and then tacked on another in the 2nd. They were on the verge of breaking the game open, but Konnor Pilkington managed to wiggle out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam by striking out three straight batters.
The Mud Hens scored their first run on a Max Burt double, a fly out, and a wild pitch. The added another after Max Clark and Julks singled, and Jace Jung bounced an RBI groundout to 2nd. But that was all the offense the Hens could muster. The only other notable event in the game was former Detroit Tigers first-round pick, and current Indianapolis Hitting Coach Eric Munson getting ejected.
🚨Mud Hens Walk-Off Win🚨
Tyler Gentry with a deep drive to the wall in right with 2 outs in the 8th to score Jace Jung and give Toledo a 3-2 win in game one. pic.twitter.com/jAAFrHT7BW
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 20, 2026
Ben Malgeri 2/8, 2B, 4K
Max Clark 1/7, R, K
Eduardo Valencia 0/4, K
Jace Jung 1/3, 2R, BB, K
Max Anderson 1/4
Corey Julks 3/6, HR(7) K
Tyler Gentry 1/6, RBI
Sawyer Gipson-Long
3.2IP H 0R 2BB 6K
Beau Brieske
IP H ER BB K
Brenan Hanifee
IP BB K
Woo-Suk Go
IP 2K
Jack Little
2IP 2K
Scott Effross
2IP BB 2K
Tyler Mattison
IP 2K
Erie SeaWolves (W 10-5) vs. Altoona Curve – 21-20 Overall
You wouldn’t know it from the final score, but this one started as pitchers duel between Altoona starter Khristian Curtis and Erie hurler Joe Miller. Curtis was dominant early, racking up five strikeouts while allowing just one baserunner through three innings. Miller wasn’t quite as clean, but he got some help from his defense, and got strikeouts when he needed them. Then Curtis lost control.
The SeaWolves loaded the bases on walks in the 4th, and then plated their first run on a long single from Chris Meyers. Then Izaac Pacheco broke the game open with a grand slam to dead center. The Wolves added two more in the 5th on a Brett Callahan double and a John Peck homer. The Curve chipped away against Erie’s bullpen, but an RBI double from Pacheco in the 8th helped put the game away and gave Pacheco a new career-best with 5 RBIs.
Izaac Pacheco hits a rocket to center for a grand slam and the SeaWolves take a 5-0 lead. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/MCajFAfQZW
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 20, 2026
Brett Callahan 1/4, 2B, 2R, BB, 2K, SB(14)
John Peck 1/5 HR(8) 3K
Thayron Liranzo 2/3, R, 2BB
Chris Meyers 1/4, R, RBI
Izaac Pacheco 2/4 HR(3), 2B, 2R, 5RBI, K
Joe Miller
4IP 3H 2BB 5K
Dariel Fregio
IP K
West Michigan Whitecaps (L 3-1) vs. South Bend Cubs – 14-27 Overall
The Whitecaps dropped another one in a way that has become depressingly common over the last month. Whitecaps starter Ben Jacobs was spectacular, allowing just a single baserunner through four scoreless innings. Cubs starter Alfredo Romero seemed up to the task as well, but the Caps managed to scratch together a run with two outs in the 4th on an Andrew Sojka double and a Luke Shliger single.
It remained a 1-0 game until the 8th inning, when disaster struck. Logan Berrier walked two, and then they both scored when a single to left got under Sojka’s glove. It was strikingly similar to a loss against Dayton on May 6th. South Bend added another run in the 9th and the Whitecaps bats couldn’t answer, leading to West Michigan’s 20th loss in their last 22 games.
Whitecaps fans have seen a bit too much of this lately. South Bend with a soft single to left that scores one, but then another run comes home on an error and the Cubs take a 2-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/m3Lfgy1G9c
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 20, 2026
Caleb Shpur 1/3, BB, 2K, SB(5)
Andrew Sojka 2/4, 2B, R, K, SB(10)
Luke Shliger 1/4, RBI
Ben Jacobs
4IP 0H 0R BB 4K
Duque Hebbert
2IP H
Lakeland Flying Tigers (W 4-1) vs. Bradenton Marauders – 23-18 Overall
Wednesday’s only night game was also perhaps the most clean game in the system, with good pitching and defense, and timely hitting. Bradenton took an early lead on an Edgleen Perez home run in the 1st, but Lakeland’s starter Cash Kuiper was excellent afterward, setting a new career high with 7 strikeouts. Then the Flying Tigers took the lead for good when Anibal Salas launched a 2-run blast to right in the 3rd inning.
Edian Espinal has been one of the best hitters in the system so far this year, and he tacked on another run with an opposite field shot in the 4th. And then it was Espinal scoring Lakeland’s fourth run of the night with an excellent slide on a wild pitch. After that it was all pitching, with four Lakeland relievers combining to toss 5.2 scoreless frames. Ali Tanner took three himself, though he got some help from an outstanding throw by Jesus Pinto.
Anibal Salas smokes a 2-run homer to right to give Lakeland the lead. It’s his 3rd home run of the season. @AaronArnstein on the call. pic.twitter.com/LdIOsSVSIc
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 20, 2026
Jordan Yost 2/3, BB
Edian Espinal 1/3 HR(2), 2R, BB
Carson Rucker 1/2, R, BB
Anibal Salas 1/3 HR(3) 2RBI, K
Cash Kuiper
3.1 IP 4H ER BB 7K
Ali Tanner
3IP 2H BB 4K
Eliseo Mota
IP
Rogelio Castillo