TMLR Recap 9/2/25: Murr Was the Case

Well, it was a pretty ugly day in the organization, with three teams (including the Tigers) suffering blowout losses. But we did get one big win, and one walk-off victory that might be the most ridiculous game of the season. Read all about it below!

Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)

Final:  Lehigh Valley 10, Toledo 3

Top Performers: 

Parker Meadows (rehab): 1-for-3, BB, 2K

Hao-Yu Lee: 1-for-3, RBI

Max Anderson: 1-for-3, BB, K, RBI

Kevin Newman: 1-for-4, 2B

Pitchers:

Jose Urquidy (rehab): 3IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K

Alex Cobb: IP H 0R 3BB

Matt Seelinger: IP 4H 4ER 2BB K

Alex Lange: 1.2IP 2H 2ER BB K

Tanner Rainer: 0.2IP 3H 4R 3ER 3BB K

Game Notes: Things were looking okay early in this one. Jose Urquidy took a solid step forward on his slow march back to the big leagues. And the Hens took a 2-0 lead in the 4th after a Jace Jung single, an Eduardo Valencia walk, a Max Anderson single, and a Trei Cruz sacrifice fly. Alex Cobb came in for the 4th inning and kept the score clean, though he loaded the bases with walks and continued to look uncomfortable on the mound. Toledo made it 3-0 thanks to a Brian Serven walk, a Parker Meadows single, and a sacrifice fly from Hao-Yu Lee. Then the wheels completely fell off for the Mud Hens.

The IronPigs plated the next ten runs, teeing off on a trio of Toledo hurlers. Matt Seelinger, Alex Lange, and Tanner Rainey combined to give up nine hits and six walks while recording just ten outs. And that was the story of the game. And to twist the knife a little more, former Mud Hens outfielder Brewer Hicklen went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. And the winning pitcher? Ryan Cusick, who pitched one inning for Toledo earlier in the year.

Hens are on the board courtesy of a Max Anderson RBI!

(don’t ask me what happened after that run though. I am also confused) pic.twitter.com/WIwDFjPo1f

— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) September 2, 2025

Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)

Final: Portland 8, Erie 1

Top Performers:

Max Clark: 0-for-1, 3BB

Thayron Liranzo: 0-for-3, BB, K

Kevin McGonigle: 0-for-4, K

Josue Briceno: 1-for-3, BB

Roberto Campos: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, 2K, R

Pitchers:

Andrew Sears: 4IP 7H 5R 4ER 7K HR

Travis Kuhn: 2IP 2H 2ER BB 2K HR

Blair Calvo: 2IP 3H ER 2K HR

Game Notes: There’s not a whole lot to say about this one. Andrew Sears has been one of Erie’s best starters over the last few weeks, but Portland got to him early. Sears gave up a 2-run homer in the 1st inning, and four hits in the 3rd inning to spot the Sea Dogs a 5-0 lead. To his credit, he kept pounding the strike zone and collected seven strikeouts. But the SeaWolves offense did nothing for most of the game. They scratched out just three hits, and only scored after a Roberto Campos double in the 9th inning, followed by an error. We don’t even have any video highlights of this game. Sorry about that.

West Michigan (High-A)

Final: West Michigan 8, Fort Wayne 5

Top Performers: 

Woody Hadeen: 1-for-4, 2B, BB, K, R, SB(36)

Jack Penney: 2-for-5, 2B, K, 2R

Izaac Pacheco: 2-for-3, HR(17),  2BB, 2R, 2RBI

Austin Murr: 2-for-4, HR(8), 2B, 4RBI

Brett Callahan: 2-for-4, 2 2B

Jackson Strong: 1-for-4, HR(8), 2K

Pitchers:

Rayner Castillo: 5IP 6H 3ER 2BB 5K HR

Woo-Suk Go (rehab): IP H ER K

Colin Fields: IP 2K

Game Notes: The Whitecaps train just keeps chugging along. Starter Rayner Castillo struck out the side in the 1st (around a pair of singles and a walk), and then Austin Murr blasted a 3-run homer to give West Michigan a lead they never relinquished. The scoring did go back and forth for the next few innings, though, with the TinCaps stringing together three hits for two runs in the 2nd. It stayed a 3-2 lead because of a fine defensive play by Izaac Pacheco. The Caps responded with a solo home run from Jackson Strong, and then in the 4th inning Murr plated his 4th run of the game with a 2-out double.

Castillo settled down, retiring seven of the last eight batters he faced. And the Whitecaps blew the game open on a massive 2-run homer from Pacheco, his 17th of the season. Fort Wayne scratched across single runs in the 7th and 9th, but West Michigan held on for a solid win. The Whitecaps are once again 50 games over .500, and they still have a chance to match or exceed the franchise record of 92 wins.

Austin Murr smacks a 3-run homer to right…we think? It counts though, and the Whitecaps have the early lead. @ThatDanHasty on the call. pic.twitter.com/rPadUYrScx

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 2, 2025

Lakeland (Low-A)

Final:  Lakeland 6, Jupiter 5 (13 innings)

Top Performers:

Nick Dumesnil: 1-for-4, 2B, 2BB, RBI

Carson Rucker: 1-for-5, BB, K, 2RBI

Junior Tilien: 1-for-5,  3B, 2K, R, RBI

Stephen Hrustich: 2-for-2, BB, R

Pitchers:

Cale Wetwiska: 2IP 3H ER 3BB 3K

Eliseo Mota: IP 2K

Eric Silva: 6IP 4H 0R BB K

Ignacio Briceno: 3IP H 2R ER 2K

Game Notes: This game was dumb, in all the most beautiful ways. The Flying Tigers sent 2025 seventh-rounder Cale Wetwiska to the mound for his second career start, and things looked very dicey for him, almost immediately. Wetwiska walked the first batter he faced, on four pitches, and then gave up an RBI double to the second batter. He then loaded the bases with just one out, but wriggled out of it with a strike out and a fly out. The 2nd inning began similarly, with a walk and a single putting runners on the corners with no outs. But once again Wetwiska got out of the jam, with two strikeouts and a caught stealing from catcher Ricardo Hurtado to keep the score 1-0. Wetwiska’s pure stuff looks good. Command and control will be the key to his future.

Lakeland’s offense could do nothing against the Hammerheads pitchers. Literally. Through the first 8 innings the Flying Tigers managed three walks and zero hits. And two of those walks were immediately caught stealing. It looked like the were going to be no-hit, but pinch hitter Stephen Hrustich eked out an infield single with one out in the 9th. And that’s when things started to get silly. Nick Dumesnil hit a two-out gap double to put the tying run on 3rd. And then Carson Rucker tied the game with an infield single, though Jupiter third baseman Emilio Barreras likely saved the game by keeping the ball on the dirt.

Back and forth the game went. The Hammerheads scored twice in the top of the 10th on a pair of doubles. But the Flygers responded with a Junior Tilien triple (with help and comic relief from the left fielder) and a Samuel Gil single. But then no one scored over the next two innings. Lakeland had a runner thrown out at home in the 11th. Jupiter stranded a man at 3rd with no outs in the 12th. The Hammerheads broke the tie in the 13th on a two-run single by Chris Arroyo, but that’s when Jupiter pitcher Samuel Carpio forgot how to throw strikes. He allowed a single and then four walks in the bottom of the 13th, giftwrapping three runs and walk-off win for the Flying Tigers. Dumb.

🚨Flying Tigers Walk-Off Win🚨

Ricardo Hurtado draws a bases-loaded walk in the 13th inning and Lakeland wins 6-5. One of the oddest games all year. Lakeland didn’t have a hit until the 9th, and they win thanks to THREE consecutive bases-loaded walks. pic.twitter.com/MACr3rhkKa

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 3, 2025