TMLR Recap April 5: The Flying Tigers Soar Through Tampa

Toledo gets walked off, the Flying Tigers sweep, and Erie’s pitching struggles on this edition of TMLR recap.

Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (L 4-3) 3-6 

Carlos Peńa got the start after being called up from Erie earlier in the day and he tossed five innings, allowing four hits and striking out three. Drew Sommers struck out four out of the pen,although his velocity was slightly down. Max Clark paced the offense, going 2-for-4 with a well-stroked double off a change. Ben Malgeri, batting lead off, reached on a double in his first at-bat and walked.

Max Clark keeps swinging the magic wand early in the season. Another well placed blooper and the Hens have two on almost immediately. pic.twitter.com/54LELKqWge

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 5, 2026

Corey Julks showed off the leather with an impressive catch.

Julks casually robs the Mets from a game tying homer. NBD

1-0 Hens pic.twitter.com/UbNBpXe1f1

— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) April 5, 2026

Unfortunately, Cole Waiters served up a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth off Jackson Cluff as Syracuse came back to win.

Toledo: 

Ben Malgeri 1/3, 2B, BB, K, 2R
Max Clark 2/4, 2B, R
Trei Cruz 0/2, 2BB, K, SB
Jace Jung 0/3, K, RBI
Eduardo Valencia 0/4, K
Gage Workman 1/3, BB, K, SB(2)

Carlos Peña
5IP 4H 0R 3K

Drew Sommers
1.2IP H 4K

Erie SeaWolves (L 11-9) 1-2

Erie fell into an early 4-0 hole after a rough top of the 3rd, where John Peck’s fielding error opened the floodgates for four Richmond runs. The SeaWolves battled back in the bottom of the 3rd on an RBI single by Peck and a walk by Jenkins to cut it to 4-2, then kept chipping away with a Sac Fly from Bennett Lee in the 4th.

The turning point came in the bottom of the 4th when Brett Callahan crushed a two-run homer to put Erie ahead 5-4—their first lead of the game. Richmond answered immediately in the top of the 5th with a Drew Cavanaugh two-run shot to retake the lead, but Exposito responded with his own two-run homer in the bottom of the 5th to put Erie back on top 7-6. A Campagna walk in the 7th pushed the lead to 8-6.

Then the 8th unraveled. Peck committed his second error of the night on a fielder’s choice, and Croes followed with a two-run single to put Richmond ahead 9-8. Jenkins’ sac fly tied it in the bottom of the 8th, setting up a dramatic 9th, but Erie’s bullpen couldn’t hold, surrendering two runs on a hit batsman and a Jonah Cox single to seal the 11-9 final.

Peck’s two errors were critical, directly contributing to three Richmond runs.

Brett Callahan gets a 96 MPH sinker and smashes it off the scoreboard for a 2-run homer that puts Erie up 5-4. It’s his 2nd of the season. pic.twitter.com/QxTgaDsZT5

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 5, 2026

Brett Callahan 2/6 HR(2) 2K, 2R, 2RBI, SB(2)
John Peck 2/5, R, RBI
Andrew Jenkins 2/3, 2B, BB, K, R, 2RBI
E.J. Exposito 2/4 HR, BB, K, 2R, 2RBI
Justice Bigbie 3/5, K, 2R
Joe Campagna 2/4, BB, K, RBI

Johan Simon
1.2IP H 2ER 3BB K

Luke Taggart
1.1 IP 4K

Lakeland Flying Tigers (W 13-6) 3-0

Lakeland got off to a quick start in the 2nd, with Nolan McCarthy doubling home Zach MacDonald and then stealing third before scoring on a fielder’s choice to make it 2-0. Tampa answered in the bottom half with a Willy Montero two-run homer to tie it, then took a 3-2 lead on a wild pitch that let JoJo Jackson score.

The Flying Tigers reclaimed the lead in the 3rd when MacDonald stole third and scored on a throwing error, and Beau Ankeney’s RBI single in the 5th knotted it at 4. Then Javier Osorio broke it open with a two-run double to put Lakeland ahead for good at 6-4.

The 6th inning was the knockout blow — a four-hit, five-run barrage capped by a MacDonald three-run homer off Parker Seay that blew the game open at 13-4. Tampa added two in the 7th on a Brando Mayea double, but it was too little too late.

114.2 MPH blast from Michigan native Zach MacDonald, who caps off a seven-run inning for the Flying Tigers. It is now 13-4. pic.twitter.com/RXGqvh5Ikt

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 5, 2026

On the pitching side,Caleb Leys made his professional debut and gave the Flying Tigers exactly what they needed, 4 solid innings with 6 strikeouts, a really encouraging first outing at this level. The 4 runs allowed were a bit unfortunate given the performance, but the strikeout numbers showed his stuff was sharp. A great start to what could be a promising career.

Tanner then came in and slammed the door, going 3.2 innings and surrendering just 1 earned run to secure the win.

Jude Warwick 1/5, 3K, 2R
Hao-Yu Lee 1/3
Jack Goodman 2/4, 2BB, 2R, RBI
Beau Ankeney 2/5, BB, 2K, 2R, 2RBI
Zach MacDonald 2/5 HR, 2B, K, 2R, 3RBI, SB(3)
Nolan McCarthy 2/2, 2 2B, 3BB, 3R, RBI, 2SB(4)

Caleb Leys
4IP 3H 4ER 2BB 6K

Ali Tanner
3.2IP 2H ER BB 3K