It was an ugly night on the Tigers farm, as only Lakeland managed a win. A critical error cost Toledo their game, Erie was overwhelmed by Chesapeake, and West Michigan lost on a walk-off homer. Read about it all below…
Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (L 8-6) @ Columbus Clippers – 14-14 OverallÂ
The Mud Hens dropped an eventful, back-and-forth affair to open their series in Columbus. It was Ty Madden pitching for the Hens, while Columbus starter Austin Peterson made his first appearance of the season after missing two months with a triceps strain. Madden battled, but he struggled to command his pitches. The Clippers plated two runs in the 2nd inning, and then added another in the 3rd, and Madden’s day was done after just 2.2 innings. He threw 73 pitches, but just 39 strikes.
Meanwhile, Toledo’s hitters couldn’t do much of anything for the first five innings, managing just two hits and two walks against Peterson and reliever Jack Leftwich. But the Hens finally got on the board when Max Clark singled and Gage Workman smashed his 4th home run of the season. Columbus got one back with three straight singles off Grant Holman, but then the floodgates opened for Toledo in the 7th. Four singles sandwiched around a sac bunt tied the game, and then Workman came through in the clutch with a 2-out knock that put the Hens up 6-4.
But Columbus came storming right back against Konnor Pilkington. Three singles and a walk made it a 6-5 game with the bases loaded and one out. Pilkington seemingly got a huge 2nd out on a shallow fly ball to center, but Max Clark dropped the ball, allowing the tying run to score. A subsequent sac fly and single made it an 8-6 Clippers lead, and that’s the way it stayed.
Good piece of hitting by Workman as he drives in two as Toledo has the 6-4 lead. pic.twitter.com/KHeMcNKIPM
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 29, 2026
Toledo:Â
Ben Malgeri 2/5, R, RBI
Max Clark 1/4, R, K
Gage Workman 2/4, HR(4) 4RBI, BB, K
Jace Jung 2/4, R, K
Tyler Gentry 1/2, R, BB
Luke Ritter 1/4, R, RBI
Ty Madden
2.2IP 5H 3ER 3BB 2K
Jack Little
2.1 IP 2H BB 4K
Tanner Rainey
1.1 IP H 3K
Erie SeaWolves (L 11-3) VS. Chesapeake Baysox – 8-14 Overall
The good news is Thayron Liranzo, one of Detroit’s top prospects, has returned to Erie. The bad news is just about everything else. It took just four batters for the SeaWolves to find themselves in a 3-0 hole. The culprit? An infield single, catcher’s interference, a hanging Kenny Serwa knuckleball that turned into a 3-run blast by Anderson De Los Santos.
The Wolves scratched one run back in the bottom of the 1st on a John Peck double off the wall in right. Things stayed calm for a few innings, but then we got a bit of a repeat of the 1st. Chesapeake plated three runs off Serwa, only for Peck to grab one back with a solo homer. And again the score stayed static for a few innings. But the Baysox scored twice in the 7th, twice in the 8th, and once in the 9th to blow the game open. The only other real highlights for the SeaWolves were a pair of doubles from Liranzo, and another two-bagger from Peck in the 8th.
John Peck launches a solo homer to deep to right center to make it a 6-2 game. It’s his 3rd home run of the year. @BurgessLuke03 on the call. pic.twitter.com/7QXMGa0rZk
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 28, 2026
Thayron Liranzo 2/4, 2 2B
Brett Callahan 0/3, R, BB, SB(10)
John Peck 3/4, HR(3), 2 2B, 2R, 2RBI, K
Izaac Pacheco 1/4, 2B
Kenny Serwa
4IP 7H 6R 5ER 2BB K
Trevin Michael
2IP 2H 4K
West Michigan Whitecaps (L 3-2) @ Cedar Rapids Kernels – 12-10 Overall
The Whitecaps offense had the unenviable task of taking on Dasan Hill, one of the top left-handed pitching prospects in baseball. But Whitecaps starter Hayden Minton was up to the task, delivering zeroes until the 5th inning, with a little help from Nolan McCarthy. West Michigan pushed across the first run of the game in the top of the 4th on a Samuel Gil single, a Clayton Campbell walk, and a big two-out RBI single from McCarthy.
But the Kernels popped in the 5th inning, with a rally that started with an error. Minton struck out the next batter and then issued a walk, but he seemed poised to get out of the inning when he picked off Caden Kendle at second base. Unfortunately Jaime Ferrer hit a 2-run home just a few pitches later, and Cedar Rapids took the lead.
The Whitecaps came back almost immediately, though, with Bryce Rainer smoking a leadoff triple to the gap. Andrew Sojka brought him home with a single a few batters later, and the score stayed tied until the 9th inning. Jalen Evans pitched in with two scoreless innings, and Ethan Sloan worked a clean 8th. But Danny De Andrade worked an 8-pitch at-bat to begin the 9th, culminating with a walk-off home run.
Nolan McCarthy gets an elevated fastball from Dasan Hill and smokes it into center for a 2-out RBI single that gives West Michigan a 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/ilqYB6D7wk
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 29, 2026
Bryce Rainer 1/3, 3B, R, BB, 2K
Samuel Gil 1/4, R, 2K, SB(3)
Andrew Sojka 2/4, 2B, RBI, K
Nolan McCarthy 1/4, RBI, K
Hayden Minton (rehab)
5IP 2H 2ER BB 2K
Jalen Evans
2IP 2BB
Ethan Sloan
IP H ER BB 3K
Lakeland Flying Tigers (W 4-1) @ Bradenton Marauders – 14-8 Overall
Ahh, trusty Lakeland. They kept it from being a winless night in the org, with much of the work being shouldered by starting pitcher Grayson Grinsell and center fielder Jesus Pinto. Grinsell continues to dominate in Low-A, lowering his ERA to 1.59 after his first five-inning outing as a pro. He allowed just one hit and two walks, while racking up 16 whiffs and six strikeouts. At one point he struck out five batters in a row.
Meanwhile, Lakeland’s offense staked Grinsell to a 1-0 lead just four batters into the game thanks to singles from Jordan Yost and Pinto, and a sac fly from Carson Rucker. They tacked on another in the 2nd on a Beau Ankeney walk, a Jack Goodman single, and a Sergio Tapia sac fly. We have pretty strict rules about not posting sac flies at Tigers Minor League Report, so no highlights here.
But Grinsell kept cruising along. He got some help from Carson Rucker in the 4th, and Pinto chipped in with a great diving grab in center in the 5th. And then Pinto had the big blow on offense, ripping a 2-run double into the right corner to make it a 4-1 lead. Jose Guzman and Yendy Gomez made it stand with four scoreless innings of relief, and the Flying Tigers improved to 14-8 on the season.
Jesus Pinto lashes a 2-run double down the right field line and then advances to 3rd in the throw. Lakeland now leads 4-1. pic.twitter.com/w976qGUIqx
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 29, 2026
Jordan Yost 1/3, 2R, BB
Jesus Pinto 2/4, 2B, 2RBI, BB, K
Carson Rucker 0/2, RBI, BB
Jude Warwick 1/4
Sergio Tapia 1/3, RBI, K
Grayson Grinsell
5IP H ER 2BB 6K
Jose Guzman
2IP H 2K
Yendy Gomez
2IP BB 2K
Jerry McKennan 
Colin Arthur