It was all about rehab appearances and rookie ball on Tuesday…with a couple of grand slams thrown in for fun. Check out all the details below.
Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (W 16-1) vs. Iowa Cuba – 27-31 Overall
This one turned into an absolute laugher, but all eyes were on Tigers legend Justin Verlander who made his first start in a real game since early April. And Verlander didn’t disappoint, twirling five scoreless innings on just 64 pitches. He wasn’t particularly dominant, but he used five different pitcher, picked up 10 whiffs, and generally looked ready to return to the big leagues.
Meanwhile, the offense went bonkers. It started with a 2-run home run from Max Anderson in the 1st. Anderson then tacked on another run on a double in the 3rd, and Eduardo Valencia made it 5-0 with a 2-run blast of his own. And then the wheels completely fell off for Iowa in the 5th. Toledo sent 15 men to the plate, scoring eight runs on a Gage Workman single, a Trei Cruz grand slam, another Anderson hit, and two hit batters. The Hens tacked on three more late runs, and Matt Seelinger was excellent out of the bullpen to close out the game
Verlander highlights anyone?? pic.twitter.com/0ZlsTXHQU7
— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) June 3, 2026
Max Clark 1/3 HR(3), 3R, 3BB
Ben Malgeri 2/5, 2 2B,2R, RBI, K
Max Anderson 4/6 HR(4), 2B, 4R, 4RBI
Gage Workman 3/6, 2R, RBI, K
Eduardo Valencia 2/3 HR(10), 3R, 3RBI
Trei Cruz 2/6 HR(2), 2B, 4RBI, K
Corey Julks 3/6, R
Justin Verlander
5IP 3H 0R 0BB 3K
Nick Sandlin
IP K
Matt Seelinger
2IP 5K
Erie SeaWolves (L 8-7) vs. Richmond Flying Squirrels – 25-27 Overall
The SeaWolves took a trip to division-leading Richmond and dug themselves an early hole they could never quite escape. They did take a brief lead when Seth Stephenson scored on a hard John Peck grounder that was booted by shortstop Maui Ahuna. But the Squirrels started the bottom of the inning with five consecutive hits off Max Alba to plate three runs, and they never trailed again.
Erie scored on a bases loaded walk in the 5th, and then drew within one run in the 7th on a 2-run single from Andrew Jenkins. But once again Richmond responded with three runs to take an 8-4 lead. John Peck doubles, stole 3rd, and scored on an error to begin the 9th. And then Izaac Pacheco crushed a 2-run homer to once again pull the Wolves within one run. They followed with two more baserunners, but Stephenson struck out to end the threat and the game.
Izaac Pacheco with a 2-run moonshot to right to pull Erie within one run in the 9th. It’s his 6th home run of the year. pic.twitter.com/BxdLL1fy8G
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 3, 2026
Seth Stephenson 2/5, 2B, 2R, BB, K, SB(25)
Brett Callahan 0/3, R, 2BB, K
John Peck 2/5, 2B, 2R, RBI, K, SB(16)
Thayron Liranzo 1/3, RBI, 2BB, K
Andrew Jenkins 3/5, R, 2RBI, K
Izaac Pacheco 1/5 HR(6), 2RBI, 3K
Max Alba
4.1 IP 8H 5R 4ER BB 6K
Johan Simon
1.2IP K
Eric Silva
IP H K
West Michigan Whitecaps (L 10-4) vs. Dayton Dragons – 16-36 Overall
Let the bad times roll in West Michigan, as the Whitecaps lost for for the 29th time in their last 33 games. As usual, late bullpen struggles were an issue, although this one was a bit odd in general. Starter Hayden Minton came out electric, striking out the first five batters he faced. He added three more strikeouts in the 3rd, but unfortunately he sandwiched them around a walk and two homers. Dayton led 3-0, but the Caps answered right back thanks to a 3-run bomb from Garrett Pennington.
Peyton Stovall changed the scored to 4-3 in the 5th with a solo homer that also ended Minton’s day. Stovall added a sac fly in the 7th, and Carter Graham hit a solo homer in the 8th to make it 6-3. West Michigan was able to get one run back on rally killing double play from Jackson Strong, but then the Dragons piled on four more runs in the 9th to put the game out of reach.
Garrett Pennington powers one outta here! 🔥
🎙️ @ThatDanHasty pic.twitter.com/dYS4llDJR8
— West Michigan Whitecaps (@wmwhitecaps) June 2, 2026
Woody Hadeen 1/5, 2B
Garrett Pennington 1/3 HR(9), 3RBI, BB, L
Bryce Rainer 1/2, R, 2BB, K
Andrew Sojka 0/2, R, 2BB, K
Junior Tilien 1/4, R, 2K
Hayden Minton
4.1 IP 4H 4R BB 10K 3HR
Ryan Harvey
1.2IP H 3K
Lakeland Flying Tigers (L 10-2) vs. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels – 23-18 Overall
Jake Miller played Farrah Fawcett to Justin Verlander’s Michael Jackson on Tuesday. Miller’s rehab appearance wasn’t nearly as long as Verlander’s, but it might ultimately be as important. And it was just good to see Miller on the mound again, pitching for the first time since September of last year. He looked sharp through two innings, needing just 26 pitches to retire six of the seven batters he faced.
Miller got a bit of run support when Jesus Pinto smacked his second home run of the season. But the Flying Tigers fortunes took a turn when Grayson Grinsell entered in the 3rd. Fort Myers sent nine men to the plate and scored three times to take the lead for good. Jack Goodman homered in the bottom of the frame to get one run back, but that was the end of the Lakeland offense. Grinsell settled down for an inning, but then allowed three more runs in the 5th to end his day. The Mighty Mussels added three more in the 7th and cruised to the victory.
Jude Warwick 2/4, 2B, 2K
Nick Dumesnil 1/3, 2B, BB, K
Jesus Pinto 1/4 HR(2), K
Edian Espinal 2/4, K
Jack Goodman 1/3 HR(2) K
Jake Miller
2IP H 2K
Grayson Grinsell
2.2IP 7H 6ER 2BB 5K
Rookie Ball Recap
It was a great day in the low minors, with the FCL Tigers taking both games of a doubleheader, and both DSL teams winning their contests.
FCL Tigers Game 1 (W 8-0) vs. FCL Phillies
Jhonan Coba continued his excellent pitching with three scoreless innings, while a Jack Penney double and a Maikol Orozco triple had the Tigers up 4-0 after three. Johnathan Rogers and Xiomer Guacache added four scoreless innings of relief, and Nolan McCarthy added the punctuation with a 7th-inning grand slam.
FCL Tigers Game 2 (W 4-3)
Bryce Alewine drew the start in game two and allowed one run over 2 1/3 innings. The Tigers tied it on a Luis Aguilera triple in the 2nd, and took the lead on a Josueth Quinonez single in the 3rd. But the game-winning hit was a 2-run homer off the bat of Cristian Perez, his 5th of the season. Leonardo Rossell and Omari Daniel finished off the sweep with 2 1/3 hitless innings.
DSL Tigers 1 (W 5-1) vs. DSL Mets Orange
It was the Oman Bustamante show down in the Dominican on Tuesday morning. The 20-year-old backstop, signed by the Tigers out of Mexico in late 2024, kicked off the scoring with a 3-run blast in the 1st. And then two innings later he added an RBI triple. That was more than enough run support for starter Sammy Zarraga, who struck out six of four innings in his pro debut.
DSL Tigers 2 (W 4-2) vs. DSL Twins
Veteran outfielder Willian Berti got the Tigers going early with a 2-run homer in the 1st. Then the Tigers tacked on two more in the 3rd on a Samuell Sanchez home run and a wild pitch that scored Sterling Bazil. The Tigers pitchers handled the rest. Sheroky Rodriguez allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings, but Jesus Miranda and Raimi Mueses shut down the Twins over the final 3 1/3.
Three scoreless innings for FCL Tigers 19-year-old pitcher Jhonan Coba this morning. His season numbers now:
5GS, 15.2IP 6H 2ER 7BB 24K pic.twitter.com/J3IkIvatFD— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 2, 2026
Jerry McKennan 
Colin Arthur