Tuesday’s slate saw Tigers affiliates go 6-1, with some wild run scoring at the rookie level. But the one loss hurt the most, because it also came with another devastating injury.
Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (W 2-1) vs. Rochester Red Wings – 32-37 Overall
Rain delayed this game for 66 minutes, and then the Rochester fans who were treated to a tidy, low-scoring affair. The Red Wings manages just two hits all night, one of which was a solo homer. The Mud Hens weren’t exactly offensive dynamos, either, adding just five hits of their own. The first was a solo home run in the 3rd innings from Andrew Navigato. But the eventual game winner came with two outs in the 5th, when Ben Malgeri dropped a single into left center to plate Navigato.
The rest was up to the Hens pitchers, led by starter Troy Watson, who gave up just one hit over five scoreless frames. Konnor Pilkington allowed the only Rochester run, but Tanner Rainey and Jack Little pitched the final 2 1/3 with little trouble to secure the win.
Ben Malgeri puts the Mud Hens up 2-0 with a soft liner to left center. pic.twitter.com/CgMd8l0Fm6
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 17, 2026
Ben Malgeri 1/3, RBI, BB, K, 2SB(8)
Max Clark 1/4
Max Anderson 1/4, 2B, K
Andrew Navigato 2/3 HR(2), 2R, SB(2)
Troy Watson
5IP H 0R 0BB 3K
Jack Little
IP K
Erie SeaWolves (W 3-1, 10 innings) vs. Harrisburg Senators – 33-30 Overall
Erie kicked off their series in Harrisburg with a win thanks to excellent pitching and timely hits in the 10th inning. The big story here was Andrew Sears making his first start for Erie this season. And he was excellent, working at his typical feverish pace to rack up six strikeouts and 12 whiffs over 3.2 innings. Chris Meyers staked Sears to a 1-0 lead with a solo homer, but the Senators tied it in the 4th on a walk, a single, and a sac fly.
From there the bullpen took over. Five SeaWolves relievers combined to toss 6 1/3 scoreless frames, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out 11. Thayron Liranzo kicked off the 10th inning with a single to right, and then Erie pulled a double steal to go up 2-1. Peyton Graham provided the final blow, lacing a 2-out RBI double to left to go up 3-1. Tanner Kohlhepp then worked a perfect 10th to secure the win.
Andrew Sears struck out two of the first two batters he faced in his first start for @erie_seawolves of 2026. Wasted no time. pic.twitter.com/xFwVHrWI1H
— Rogelio Castillo (@rogcastbaseball) June 16, 2026
Seth Stephenson 1/4, BB, SB(30)
John Peck 0/4, R, BB
Thayron Liranzo 1/5, R, 3K, SB
Chris Meyers 1/3 HR(3) 2BB, K
Izaac Pacheco 0/1, 4BB
Peyton Graham 2/4, 2B, RBI, BB
Andrew Sears
3.2IP 2H ER BB 6K
Yoniel Curet
1.1 IP H BB 3K
Luke Taggart
2IP 4K
Tanner Kohlhepp
IP K
West Michigan Whitecaps (W 4-1) vs. Lansing Lugnuts – 23-40 Overall
It’s too late to salvage the first half of the season, but the Whitecaps have been playing solid baseball again. This one was a pitcher’s duel for the first five innings, with Hayden Minton allowing just one run, while Lansing starter Nathan Dettmer was clean through five. But the Whitecaps took advantage of some wild Lugnuts pitching in the 6th, scoring when Bryce Rainer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and then adding another run on a bases-loaded walk to Andrew Sojka.
Minton was excellent, allowing just two hits over five innings. And the Whitecaps bullpen matched his effort, tossing four scoreless frames to close out the proceedings. Jackson Strong made it a 3-1 game with a sac fly in the 7th, and Garrett Penning added one more run with an RBI double.
Garrett Pennington lines an RBI double into the left corner to give the Whitecaps a 4-1 lead. @ThatDanHasty on the call. pic.twitter.com/86QMgVoA1d
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 17, 2026
Woody Hadeen 1/2, 2B, 2R, 2BB, K, SB
Jackson Strong 0/2, RBI, BB, K
Garrett Pennington 1/4, 2B, RBI, 2K
Bryce Rainer 0/3, RBI
Samuel Gil 2/3, 2B, 2R, SB(8)
Hayden Minton
5IP 2H ER 2BB 4K
Logan Berrier
IP K
Ryan Harvey
IP H BB 2K
Lakeland Flying Tigers (L 6-4) vs. Dunedin Blue Jays – 30-33 Overall
Dunedin scored just two batters into this game, and they added a second run on a solo homer in the 2nd. The Flying tigers got one back in the 4th on a double-play off the bat of Jesus Pinto. The score stayed 2-1 until the 7th, thanks in part to a great throw from Zach MacDonald, when Nick Dumesnil hit a game-changing three-run homer. But Dunedin struck back with three runs of their own in the 8th to retake the lead, and they tacked on one more run in the 9th.
Unfortunately, the story of this game was the loss of Franyerber Montilla, who was playing his first game with the Flying Tigers since July 18th of last year. He walked in his first plate appearance, but in the 2nd inning Montilla appeared to suffer another catastrophic knee injury while readying to catch a throw. It’s a brutal blow for one of Detroit’s most exciting young infielders.
Nick Dumesnil launches a 3-run homer to left to put Lakeland up 4-2 in the 7th. It’s his 3rd home run of the year. @AaronArnstein on the call. pic.twitter.com/zYqH02f6RK
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 17, 2026
Beau Ankeney 1/4, 2B, R, K
Edian Espinal 2/3, K
Jesus Pinto 1/4, K, SB(10)
Jude Warwick 0/3, R, BB
Nick Dumesnil 2/3, HR(3), 3RBI
Grayson Grinsell
3.2IP 4H 2ER 6K
Win Scott
2IP 2K
Yendy Gomez
2IP 5H 4R 3ER 2K
Rookie Ball Recap
It was blowout city in rookie ball today, as Detroit’s three teams combined to outscore their opponents 40-12.
FCL Tigers (15-2) vs. FCL Blue Jays – 15-18 Overall
Toronto prospect Ricky Tiedemann threw his first inning in nearly two full seasons today, which was good to see. The Tigers did get to him for a run thanks to doubles from Patrick Lee and Angel De Los Santos. Then things pretty much fell apart for the Blue Jays, as they allowed six runs in the 2nd, two runs in the 3rd, and six more runs in the 6th. Lee, Steven Madero, and Cristian Perez all hit home runs, and Jhonan Coba continued his strong season with four innings of one-run ball.
DSL Tigers 1 (W 9-3) vs. DSL Cardinals – (6-6 Overall)
The Tigers took advantage of two errors early in the 2nd inning, piling up five runs thanks to singles from Jonathan Moya and Fabian Dorta, a double from Yojan Coronel, and a triple by Adrian Hoyte. They added three more runs in the 6th thanks to some wild Cardinals pitching, and the tacked on another run in the 9th after Randy Santana led off with a triple. Sammy Zarraga gave up just two runs over five innings, and Jefrey Gonzalez closed out the win.
DSL Tigers 2 (16-7) vs. DSL Phillies (5-7 Overall)
Tigers hitters piled up some impressive numbers in this one, as they scored multiple runs in five of the seven innings. Sterling Bazil went 4-for-5 and scored three runs, Eduardo Tusen was 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs, and Wagnel Luna managed 5 RBIs despite going just 1-for-2. Sheroky Rodriguez struggled a bit on the mound, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) in 3.2 innings, but his offense provided him with more than enough support.
Here’s outfielder Randy Santana driving a triple to right center. He later scored on a single by Carlos Benavides. pic.twitter.com/5IromlVrPP
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 16, 2026
Colin Arthur 
Jerry McKennan