The Tigers were a disaster in Chicago, but at least the organization got a few wins in the minors. And the best news was the return of a seemingly healthy Javier Baez. Read all about it below…
Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (W 5-1) vs. Louisville Bats – 46-50 Overall
Toledo welcomed Louisville into town with a bullpen start, thanks in part to Ty Madden getting called up to Detroit. The Bats responded in kind, which mighty explain why the game moved so quickly. Nick Sandlin drew the start, and he needed just 10 pitches to complete the 1st. The Hens immediately went about giving him the lead, with Max Clark launching his 9th home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the 1st. Max Anderson followed with a double and then scored on a Corey Julks sac fly. Toledo was off and running.
But it took a while to score again. They had plenty of chances, but the Hens went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight men on base. They finally broke through again in the 9th, with Bennett Lee plating two runs on a triple, and Clark making it 5-1 on an infield single. And the Toledo bullpen did the rest. Six different Hens relievers combined to hold Louisville to just one (unearned) run on four hits, with eleven strikeouts and one walk.
Max Clark turns on this sweeper and launches it 397 feet for his 9th home run of the season. pic.twitter.com/hYDXTNOytl
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 21, 2026
Max Clark 2/4, HR(9) 2RBI, BB, 2K
Max Anderson 3/3, 2B, 2BB
Eduardo Valencia 0/5, 3K
Trei Cruz 2/4, R
Jace Jung 1/2, R, 2BB
Bennett Lee 2/4, 3B, R, 2RBI, 2K
Nick Sandlin
2IP H 4K
Troy Watson
2IP 2K
Enmanuel De Jesus
IP 2H R ER 2K
Beau Brieske
IP K
Tanner Rainey
IP 2K
Erie SeaWolves (L 7-6, 11 innings) @ Chesapeake Baysox – 16-6 2nd Half, 52-38 Overall
Erie traveled to Chesapeake for a Tuesday matinee game that lasted nearly four hours. The SeaWolves struck first, getting a bases-loaded single from Andrew Jenkins in the 3rd. But the Baysox jumped all over Erie starter Carlos Pena in the 4th inning, hitting a pair of home runs and scores four times. Chesapeake pushed their lead to 6-2 after seven innings, but the scrappy SeaWolves fought back.
Max Burt singled home a run in the 8th to make it a 6-3 game. And then Josue Briceno led off the 9th with a walk, and Justice Bigbie and Jenkins hit back-to-back homers and stun the home crowd. Unfortunately, the Wolves couldn’t get the free runner home in either the 10th or the 11th, with Briceno getting throw out at the plate to end the 11th. And then the Baysox won it on a walk, sac bunt, and wild pitch by Wandisson Charles.
Justice Bigbie sneaks a 2-run homer over the short porch in right and Erie pulls within one run in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/NVbWCrv6kc
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 21, 2026
Seth Stephenson 1/4, 2R, BB, SB(44)
Peyton Graham 0/4, BB, 3K
Josue Briceno 0/4, R, 2BB, 3K
Justice Bigbie 2/5 HR(6), 3RBI
Andrew Jenkins 2/4 HR(9) 2RBI, 2BB, K
Carlos Peña 4.1 IP 3H 4R ER 7K
Lael Lockhart
3.2IP 3H 2ER 2BB 4K
Trevin Michael
1.1 IP BB 2K
West Michigan Whitecaps (L 16-3) @ Peoria Chiefs – 14-11 2nd Half, 38-51 Overall
What a disaster. We don’t have much for you on this one. The Whitecaps jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Peoria error and a Samuel Gil RBI single to right. And then it was ALL Chiefs. West Michigan starter Rayner Castillo just didn’t have it, giving up two home runs on his first three pitches. And it only got worse from there. Peoria added six more runs in the 3rd, one in the 5th, four in the 6th, and three in the 7th. Tai Peete had two homers and a triple, while Jack Gurevitch went 4-for-4 with three home runs. The Whitecaps did put runners on base all night, but they also managed to hit into five double plays. Gross.
Samuel Gil with a nice oppo single to score Andrew Sojka and put West Michigan up 2-0 in the first. pic.twitter.com/fRzfGTmFrh
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 21, 2026
Woody Hadeen 0/4, R, BB, 2K
Bryce Rainer 0/2, 3BB, 2K
Ricardo Hurtado 1/4, BB, K
Andrew Sojka 3/5, R, RBI, K
Clayton Campbell 2/3, 2BB
Rayner Castillo
2.2IP 6H 8ER 2BB K 3HR
Carlos Lequerica
1.1 IP 7H 7ER BB K 2HR
Lakeland Flying Tigers (W 5-3) vs. Jupiter Hammerheads – 12-13 2nd Half, 43-47 Overall
The big story here was the rehab appearance of Javier Baez, who was playing in his first game since injuring his ankle with the Tigers on April 28th. And it didn’t take long for Baez to look pretty healthy. He smoked a 105 MPH single in his first at-bat, and then cruised home on a 2-run double off the bat of Beau Ankeney.
Ankeney kicked off Lakeland’s second mini-rally with a single in the 3rd, though Jupiter really handed the Flygers two runs with a pair of errors and a wild pitch. The Hammerheads made it scary with a run in the 4th and two in the 5th, and Lakeland kept letting the Jupiter pitchers off the hook, The Flying Tigers finished the night just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, grounding into three double plays, and leaving 11 men on base. But they finally broke through again on a Carson Rucker RBI single in the 7th.
Javy Baez’s ankle seems good! He goes into the hole and throws a seed to get the runner at first and end the inning. pic.twitter.com/KhbDxLroaZ
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 21, 2026
Jordan Yost 1/2, 2B, R, 3BB, K
Javier Baez (rehab) 1/2, R, HBP
Thayron Liranzo (rehab) 0/2, 2BB, K
Beau Ankeney 2/4, 2B, 2RBI, BB, K
Jude Warwick 0/3, R, BB
Nick Dumesnil 0/3, R, BB, SB(9)
Carson Rucker 1/3 BB, 2K
Grayson Grinsell
4.2IP 4H 3ER 3BB 2K
Win Scott
1.1 IP H K
Marco Jimenez (rehab)
IP
Xiomer Guacache
2IP H K
Rookie Ball Recap
FCL Tigers (W 13-2, 7 innings) vs. FCL Blue Jays – (27-31 Overall)
This one was about as perfect as an FCL game can go, at least for Tigers fans. The Tigers racked up 16 hits, allowed just one hit, and got strong performances from their biggest prospects. Starter Jhonan Coba was spectacular, earing his first FCL win with five scoreless, hitless innings. And Cris Rodriguez arguably had the best game of his professional career, going 3-for-3 with with two homers, a double, and a walk. Infielder Guillermo Batista hit his 1st stateside homer, Steven Madero launched his 7th, and seven different hitters reached base at least twice.
DSL Tigers 1 (L 7-2, 7 innings) vs. DSL Nationals – (15-21 Overall)
We had a legitimate pitcher’s duel for three innings in this game, with Tigers starter Sammy Zarraga and Nats starter Franniel Reynoso trading zeroes. The teams traded single runs in the 4th, but the Nationals kept piling on after that, and two runs in each of the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings. And the Tigers managed just two hits, with Jose Ramirez and Randy Santana both hitting doubles. Hard to win like that.
DSL Tigers 2 (L 12-10) @ DSL Twins (18-18 Overall)
The Tigers 2 seemed well on their way to a victory in this game, leading 7-3 in the 6th inning. Then disaster struck. The first ten batters of the inning reached safely, and when the dust settled, the Twins had scored nine times to take a 12-7 lead. The Tigers fought back as best they could, scoring twice in the 7th and putting the potential go-ahead run at first, but they couldn’t complete the comeback. That collapse spoiled some terrific offensive performances, with Eduardo Tusen (3-for-5, 2 RBI), Manuel Bolivar (2-for-5, 3RBI), and Samuell Sanchez (2-for-2, 2B, 2R) all have great days at the plate.
The DSL Tigers2 take a 4-0 lead thanks to an Eduardo Tusen RBI chopper, a sharp RBI double from Samuell Sanchez, and a 2-run single from Sterling Bazil. pic.twitter.com/sEo1bIXRGJ
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 21, 2026
Colin Arthur 
Jerry McKennan