Akron fights back to force Game 3 with the SeaWolves

Scores, news, and notes, from around the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Thursday, September 20, 2024.

Columbus Clippers 2, Toledo Mud Hens 0 (box )

The Hens got no-hit in this one as the Clippers’ Connor Gillespie spun five no-hit innings with seven strikeouts, and their bullpen took it the rest of the way.

Troy Watson threw a good five innings for Toledo in the loss. He gave up the game winning run to the second batter of the day, but locked it down from there, striking out four with a walk and four hits allowed.

Six of the first eight Hens hitters struck out before Riley Unroe drew a walk with two outs in the third. Ryan Vilade flew out to center field, and a similar fate befell their only other base runner. Andrew Navigato walked and stole second with two outs in the fourth, but Eddys Leonard flew out and they wouldn’t have another base runner.

Watson (L, 3-8): 5.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 4 K

Akron RubberDucks 7, Erie SeaWolves 4 (F/10)(box )

The SeaWolves battled back repeatedly in Thursday’s Game 2 of the Eastern League divisional series, but the RubberDucks finally forced the rubber game in 10 innings at UPMC Park.

Carlos Pena got the start and just ran out of gas in a long fifth inning where the hook came too late from Gabe Alvarez. For four innings, the soft tossing lefty was racking up routine ground balls and strike outs. The RubberDucks were not having a good day, but the SeaWolves couldn’t put a rally together either.

In the fifth, a leadoff bunt put a runner on first and the intensity level of the deadlocked game ramped up. Another bunt saw Pena start a double play that should have been a huge momentum shift for the SeaWolves. A single followed, and suddenly the usually precise Pena walked back-to-back batters to load the bases. Pena was near the end of his outing, but they didn’t go to the pen against a solid right-handed hitter in Kody Huff, and he burned them with a bases clearing triple. R.J. Petit then took over and punched out the final hitter of the frame.

The SeaWolves battled right back in the bottom half of the fifth. Liam Hicks led off with a double and Max Anderson walked to start things. An Eliezer Alfonzo ground out forced Hicks at third but left runners at first and second with one out. Brady Allen struck out, but Carlos Mendoza came through with a walk on a really bad call by the home plate umpire, and Austin Murr striped a two-run single to right field. 3-2 Akron.

In the sixth, Petit pitched through a leadoff single by Khalil Watson, who stole second but was stranded. Chris Meyers launched a solo shot in the bottom half, and the game was tied.

Petis faltered in the top of the seventh, allowing a walk and a pair of singles that make it 4-3 Akron, and the SeaWolves couldn’t answer until the bottom of the ninth. Hicks came through in a big way again, leading off with a triple. The run scored on a Max Anderson sacrifice fly, and it was on to the 10th inning.

Unfortunately, errors on pitcher Tyler Owens and Max Anderson helped spark a three-run inning for the RubberDucks in the 10th, and the SeaWolves couldn’t answer back.

They’ll play for the right to advance to the championship series on Friday night in Erie at 6:35 p.m. ET.

Hicks: 2-4, 2B, 3B, K

Mendoza: 1-3, 2 BB

Pena: 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 K

Jaden Hamm named Pitcher of the Year in the Midwest League

Right-handed starter Jaden Hamm was perhaps the biggest breakout performer in the Tigers farm system this season. Selected in 2023 with the Tigers fifth round pick out of Middle Tennessee State, Hamm’s first full season was 99 innings of dominance, as he punched out 122 hitters and walked just 31, posting a 2.64 ERA.

Hamm came to the Tigers with a good fastball but as the Tigers immediately informed him, they wanted him to pound the top of the zone. His arm angle, deception, release, and movement profile all combine to produce a very good riding fastball despite not having overpowering velocity. Hamm is typically 94-95 with a little extra in the tank, which is solid, and he stands a good chance of adding more.

A solid power curveball plays well off Hamm’s fastball and gets a good amount of whiffs. There’s still a third pitch required to really take a leap, but Hamm’s fastball-breaker combo and command are already well advanced and he could’ve comfortably finished his season in Erie. Several sites rank Hamm as a top 100 prospect with a general 50 future value grade. The Tigers have a good pitching prospect here. He’s already pretty good and he just turned 22 years old. There’s plenty of room for continued growth.

Palm Beach Cardinals 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 4 (box )

The Cardinals took the decisive Game 3 on Wednesday night to win the Florida State League championship two game to one.

We could wonder how it would have gone had a lengthy rain delay not knocked Flying Tigers starter Gabriel Reyes out of the game with two outs in the first inning, but the Cardinals bullpen just won out over the Flying Tigers in this one.

Reyes has been Lakeland’s hottest pitcher and was dominant in the divisional series. After Lakeland went in order in the top of the first, Reyes allowed a swinging bunt of a single, and catcher Archer Brookman threw it away, allowing the batter, Bryce Madron, to take second. Reyes got a routine fly out to left, and then the late summer deluge of south Florida rolled in.

After a delay of two and a half hours, right-hander Duque Hebbert took over for the Flying Tigers as play restarted. He gave up a walk to put two on, and then a two-run double before closing out the inning. Hayden Minton took over in the second, and he surrendered a run as well for a 3-0 Palm Beach lead but settled in to pitch very well over the next three innings of work.

The Flying Tigers mounted a comeback in the fourth. Jose De La Cruz walked with one out, advanced on a ground out, and scored on a Franyerber Montilla single. In the fifth, Nomar Fana singled with two outs and Jack Penney went yard 422 feet to straightaway center field to tie the ballgame up at 3-3. Keep an eye on Mr. Penney.

Unfortunately, a Montilla double was squandered in the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh, an error and a walk put Lakeland reliever Cam Brown in a jam. Garrett Apker took over and got a strikeout and a flyout, but then surrendered a double and a triple back to back as Palm Beach seized a 6-3 lead.

Penney launched a second 400 footer to center field to lead off the eighth, making it a 6-4 game, but the Flying Tigers couldn’t make a final push. Still, a great season considering the turnover on the roster, and very encouraging that the next wave of young Tigers talent continued to dominate other teams even as prospects graduated to High-A all season long.

Penney: 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR

Montilla: 2-4, RBI, 2B, 2 K

Minton: 4.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 BB