Bryce Rainer hurt as Lakeland wins by walkoff, Whitecaps romp as the prospect stars shine again

Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Tuesday, June 4, 2025.

Columbus Clippers 6, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box )

Toledo struggled to find any offense against Columbus in the series opener Tuesday, falling by a five-run margin despite having just one fewer hit.

Jace Jung was the only base runner for either team through the first two innings after walking in the first. Gage Workman doubled with two outs in the top of the third, too, but that was all the offense to speak of until Johnathan Rodríguez (No. 12, CLE) and C.J. Kayfus (No. 5) hit back-to-back homers off Wilkel Hernandez.

Columbus got to Hernandez again in the fifth. Christian Cairo tripled with one out and a sac fly made it 4-0. Matt Seelinger replaced Hernandez after the run scored and pitched through the sixth without giving up a run.

Toledo finally got on the board in the seventh thanks to an RBI single from Bligh Madris. Vince Velasquez allowed just two hits and a walk through 5.2 innings for Columbus, while striking out eight. The Mud Hens strung something together off Will Dion in the seventh, but that was the only run they’d score all evening.

Jordan Balazovic gave up a two-run homer to Brayan Rocchio to put the final touches on things. Franco Aleman threw the ninth.

Lee: 0-4, 0 BB, 2 K

Jung: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Malloy: 1-4, 0 BB, 1 K

Hernandez (L, 1-2): 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; 79 pitches (49 strikes)

Coming Up Next: Toledo sends Lael Lockhart to the mound on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET

Erie SeaWolves 8, Richmond Flying Squirrels 3 (box )

The SeaWolves cruised to an 8-3 victory over the Flying Squirrels behind a strong offensive performance to start the series.

Erie jumped all over Richmond’s left-handed starter, Joe Whitman (No. 7, SF), for seven runs (six earned) through just three innings. In the first inning, Thayron Liranzo took a 91 mph fastball for a ride way beyond the left-field wall for his second homer of the year off Whitman.

The 2-0 lead held for an inning until Richmond answered with a run in the top of the third. Adrián Sugasety doubled off Austin Bergner, who was looking to get through the order one time unharmed. He’s a three-inning kind of arm, so this was probably it for him, regardless of what happened. Bergner walked a runner and gave up an RBI single to Carter Howell before getting out of the jam.

Erie responded with a loud, five-run bottom of the frame to put things out of reach early. Max Anderson hit a solo home run, Liranzo walked and Jake Holton singled to load the bases.

Justice Bigbie brought two more around with a liner up the gut. Roberto Campos kept things going with a single, and Eduardo Valencia drove in both with a single to left that got misplayed for an error.

Richmond had an answer, but two runs in the fourth weren’t enough to come back. Jairo Pomares chipped away at the seven-run deficit with an RBI double to score Cal Mitchell. Bergner walked the next batter and finally got the hook.

Tim Naughton took over and traded an out for a run on a sacrifice fly before getting out of the inning with a flyout to left. Richmond moved on from its starter as well, and Erie’s bats had a harder time finding offense.

Nothing happened until the eighth, when Carlos Mendoza beat out a double play for an RBI fielder’s choice, scoring Jim Jarvis. Liranzo also had a double later in the inning, but nothing happened. The same happened with Jarvis in the sixth.’

Naughton stayed in through the sixth. Jordan Marks came on for two scoreless innings of relief in the seventh, and Richard Guash put together a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the win.

Anderson: 1-5, HR (8), 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K

Bigbie: 2-2, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K

Liranzo: 2-4, 2B (6), HR (7), 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K

Bergner: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; 74 pitches (42 strikes)

Coming Up Next: Erie has Jose Montalvo slated to throw on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. ET.

West Michigan Whitecaps 9, Lake County Captains 2 (box )

The trio of Josue Briceño, Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle went a combined 8-13 with two home runs, a double and 7 RBI in Tuesday’s 9-2 win for the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Clark opened the game with a hustle double off Matt Wilkinson. McGonigle moved him to third on a taggable flyout, and Briceño drove Clark in with a base knock to right. Wilkinson continued to struggle, walking the bases loaded and bringing in a free run after a John Peck single. Andrew Jenkins made it 3-0 with a sac fly, and another walk ended the day for Wilkinson.

Robert Wegielnik got the final out of the first without any trouble, but it was a different story in the second. Clark came back up to start the second and drew a walk. Wegielnik tried to pick him off at first but threw the ball away, allowing him to advance, and a wild pitch put Clark on third.

Briceño scored Clark easily, for the second time, with a line-drive double. That’s the last run West Michigan scored until the sixth, but Lake County was doing much hitting against Joe Miller and the rest of Erie’s pitching staff.

Miller retired the first eight batters he faced, mostly on contact, before running into some trouble in the third. With two outs, he walked Juan Benjamin, hit Christian Knapczyk and allowed a single to Alfonsin Rosario (No. 25, CLE). Miller got Ralphy Velasquez (No. 6) to ground out with the bases loaded and preserve the 4-0 lead.

He cruised through the fourth, even though a fielding error from Isaac Pacheco at third extended the inning. Maick Collado took him deep to open the fifth, but that’s the only real blemish over Miller’s five innings of work.

Trevin Michael threw two innings in relief. Esteban González hit a homer off him, and he had some trouble recovering. Michael walked the next batter and hit the following one before striking out a pair to end the seventh.

The homer hardly stung as Clark and Co. had done more damage in the sixth. Clark walked to open the frame and McGonigle homered over the right-center wall.

Briceño went back-to-back for his third hit of the day. He finished with four, singling later in the game.

They added some more runs in the seventh, with Clark driving in Luke Gold on a liner to right and McGonigle scoring Seth Stephenson on a fielder’s choice to second base.

Marco Jimenez lowered his ERA to 2.63 with a 1-2-3 eighth, and Micah Ashman pitched around a walk in the ninth to preserve his 0.72 ERA. Erie has one of the best pitching staffs in the minors, and it showed in this combined three-hitter.

Briceño: 4-4, 2B (8), HR (13), 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K

Clark: 2-4, 2B (7), 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K

McGonigle: 2-5, HR (2), 1 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Miller (W, 3-1): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; 75 pitches (45 strikes)

Coming Up Next: Hayden Minton gets the start Wednesday for West Michigan at 6:35 p.m. ET.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Daytona Tortugas 3 (box )

The Flying Tigers might have won in a thrilling, walkoff fashion, but the evening felt like a loss with Bryce Rainer going down with an injury.

The Detroit Tigers’ 2024 first-round pick left the game in the fourth inning after diving back into the bag at first. He looked to be in serious pain immediately and a trainer had to help him off the field. The hope is that it’s a bad jam or even a dislocation, which can be scary but is relatively good news in terms of recovery time. Expect Rainer to miss a significant amount of time. Hopefully he can get back into action this summer sometime after the break.

When Rainer left the game, Lakeland trailed 3-0. Daytona got to Zack Lee for three runs in the first, but he settled down after that. Three of Lee’s allowed hits and one of his two walks came in that first inning.

Lee led the game in swing and miss with 12, but he only struck out three batters over five innings. He left the game in line for the loss, but not before his team got on the board.

Daytona starter Zachary Murray carried got through the order the first time around with allowing a baserunner. Carson Rucker broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the fifth with two outs, and Cristian Santana doubled him in to ruin the shutout, too.

Murray returned for the sixth but left after Franyerber Montilla doubled in Samuel Gil, who singled after replacing Rainer earlier in the game. Jackson Strong doubled in Montilla, tying the game.

Both bullpens worked until the ninth inning. Ryan Harvey and Moises Rodriguez were nearly perfect for Lakeland through the final four innings. Rodriguez hit a batter in the sixth, but no one else reached base after that.

Rodriguez touched 99.4 mph with the heater and drew seven whiffs on 15 swings (47%) while throwing it 25 times overall. Harvey also used his fastball effectively, drawing seven whiffs on 13 swings (54%) while throwing it 17 times, albeit not as fast as Rodriguez’s.

Daytona had Gabe Starks pitch through the eighth despite blowing the save. Strong’s RBI double came against him, but the run goes on Murray’s record. He kept the 3-3 going, though, which is more than Jacob Edwards did.

Lakeland walked it off on an RBI single from Sergio Tapia. Stephen Hrustich reached on a base hit earlier in the inning to set things up.

Rainer: 0-2, 0 BB, 0 K; injured

Montilla: 1-3, 2B (7), 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

Strong: 1-4, 2B (6), 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K

Lee: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; 72 pitches (47 strikes)

Coming Up Next: Lakeland plays at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday but does not have a probable starter listed.