Cristian Santana homers twice in Flying Tigers victory

Scores, news, and notes from around the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Omaha Storm Chasers 6, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box )

Reese Olson made a short rehab start for the Mud Hens in this one, but the Storm Chasers continued their winning ways.

Olson allowed a first inning homer to Cavan Biggio, and then a walk, a single, and a Biggio sacrifice fly brought in a second run before Olson gave way to Drew Sommers with two outs in the third. The Royals affiliate only had three left-handed hitters in the lineup, but notably Olson used his curveball against them rather than his changeup.

The Hens’ offense once again got dominated, striking out 12 times with only four hits and five walks on the night. Matt Vierling didn’t play in this one. They scored their first run when Ryan Kreidler walked to start the bottom of the second. He stole second and third, and scored on a Manuel Margot ground out.

Sommers did not have a good outing in this one after looking great the first five outings up from Erie. He gave up a pair of runs in the fourth. Margot launched a solo shot in the fifth, but Wilkel Hernandez took over in a bulk role and gave up two runs in four innings of work. Beau Brieske struck out two in a perfect ninth.

Margot: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR

Ibáñez: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 SB

Kreidler: 1-3, R, BB, K, 2 SB

Olson (L, 0-1): 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, 4 K

Hernandez: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens will try to salvage a game at 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday. The losing streak has them nearly back down to .500 on the year at 35-33.

Erie SeaWolves 7, Altoona Curve 2 (box )

The SeaWolves took a 3-2 series lead on Saturday with a strong performance in all phases.

Trei Cruz got them started with a leadoff double to start the game. Max Anderson struck out, but Thayron Liranzo drew a walk. Jake Holton grounded out, but Eduardo Valencia drove a one-hopper over the center field wall for a two-run double.

The SeaWolves came back for single runs in the fourth and fifth. Jake Holton singled and eventually scored on a single from Chris Meyers in the fourth. In the fifth, Max Anderson doubled to start the inning and later scored on a Valencia single.

Garrett Burhenn put together a decent start in this one, spinning five innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts. He allowed single runs in the fourth and the fifth, so it was 4-2 SeaWolves when Burhenn left the game.

In the sixth the SeaWolves helped seal the victory with another outburst. Roberto Campos led off with a single and scored on a Meyers double. A pair of outs followed but they got Meyers to third, and he scored on an Anderson grounder that went for an error. Singles from Liranzo and Holton followed, scoring Anderson, and it was 7-2 SeaWolves.

Jordan Marks and Troy Watson each spun two scoreless innings to close it out.

Valencia: 3-4, 3 RBI, 2B, BB

Holton: 2-4, R, RBI, BB

Meyers: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B

Burhenn (W, 7-1): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: Having secured a split, the SeaWolves will look to win the series at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.

West Michigan Whitecaps 3, Lansing Lugnuts 2 (box )

With Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle getting the night off—clearly to pack for Erie—the Whitecaps took a four to one game lead in the series anyway. I kid, I kid…maybe.

Andrew Jenkins walked in the second and scored after back-to-back singles from Austin Murr and Luke Gold. Peyton Graham singled and scored in the third on a Jenkins RBI single. In the fourth, Gold led off with a single and moved to second on a Patrick Lee knock. The next two hitters struck out but Graham came through with a grounder through the left side for an RBI single.

Joe Miller got the start, and the lefty was decent, allowing just two runs, one earned, over five innings of work despite one strikeout. The Whitecaps bullpen continued their dominance with four innings of two-hit, shutout ball. Colin Fields handled two innings, while Micah Ashman pitched the eighth and Preston Howey the ninth. All three hold an ERA under 2.00.

Gold: 3-4, R, RBI

Graham: 2-5, R, RBI, K

Jenkins: 1-4, R, RBI, BB

Miller (W, 4-2): 5.0 IP, 2 R, ER, 6 H, BB, K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 1:05 p.m. ET start on Sunday.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 7, Palm Beach Cardinals 4 (box )

Josh Randall threw a good game while Cristian Santana and Ricardo Hurtado provided the power as the Flying Tigers earned a shot to split the series on Sunday.

The Flygers started quickly as Woody Hadeen was hit by a pitch and Santana cracked a 413 foot shot for a 2-0 lead. Randall allowed a run in the bottom of the first, but the Flying Tigers came right back for more in the second.

Samuel Gil drew a walk to open the second inning and advanced on a Hurtado ground out. Jose De La Cruz walked, but Abel Bastidas flew out. Hadeen came up for his second AB and singled in Gil. Hadeen stole second and Jackson Strong singled in De La Cruz, but Hadeen was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. 4-1 Flying Tigers.

Randall continued to cruise, while the offense missed a scoring opportunity in the fourth. They didn’t miss in the fifth.

Santana started the inning with his second homer of the game, and eighth on the season. Stephen Hrustich followed with a single and Carson Rucker was hit by a pitch. Gil grounded into a double play as the Cardinals got Hrustich at third and Gil at first. However, Hurtado stepped to the plate and mashed a two-run homer to left for a 7-1 lead.

Right-hander Dariel Fregio took over from Randall in the seventh, and he was impressive. The 25-year-old spent the last few years out of college pitching in the Frontier League and in the Australian League. His fastball tops out around 94-95 mph, and he boasts some really high spin rates on his fastball, cutter, and slider. The Cardinals couldn’t deal with it at all as Fregio struck out the side in the seventh. He punched out two more in the eighth to close out two impressive innings of relief.

Chris Williams Jr. closed it out in the ninth, allowing three runs before finally putting the game away.

Santana: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, BB, 2 K

Hurtado: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K

Randall (W, 3-4): 6.0 IP, ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Fregio: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers will try to split the series on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.