Erie Moon Mammoths lose a close one; Whitecaps mash four home runs to crush the Lugnuts

Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Saturday, July 19, 2025.

Toledo Mud Hens vs. Memphis Red Birds (postponed)

After getting rained out on Saturday, they’ll play two starting at 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Red Birds lead the series 1-0.

Chesapeake Oyster Catchers 6, Erie Moon Mammoths 5 (box )

The debut of the Erie Moon Mammoths went well for the franchise, but the team came up short in a late rally.

Jon Oliver’s minor league promotion was a hit as the SeaWolves filled out UPMC Park with a capacity crowd of 7,070 on Saturday evening to see the matchup between the rebranded Moon Mammoths take on the Chesapeake Bay Sox, err, Oyster Catchers.

The Mammoths got out to an early lead when Max Clark led off the bottom of the first with a walk, stole second, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Max Anderson ground out. However, things did not go well for starter Troy Watson. The right-hander allowed four runs and Andrew Magno had to clean up the fifth inning before handling the sixth as well.

Kevin McGonigle led off the bottom of the sixth with a single. Anderson doubled him to third, and both scored on a Josue Briceño grounder that was thrown away by the Oyster Catchers second baseman.

RJ Petit took over from Magno and tossed two no-hit frames with just a walk and a strikeout. Unfortunately, Tanner Kohlhepp allowed a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.

That hurt, as the Moon Mammoths immediately got singles from Ben Malgeri and Carlos Mendoza and had two on with one out in the ninth. Max Clark singled to right field, but Malgeri was surprisingly held at third, and Clark came into second with a head of steam to find Mendoza still on second base. With nowhere to go as the throw came in, Clark was a dead duck. Thayron Liranzo walked to load the bases, and McGonigle promptly smoked a two-run double to right field. They walked Max Anderson intentionally, and Josue Briceño struck out to end it.

McGonigle: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, BB, K, SB

Anderson: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B, BB

Clark: 1-4, R, BB, 3 K, SB

Watson (L, 3-2): 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves try to salvage a game at 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday back in their normal unis.

West Michigan Whitecaps 15, Lansing Lugnuts 4 (box )

It was a bad night for Lugnuts pitching as the Whitecaps racked up 19 hits, including four home runs, to win easily in Lansing.

Austin Murr got things started with a solo shot in the top of the second inning.

Reliever Preston Howey handled the first two innings on a bullpen day, but allowed the Lugnuts to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the second.

Archer Brookman then launched his first homer for the ‘Caps to open the third. John Peck followed him by reaching on an error, and Garrett Pennington doubled in the run for a 3-1 lead.

CJ Weins got into a jam in the third, and then a rain delay suspended play for a half hour, forcing a pitching change to Joe Adametz when action resumed. Adametz immediately got a comebacker and fired home to start a double play, and then got a ground out to escape the inning without a run allowed.

Singles from Andrew Jenkins, Woody Hadeen, and Luke Gold got the ‘Caps started in the fourth. They pushed two runs in and a Jack Penney double added another to make it 6-1.

The Lugnuts got a run in the bottom of the fourth, and then a solo shot off of Max Alba in the fifth.

In the sixth, Seth Stephenson led off with a triple and scored on a Peck single before Pennington launched his first High-A home run for a 9-3 lead. Pennington will turn 25 in October, and he’s a right-handed hitting first baseman who can play a bit of left field. So hitting High-A pitching is mandatory for him to start getting a little notice. So far, so good. The undrafted free agent is at least worth keeping tabs on as he tries to catch up to peers who got a faster start to their pro careers.

Alba allowed another run in the bottom of the seventh, eventually handling four innings with two runs allowed.

In the eighth, Peck cracked his ninth home run of the year to make it 10-4.

The top of the ninth was a disaster of walks and wildness from Lugnuts pitching as the ‘Caps scored five more runs. Freddy Pacheco closed this one out with a scoreless but sloppy inning of work.

Pennington: 4-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR

Jenkins: 3-6, R, 3 RBI, 2 2B

Murr: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, 2 BB, K

Gold: 3-4, 2 R

Peck: 2-5, 4 R, 2 RBI, HR, BB, K

Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps look for the three-game sweep on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 9, Clearwater Threshers 4 (box )

Starter Josh Randall had a bit of a rough go in this one, but the offense poured on the runs to win going away on Saturday.

Randall allowed two runs in the first and then one in the third. In the third, the comeback got started when Junior Tilien led off with a single. A ground out and a Zach MacDonald single got Tilien to third, and he scored on a soft tapper back to the pitcher by Samuel Gil. Two batters later, Jackson Strong doubled in MacDonald, and it was 3-2 Threshers.

Randall allowed a fourth run in the fifth before departing, but in the sixth the Flying Tigers turned the game around.

A rehabbing Bligh Madris got them started with a single and Strong and Stephen Hrustich both walked. The Threshers went to the bullpen but the new reliever walked Carson Rucker to force in a run. Cristian Santana lifted a sac fly to bring in Strong, and Tilien singled in Hrustich. A Sergio Tapia double made it 6-4 Lakeland.

Duque Hebbert took over on the mound in the seventh, and he spun three perfect frames with four strikeouts to fix the Threshers in place. Meanwhile, a walk and a Rucker single set the table in the bottom of the seventh. A wild pitch and then a Tilien single plated a pair of runs. That made it 8-4, and then a parade of walks in the eighth forced in another run.

Tilien: 3-4, R, 2 RBI

Strong: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 BB, 2 K

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

Randall: 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers have already won the three-game set, but they’ll look for the sweep on Sunday.