Hao-Yu Lee homers again in Mud Hens loss; Anderson and McGonigle power Erie over Somerset

Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Sunday, July 27, 2025.

Indianapolis Indians 6, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (box )

Hao-Yu Lee went yard for the second straight day and looks bound to get a trip to Detroit down the stretch, but the Hens dropped another one on Sunday to lose this series five games to one.

Lee launched his 11th homer of the year to center field in the first, and Trei Cruz blasted a solo shot 430 feet in the second inning to give Wilkel Hernandez a lead to work with. That shot was Cruz’s first since his promotion a few weeks back.

Hernandez was going along just fine through three innings, but blew up in the fourth for three runs to surrender the lead.

The Hens fought right back as Eduardo Valencia led off the fifth with a blast to left center that one hopped the wall for a double. He thought he’s hit it out but the Indians park is deep in that alley and there was an embarrassing moment as Valencia rounded second only to be sent back. Tomas Nido was hit by a pitch and Gage Workman walked to load the bases for Riley Unroe. Unroe reached on a fielder’s choice that went for an error, scoring Valencia and Nido. An Andy Ibáñez sacrifice fly later made it 5-3 before the inning ended.

However, Hernandez immediately coughed up the lead and Jordan Balazovic had to finish the bottom of the fifth and the game was tied up 5-5.

Matt Manning handled the sixth with no issues, but RJ Petit gave up a pair of doubles and the go ahead run in the seventh. The Hens had a chance in the eighth with two on and one out, but Valencia grounded into a double play, and then went down in order in the ninth.

Cruz: 1-3, R, RBI, HR, BB, K

Lee: 1-4, R, RBI, HR

Hernandez: 5 ER, 10, 3 BB, 2 K

Hernandez: 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 10 H, 3 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens welcome in the St. Paul Saints this week starting on Tuesday night, at 7:05 p.m. ET.

Erie SeaWolves 7, Somerset Patriots 0 (box )

Kevin McGonigle needed a week to settle in, but it’s on now. The SeaWolves bounced back in a big way to split this series on Sunday as the big bats came fully alive.

Carlos Pena got the start and the light-throwing lefty had the Patriots off balance all day. He scattered three hits in an otherwise perfect performance with six strikeouts.

The game was 0-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth, and at that point the SeaWolves seized control.

Max Clark got them started with a single and then stole second after Thayron Liranzo flew out to center. McGonigle lined out to first, but Max Anderson launched home run number 13 on the year to right field for a 2-0 lead.

In the fifth, Justice Bigbie and Roberto Campos walked, and with one out Carlos Mendoza singled through the left side beyond the outstretched glove of George Lombard Jr., who got a tiny bit of leather on it. Clark did the job perfectly at that point, lifting a sacrifice fly to center to score Bigbie, though that was all they’d get.

McGonigle opened the sixth with a double and Bigbie singled him to third with two outs where he scored on a balk.

So it was 4-0 Erie headed into the seventh, where they put this game away for keeps. Mendoza beat out an infield single with one out and Clark walked. Liranzo smoked a double to right that scored Mendoza, and McGonigle doubled in Clark and Liranzo for a 7-0 lead.

Andrew Magno struck out all four hitters he faced in relief of Pena, and Duque Hebbert, Tyler Mattison, and lefty relief prospect Micah Ashman closed the deal without even a hiccup.

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

McGonigle: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, K

Clark: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, SB

Mendoza: 3-4, R

Pena: 4.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves head to Akron to face the RubberDucks starting at 12:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

West Michigan Whitecaps 7, Peoria Chiefs 6 (box )

Josh Randall’s High-A debut went very well and the Whitecaps took home another series victory on Sunday.

The Detroit Tigers third rounder in 2024 has been pretty solid for the Lakeland Flying Tigers this year despite a 4.18 ERA. He’s throwing a ton of strikes and needs to develop the fastball and offspeed stuff more to really move up in the prospect rankings and start looking like a viable future starter. Still, he’s just getting started in pro ball, and his five innings with one unearned run, no walks, and six punchouts was a great start to his Whitecaps career.

His teammates started him off right with some run support in the top of the first. Austin Murr walked and stole second with one out, and a John Peck ground out moved him to third. Izaac Pacheco doubled in the run and then scored on an Andrew Jenkins single for a quick 2-0 lead.

In the third, Seth Stephenson reached on an error and stole second, taking third on a Murr fly out. Peck reached on a grounder and Stephenson beat the throw home to make it 3-0.

In the bottom half, a throwing error on Peyton Graham at third allowed the leadoff man to reach. Randall struck out the next two, but a single off Graham’s glove scored the unearned run. Beyond that, Randall was nails.

In the fourth Patrick Lee led off with a single and stole second base. He scored on a Stephenson single, and a Murr double brought in the speedy outfielder to make it 5-1.

That’s where things stood until the sixth, when Hayden Minton blew up for four runs that tied the game at 5-5. Dariel Fregio had to finish the inning, but the Whitecaps came right back with a two-run shot from Jenkins in the seventh.

Fregio gave a run back in the bottom half, but Joe Adametz and Colin Fields both struck out two in their innings of work to shut the Chiefs down for good.

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

Stephenson: 2-5, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB

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

Randall: 5.0 IP, R, 0 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps are now 64-31 on the year. They’ll welcome in the Dayton Dragons for six next week.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 2, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 0 (box )

After dropping two in Fort Myers, the Flying Tigers pulled this one out to split the six-game home/away series.

Gabriel Reyes didn’t have his strikeout touch in this one, but he blanked the Mussels on two hits over four scoreless inning of work, and Jorger Petri gave them three more frames of quality work.

The Flygers offense wasn’t doing much better until a leadoff single from Samuel Gil led to their first run on a Ricardo Hurtado RBI single two batters later.

In the eighth, Clayton Campbell reached on an infield single and took second on a wild pitch. Back-to-back single from Sergio Tapia and Abel Bastidas made it 2-0, but that was all they’d get after the Mussels went back to their bullpen trying to keep the game close.

It didn’t help them, as Ronny Chalas was strong in his two innings of work to collect his sixth save.

Hurtado: 1-4, RBI, 2 K

Campbell: 1-4, R

Reyes: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, K

Coming Up Next: The 59-33 Flying Tigers head to Dunedin for a series starting on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET.