JHM leads Toledo with 5-RBI day, Lakeland gets quality start from Randall

Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Saturday, July 12, 2025.

Toledo Mud Hens 7, Omaha Storm Chasers 6 (box )

Toledo built up a steady six-run lead over as many innings Saturday night, but Omaha never went away. It took a Mud Hens run in the eighth to decide the game, and the victory wasn’t secure until the last Storm Chaser got out in the ninth.

Omaha got on the board first, scoring on a pair of singles in the bottom of the first. It was a planned bullpen day for Toledo, with Jordan Balazovic starting. Jace Jung tied things up in the second with a leadoff double and an RBI single from Brewer Hicklen. Justyn-Henry Malloy put the Mud Hens out in front with a base hit that scored Hao-Yu Lee in the third.

Brendan White took over for Balazovic in the second, going 1-2-3. He returned for the third but ran into trouble, allowing three consecutive hits, including a second RBI single from Joey Wiemer. Cavan Biggio also drove in runs with a double, and Harold Castro extended the Storm Chasers’ lead to two runs with another RBI single.

White stayed on the mound until Drew Sommers eventually replaced him with an out in the fourth. A line-drive, double-play ball helped clean up the runner on first base left by White in the fourth. Sommers only threw two pitches in the game, as Thomas Szapucki came out to start the sixth.

Before Szapucki took over, Toledo put up a three-spot in the top of the fifth. Lee doubled in Brian Serven, who walked to open the frame, and Malloy drove in Akil Baddoo and Lee with his own double two batters later.

That 5-4 lead was short-lived, as Szapucki loaded the bases with just one out in the fifth. He sent in a 0-1 fastball to Castro that the training staff didn’t like and was quickly pulled for examination. It’s not great to see a guy fresh off the Injured List go back to the clubhouse mid-game.

Ryan Miller gave up the tying run on a sacrifice fly for his second blown save of the year, but Toledo jumped out in front for good in the sixth to give him the win. Eduardo Valencia hit his second home run of the week after being called up on Tuesday.

Miller responded by retiring the next six batters he faced in order. Woo-Suk Go worked around a two-out walk in the eighth before navigating a more complicated ninth for the save. MJ Melendez doubled with one out and later scored on a Cavan Biggio single, but Go struck out the first and last batter of the inning to close it out. An eighth-inning insurance run from Malloy, who had five RBIs on the day, made the difference.

Lee: 1-5, 2B (12), 2 R, K

Jung: 3-4, 2B (12), R, BB, K

Malloy: 3-5, 2B (7), 5 RBI, BB

Miller (W, 2-1): 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K

Harrisburg Senators 5, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box )

Scoring just two runs on 11 hits usually means a team failed to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position, but Erie went 1-for-5 in such opportunities during Saturday’s loss to Harrisburg.

Only one extra-base hit will slow down an offense, even on a night with double-digit hits, and Erie didn’t have its three best hitters in the lineup. Josue Briceno, Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle were all participating in the All-Star Futures Game instead.

Danny Seretti drove in Roberto Campos for Erie’s first run in the third, and Ben Malgieri went deep in the eighth to make it a 3-2 game. The SeaWolves never led, with the Senators scoring in the second and fourth frames, but things never stopped being competitive.

Carlos Pena went five strong, allowing three earned runs on as many hits and three walks. Pena dealt with baserunners in every inning but the third. He took the loss after turning things over to Jordan Marks in the sixth. Pena didn’t have his best stuff, but a lack of run support hurt as well.

Marks walked the first batter he faced, hit the second and then cruised through the sixth and seventh without any more trouble. A lot of ground ball outs worked to keep the score close. Tyler Mattison didn’t do as well in the lone inning he threw. Carlos De La Cruz got him for a two-run homer, giving Harrisburg a cushion going into the final frame.

Liranzo: 1-5, 2K

Bigbie: 1-4

Campos: 2-3, R, BB

Pena: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; 78 pitches (50 strikes)

Lake County Captains 8, West Michigan Whitecaps 5 (box )

Lake County jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over West Michigan on Saturday, which rendered a loud seventh frame from both clubs meaningless at the end of the day.

Andrew Sears got the start for the Whitecaps. He was mostly fine through his four innings of work, but a three-run home run from Jose Devers in the first made his final line ugly. Sears gave up a leadoff single and an RBI double in the second before settling in. He finished the day with nine strikeouts, but the decision is going to weigh on him a lot more.

Dariel Fregio relieved Sears in the fifth and delivered his first scoreless outing at the High-A level. He’s quickly climbed through the lower minor leagues, but this is the level where batters begin to be consistently problematic for developing arms. Hitting two batters isn’t great, but working around those baserunners without any damage is a silver lining.

Blair Calvo did not have as good of a night. He got hit for all of the Captains’ four runs in the seventh. Five singles and a throwing error led to an 8-0 score, but at least he ended the inning on a strikeout?

Lake County had a pitching meltdown of its own in the bottom half of the seventh, walking five batters, giving up two hits and hitting another while five runs crossed the plate.

Austin Murr (RBI double) and Peyton Graham (RBI single) did their part, but the other six baserunners in the inning were a product of poor command.

Micah Ashman took the mound for West Michigan for a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and he worked around a two-out single in the ninth. Unfortunately, the Whitecaps couldn’t hit the ball, notching just one more base hit through the final two innings of the game.

Graham: 2-4, RBI, BB, K

Peck: 1-5, 2B (17)

Murr: 1-3, 2B (3), R, 3 RBI, K

Sears (L, 5-3): 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 9 K; 77 pitches (55 strikes)

Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Tampa Tarpons 3 (box )

Josh Randall gave up eight hits throughout Saturday night, but the Tampa Tarpons didn’t score on the Lakeland starter until the sixth inning. By then, the Flying Tigers had established a 4-0 lead that was soon to grow by two more runs before settling at a 6-3 final score.

Sergio Tapia started the scoring in the second with a two-run homer, and Cristian Santana singled in Ricardo Hurtado and Jack Penney in the fifth. Randall was very effective, facing one more than the minimum the first time through Tampa’s lineup. He leaned on a pair of double plays to get through the third and fifth innings, respectively.

The Tarpons got to Randall for extra bases twice. The first time came in the first inning and ended up being harmless, but a two-out double in the sixth ended the shutout. Randall still got through six quality innings without giving up an earned run. A throwing error extended the sixth and put the man who scored on base. It wasn’t the cleanest effort for Randall with the eight hits, but no walks and no earned runs are both positives.

The Flying Tigers responded with another two-spot in the seventh. Jackson Strong and Carson Rucker walked to start the rally, and Hurtado drove in the first run with a single to the left side. Santana sent a ground-rule double into the left field stands, scoring Rucker later on.

Jorger Petri went 1-2-3 in relief of Randall. He came back out for the eighth and gave up a pair of runs on four hits. The Tarpons jumped all over his fastball/sinker, but it didn’t matter with a five-run lead coming into the inning. Duque Hebbert got the ninth and retired the side in order for his first save of the season.

Santana: 2-4, 2B (5), 3 RBI, BB, 2 K

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

Tapia: 2-4, HR (4), R, 2 RBI

Randall (W, 5-5): 6.o IP, 8 H, R, 0 ER, 4 K