Josue Briceño homers on an otherwise quiet day for the Tigers’ farm system

Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

Columbus Clippers 13, Toledo Mud Hens 0 (box )

The final score looks bad, but the first four innings of Toledo’s 13-0 loss to Columbus on Wednesday went just fine.

Wilkel Hernandez struck out seven and only gave up a pair of hits going into the fifth, but a leadoff served as an omen for the back-to-back five spots on the way. Three consecutive base hits broke the 0-0 tie, and a Juan Brito grand slam knocked Hernandez out of the game.

He got C.J. Kayfus swinging for strikeout No. 8 on the day, but it didn’t save his final line from looking ugly. It’s a tough break, especially considering two of the three singles came on soft contact. Hernandez’s slider worked particularly well, drawing eight whiffs on 14 swings (57%). Hernandez’s 16 total whiffs were tied for the second-most across Triple-A on Thursday.

Ryan Miller suffered a similar fate in the sixth after getting the final out of the previous inning. Another leadoff walk to Petey Halpin sparked a second five-run frame. Kayfus delivered the big blow this time with a three-run homer to make it 10-0. Chase DeLauter doubled in a pair earlier in the inning.

Woo-Suk Go took over in the seventh and had his first truly bad outing in a Toledo uniform. He drew nine whiffs over two innings, but the Clippers scored in both. He was lucky to escape the seventh, giving up just two runs after starting things off with three straight singles. Trading outs for runs helped churn through things.

Jhonkensy Noel hit a solo shot in the eighth off Go to make it a baker’s dozen. Riley Unroe kept his ERA at 0.00 with a clean ninth, however.

Two of Toledo’s five baserunners on the night came in the first. Akil Baddoo doubled to open the bottom of the first, and Ryan Kreidler walked, but neither scored. Brew Hicklen’s two-out triple in the fourth and Andrew Navigato’s fifth-inning single were the only other two Mud Hens hits.

An ugly game all-around. Rest and retake the series lead tomorrow.

Baddoo: 1-4, 2B (13), 3 K

Jung: 0-3, BB, K

Hernandez (L, 2-4): 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB, 8 K; 90 pitches (56 strikes)

Coming Up Next: Toledo has no probable starter listed for Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. ET game.

Akron RubberDucks 6, Erie SeaWolves 5 (box )

Chris Meyers did his best to give Erie a chance Thursday night, but a pair of two-run homers wasn’t enough as the SeaWolves fell 6-5 to the Akron RubberDucks.

Meyers went deep in the third inning off Akron starter Tommy Mace to give Erie a 2-1 lead, but a five-run fourth inning decided the game. Joe Lampe started off the rally after going deep for a solo home run earlier in the game. Mud Hens starter Garrett Burhenn traded the tying run for the first out, and a sacrifice bunt put the RubberDucks out in front.

The wheels fell off after that. Three straight singles — how many times will we write that tonight? — brought in a fourth run, and Andrew Magno gave up a two-run double to the first batter he faced out of the bullpen.

Max Anderson drove in Trei Cruz on a sac fly of his own in the seventh, and Meyers got to Davis Sharpe in the seventh for his second homer of the night. Erie got a runner on in each of the final two innings but couldn’t bring the run around. Close, but no dice.

Some credit goes to the bullpen, which didn’t give up a run. Tanner Kohlhepp walked two in a scoreless sixth inning, Yosber Sanchez struck out three and walked two over two hitless frames and Jordan Marks worked around a hit in the ninth.

Liranzo: 1-3, R, 2 BB, K

Meyers: 2-5, 2 HR (6), 2 R, 4 RBI, K

Anderson: 0-2, R, RBI, 2 BB

Bigbie: 0-0, 4 BB

Burhenn (L, 8-2): 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; 87 pitches (55 strikes)

Coming Up Next: Austin Bergner (5-3, 3.45 ERA) is the scheduled starter for Thursday’s 6:35 p.m. ET matchup.

Great Lakes Loons 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 2 (box )

The trend of little to no offense throughout the Detroit farm system continued in West Michigan’s 5-2 loss to Great Lakes. The Whitecaps had just four hits, the lowest of any Tigers affiliate on Thursday.

Things started out okay at the plate. John Peck singled to open the home half of the first, Kevin McGonigle took a pitch to the head and Josue Briceno drove in the run with a grounder to second base. Peyton Graham singled with two outs but didn’t score, and that was half of West Michigan’s offense for the day. McGonigle stayed in the game and finished the day with two walks and a strikeout.

Luke Gold singled in a run during the fourth, and Briceno homered to open up the bottom of the sixth. West Michigan batters combined for six walks, putting a runner on in every inning. Moving those runners into scoring position was the problem. The Whitecaps only had three opportunities to drive in runs all game.

Rayner Castillo took the loss after exiting in the fourth inning with two outs. Command was an issue for him, with five walks overshadowing five strikeouts. All told, only giving up three earned runs is merciful on a day like that. It doesn’t make the loss any easier to swallow.

CJ Weins took over to get the last out of the fourth, but he struggled and gave up a run. Bennett Lee caught the runner stealing for the third out to stop the bleeding, but it was 4-1 by that point. Weins worked around a pair of baserunners in the fourth.

Jordan Balazovic gave up a leadoff home run in the sixth before retiring the next six batters he faced. Preston Howey kept the outs rolling with a clean eighth, and Carlos Lequerica faced the minimum in the ninth thanks to a fine throw from Patrick Lee in left field to get Kendall George attempting to stretch a single into a double.

Clark: 0-4

McGonigle: 0-1, HBP, 2 BB, K

Briceno: 1-3, HR (15), R, 2 RBI, BB

Castillo (L, 2-5): 3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K; 85 pitches (46 strikes)

Coming Up Next: Colin Fields (4-0, 1.83 ERA) is starting for West Michigan on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. ET

Lakeland Flying Tigers 2, Dunedin Blue Jays 0 (box )

The Lakeland Flying Tigers picked up the only win throughout the Tigers’ minor league system on Thursday, defeating the Dunedin Blue Jays, 2-0.

The hits came early and often, with Lakeland singling twice in back-to-back innings but failing to put up any runs. That all changed once Dunedin started Austin Cates left the game. It took an inning for Lakeland to get to the bullpen, with Segio Tapia’s RBI single breaking the scoreless tie in the top of the seventh. T

A second run crossed as Woody Hadeen got doubled up, and two runs were enough to win the game behind a stellar night from the pitching staff.

Luke Stofel did his best to match Cates on the mound and delivered the best start of his young career. Five innings, two hits, no runs, no walks and three strikeouts; what’s not to love? Opponents are batting .208 against him over 55-plus innings, and he’s dropped his ERA below 1.00 with a 1.08 WHIP.

He didn’t draw a ton of swing-and-miss and saw the ball put into play 15 times, which are both potential red flags at the lower levels of offense. Better hitters will reach more often on balls in play, but Stofel’s stuff plays well enough to dominate Single-A bats. Time for a call up to West Michigan to see if he’s legit.

Behind Stofel’s five shutout innings came Jorge Petri, who put together his first clean outing since a four-game scoreless streak in May. Nine called strikes helped him rack up five strikeouts along the way. Chris Williams worked around a two-out single in the eighth, and Moises Rodriguez earned the save despite a pair of leadoff hits in the ninth.

Strong: 1-4, 3 K

Pennington: 0-4

Stofel: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; 62 pitches (39 strikes)

Coming Up Next: No probable starter is listed for Lakeland going into Thursday’s 7 p.m. ET game.