Kenny Serwa and the magical knuckleball dominate again for the Whitecaps

Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Thursday, April 17, 2025.

Indianapolis Indians 7, Toledo Mud Hens 6 (box )

An error ridden fifth inning sank the Mud Hens on Thursday right after they built a 6-2 lead.

Dietrich Enns got the start and he wasn’t too good. The Indians scored one in the first and one in third against him. In the fifth, Enns own throwing error after issuing a walk started a chain reaction that produced four runs for Indy and Enns was knocked out of the game.

That was tough because the Mud Hens had scored in the second when Akil Baddoo doubled and came home on a Brian Serven single. In the fifth, a two-out Hao-Yu Lee single sparked a five-run outburst punctuated by RBI doubles from Jahmai Jones and Serven. So Toledo had a 6-2 lead at that point, but Enns meltdown in the fifth tied the game 6-6.

Joe Adametz took over from Enns and allowed a run in the sixth, and from there the Indy bullpen just overpowered the Hens offense. Overall just a sloppy game from the Hens and manager Gabe Alvarez no doubt did no love it. Lee had two errors of his own playing third base, one fielding and one throwing, so that wasn’t ideal either.

Baddoo: 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, K

Serven: 3-4, 3 RBI, 2B, K

Enns: 4.2 IP, 5 R, ER, 6 H, BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens are down 2-1 in the best of six series. They’ll get back at it with a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Friday.

Akron RubberDucks 6, Erie SeaWolves 3 (box )

The RubberDucks knocked around Austin Bergner in this one and the SeaWolves offense was fairly quiet as they fell 6-3 on Thursday.

Bergner cruised through the first two innings, and then ran into a buzzsaw in the third as he gave up five runs.

Brady Allen launched a solo shot for Erie in the bottom half of the inning to make it 5-1. In the fourth, Thayron Liranzo led off with one of his two walks in the contest. Justice Bigbie was hit by a pitch, and after Jake Holton struck out, Jim Jarvis singled in Liranzo to make it 5-2 Akron. Unfortunately, Ben Malgeri flew out, and Bigbie was cut down at the plate trying to tag and score from third.

From there, the game was pretty quiet without much traffic on the bases. The SeaWolves Matt Merrill allowed a run in the top of the ninth and while the SeaWolves loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, they only got one run out of it.

Jarvis: 2-4, RBI

Holton: 2-4, R, 2 K

Bergner (L, 1-2): 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Friday night at UPMC Park. Starters haven’t been announced but it appears to be Jaden Hamm’s turn.

Ashley from Tigers Minor League Report interviewed Trei Cruz on his recovery and return from Tommy John surgery.

West Michigan Whitecaps 2, South Bend Cubs 1 (box )

Knuckleballer Kenny Serwa continued to impress as the Whitecaps’ pitching staff kept a stranglehold on the Cubs all game long. They allowed just a run on three hits and one walk to win on Thursday.

Max Alba got the start for the ‘Caps and he was solid enough. He allowed a run in the top of the second but settled in and gave them four innings. Serwa took over and extended his scoreless streak to start the season, closing out the final five innings with six strikeouts and no walks allowed. One of the more interesting points is that Serwa has only issued one walk in three appearances. If you can control a hard knuckleball to that degree, you may get a shot at the majors eventually.

The Whitecaps didn’t exactly swing the bats well in this one either. Luke Gold mashed his first homer of the season in the second inning to tie the game. Jack Penney walked and Josue Briceño ripped a line drive single to open the fourth, but three quick outs ended that budding threat.

Finally, in the seventh, singles from Andrew Jenkins, John Peck, and Bennett Lee finally produced a go-ahead run, and Serwa made it count by retiring six of the next seven, though he did hit a batter as well. Pretty convincing win for the pitching staff and a pretty good defensive effort from the Whitecaps.

Gold: 1-3, R, RBI, HR

Clark: 0-2, 2 BB, CS

Serwa (W, 1-0): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps will look to make it four in a row at 6:35 p.m. ET on Friday night at LMCU Ballpark.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Dunedin Blue Jays 4 (box )

The Detroit Tigers ’ class of ‘24 was on display in this one as Bryce Rainer returned to the lineup and Owen Hall got the start.

Hall was a little wild again in this one. He was up to 96 mph and still throwing a lot of sinkers, which is sort of contrary to his draft profile, and interesting as a result. He got through the first two innings without much trouble, but in the third his outing ended with two outs after allowing just a single and a walk in the inning. Luke Stofel came on and promptly allowed a two-run double before ending the inning.

That tied the game, as the Flying Tigers had already scored two in the top of the third. Woody Hadeen was hit by a pitch and Patrick Lee singled to start the inning. After a Samuel Gil pop-out, Rainer grounded into a force of Lee at second. Carson Rucker stepped to the dish and hammered a double off the wall in left. Rainer raced around from first to follow Hadeen home, and after three innings it was a 2-2 game.

It was a 3-2 game after Flying Tigers’ catcher Ricardo Hurtado launched his second homer of the year to lead off the fourth inning. In the fifth, Gil and Rainer walked, and Nomar Fana doubled them both in, with Rainer again showing some real speed on the basepaths to go first to home. Hurtado doubled in Fana, and it was 6-2.

Stofel was pretty solid, but allowed a solo shot in the sixth. Sean Guenther in rehab mode allowed a run in the seventh. Ronny Chalas took it from there and handled the final two frames without issue.

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

Lee: 2-5, 3 K

Rainer: 0-2, 2 BB

Rucker: 1-5, 2 RBI, 2B

Hall: 2.2 IP, 2 ER, H, 3 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers take a 2-1 series lead into Friday’s 6:30 p.m. ET start.