Kevin McGonigle and Josue Briceño power West Michigan, while Max Anderson and Trei Cruz lead SeaWolves to victory

Scores, news, and notes from around the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Thursday, June 19, 2025.

St. Paul Saints 8, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box )

Reese Olson’s second rehab start went very well, but the bullpen crumbled in the middle innings on a quiet night for the Hens offense.

The Hens got out to a quick lead when Hao-Yu Lee walked with one out in the first and scored on Justyn-Henry Malloy’s double. Akil Baddoo walked, stole second, and scored on a Gage Workman double in the second.

So Olson was soon working with a 2-0 lead but he didn’t need much help. The right-hander blanked the Saints for 3 ²⁄₃ innings, throwing 36 of 58 pitches for strikes. He didn’t walk a batter, punching out five, and this time he mixed the changeup in effectively.

Unfortunately the offense went cold, and Beau Brieske was mauled for five runs after taking over for Olson. Nick Margevicius came on to rescue him in the fifth, but instead allowed three more runs of his own. The Saints 8-2 lead would hold up the rest of the way.

Matt Vierling was the DH and went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.

Malloy: 2-4, RBI, 2B, BB, K

Baddoo: 1-2, R, 2 BB, SB

Olson: 3.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens lead the series two games to one heading into the weekend. First pitch on Friday night is set for 8:07 p.m. ET.

Erie SeaWolves 6, Chesapeake Bay Sox 4 (box )

The SeaWolves fought back from an early deficit on Thursday night. However, the victory merely kept pace with the streaking Akron RubberDucks, who won their sixth straight to stay a half game behind Erie in the first half divisional race with three games remaining.

The SeaWolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, and as usual Max Anderson was in the thick of things. Trei Cruz led off with a walk and then scored on Anderson’s second triple of the season. Eduardo Valencia lifted a sacrifice fly to score the run.

Carlos Pena had a rough outing, surrendering two in the second and two more in the third inning, but in the bottom of the third Cruz led off with a solo shot to make it a 4-3 Bay Sox lead, and it was all SeaWolves from there.

Ben Malgeri led off with a triple in the fourth, but was thrown out trying to score on a lineout to right field from Eliezer Alfonzo. In the fifth, Cruz walked, and with two outs got to third on a Jake Holton single. Justice Bigbie walked and Chris Meyers was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run.

In the sixth, Cruz walked with two outs and scored on an Anderson double for a 5-4 lead. In the eighth, Anderson reached second on an error and scored on a Valencia single.

Troy Watson was great in relief of Pena to make the comeback possible. He spun three innings of one-hit ball without a walk, racking up four strikeouts along the way. Jordan Marks and RJ Petit closed out the final two frames without issue, Petis collecting his second save.

Anderson: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, 3B

Cruz: 1-2, 4 R, RBI, 3 BB

Valencia: 2-3, 2 RBI, BB

Pena: 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Friday evening.

West Michigan Whitecaps 5, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2 (box )

Home runs from Josue Briceño and Kevin McGonigle powered the Whitecaps on Thursday as they evened this rain shortened five game set at a game apiece.

Lefty Andrew Sears got the start in this one. He got ambushed by a single and a two-run homer from Marco Dinges in the top of the first, but he settled right in to blank the Rattlers for four more innings while his teammates recaptured the lead.

Briceño led off the bottom of the second with his 14th home run of the season. Izaac Pacheco followed with a single and three batters later Patrick Lee smoked an RBI double to left that tied the game at 2-2.

In the third, John Peck led off with a single, and McGonigle mashed a two-run shot to right center field for a 4-2 lead. They added one more in the fifth, as Peck led off with a triple and McGonigle lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to plate him and make it 5-2.

Marco Jimenez, Preston Howey, and Micah Ashman combined to throw four perfect innings of relief with five strikeouts to secure the victory.

McGonigle: 1-3, R, 3 RBI, HR

Peck: 3-4, 2 R, 3B, K

Briceno: 2-3, R, RBI, HR

Sears (W, 5-2): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Friday night.

Lakeland Flying Tigers at Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (cancelled)

Rain washed this one out after a doubleheader on Wednesday to make up Tuesday’s suspended game. We’re into the rainy season in Florida and getting games in starts to become a real problem in stretches during the summer months. They’ll get back to the series at 7:05 p.m. ET with the Flygers up 2-0 in the series. Thursday’s game will not be made up.

FCL Tigers 11, FCL Blue Jays 5 (box )

2B Jude Warwick: 2-2, 4 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, BB, SB

RF Anibal Salas: 2-3, R, RBI, HR, BB, K

SS Jose Dickson: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B, K

RHP Antonia Florido (W, 2-2): 3.0 IP, 0 R, H, 2 BB, 3 K