Max Clark homers, Erie bullpen day turns into shutout, Lakeland humbled

Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Friday, May 9, 2025.

Toledo Mud Hens 7, Iowa Cubs 3 (box )

A four-run eighth broke a 3-3 tie to give Toledo a third win in the series Friday night.

The big inning came after the Cubs turned to lefty Tyson Miller in relief of Riley Martin, who held things down for 1.2 innings after 5.1 frames of three-run ball from starter Connor Noland. Akil Baddoo and Ryan Kreidler scored the go-ahead run with a single and a double, respectively, in consecutive at-bats.

Andrew Navigato doubled on a blooper that no one could find to put two in scoring position, and Stephen Scott singled after a Riley Unroe walk. Following another pitching change, Unroe scored on a sacrifice fly to make it a 7-3 game.

Both clubs traded blows before that deciding eighth inning, with Florida striking first in the second inning with a sac fly and a Manny Margot double. Iowa responded in the fifth with three straight extra-base hits off starter Nick Margevicius. The Cubs tied the game up at two in the fifth and took a brief lead in the sixth.

Jahmai Jones led off the bottom of the inning with a double, moved to third on a Baddoo flyout and forced Iowa to move on from Noland. Navigato greeted Miller with a sac fly to tie things up at three apiece.

Pitching-wise, Toledo deployed the trio of Margervicius, Bailey Horn and Matt Seelinger in that order. Seelinger took the win with the bulk of the Hens’ runs coming late, but Margevicius was solid with 13 whiffs and didn’t give up the runs until the end of his outing.

Horn took over after another pair of extra-base hits to open the sixth for Margevicius. Seven of Horn’s 17 pitches were called strikes, which is a solid percentage, and he retired all six batters he faced in order. Seelinger was almost as good but gave up a hit in each of his scoreless innings. That’s now nine straight appearances and 12.1 innings without giving up a run for Seelinger.

Lee: 3-5, 2B (3), 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Mendoza: 2-3, 2B (4), 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Margevicius: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K; 85 pitches (59 strikes)

Coming Up: The Mud Hens can guarantee a series win on Saturday with a victory. Dietrich Enns is slated to throw with a 5:05 p.m. ET first pitch.

Erie SeaWolves 7, Altoona Curve 0 (box )

Once Erie got past Altoona starter Garrett McMillan, the SeaWolves exploded for multiple runs in three straight innings to win, 7-0.

McMillan, who was making his first Double-A start, pitched through the fifth, but Valentin Linarez took over in the sixth. He got two quick outs before Max Anderson singled up the middle. Jake Holton doubled Anderson in, and Justice Bigbie drove him in with a single.

Trei Cruz smashed a three-run homer in the seventh to welcome JC Flowers to the game. Eliezer Alfonzo got to him, too, in the eighth for a two-run single. It wasn’t a good night for either of Altoona’s bullpen arms, but it’s good to see the bulk of the lineup take advantage of those mistakes for a fifth shutout on the year.

RJ Petit opened a planned bullpen day with two scoreless innings, and Austin Bergner threw the bulk of the game with four in relief. Bergner had five strikeouts to Petit’s two, while both walked a batter.

Dylan Smith recorded his second hold of the year with two shutout frames for Erie. Four strikeouts, no walks. What’s new for Smith? It’s only been 15-ish innings in Double-A, but he looks ready for a promotion at the midway point of the year. Andrew Magno rounded out the group of relief arms that pitched a combined shutout on Friday.

More than half of Erie’s hits came from Alfonzo and Holton, who finished with three hits apiece. Alfonzo’s two runs batted in are more impactful than Holton’s one, but Cruz trumped all with one swing of the bat.

Alfonzo: 3-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Cruz: 1-4, HR (5), 1 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Holton: 3-4, 2B (9), 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Bergner (W, 3-2): 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K; 55 pitches (37 strikes)

Smith (H, 2): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K; 34 pitches (22 strikes)

Coming Up: Erie still has a shot at a sweep, entering the weekend 4-0. Troy Melton is on the bump Saturday at 1:35 p.m. ET and is the Free Game of the Day on MiLB.TV.

West Michigan Whitecaps 7, Lansing Lugnuts 6 (box )

Josue Briceno and Max Clark both hit home runs in West Michigan’s 7-6 win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Friday.

Clark’s home run came in the first as part of a three-hit day. He immediately gave the offense a spark against Lansing starter Grant Judkins. Jack Penney homered immediately after Clark for back-to-back bombs. Clark drove in Brett Callahan in the second and Izaac Pacheco doubled in John Peck in the third to make it a 4-0 lead.

Meanwhile, West Michigan starter Joe Miller cruised the first time through Lansing’s lineup. An error led to a three-run fourth, but the Whitecaps still had the lead. Miller got into some more trouble in the fifth and was pulled for Trevin Michael after a walk.

Michael gave up a game-tying double and a go-ahead single in consecutive at-bats. He left the game every bit responsible for the loss and in line to receive it, but Andrew Jenkins and Pacheco hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game and absolve Michael of his sins. Callahan put West Michigan out in front with a sac fly later in the fifth, and Briceno’s solo shot came in the sixth.

Marco Jimenez went 1-2-3 in the seventh for his second hold of the season, but he did give up a home run and double in the eighth. A walk forced Micah Ashman into the game. Ashman retired all five batters he faced in order on 22 pitches and earned his first save.

Clark: 3-5, HR (2), 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Briceno: 1-5, HR (6), 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Miller: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; 77 pitches (50 strikes)

Coming Up: With the series tied back up, West Michigan can guarantee a series tie with a win on Saturday. Max Alba is the probable starter with a 2 p.m. ET first pitch time.

Bradenton Marauders 8, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (box )

The Flying Tigers had just one hit, a one-out Garrett Pennington single in the fifth, in Friday’s 8-0 loss against the Bradenton Marauders.

Konnor Griffin hit a leadoff home run to open and the game, and things went from bad to worse for Lakeland as time went on. Lakeland starter Gabriel Reyes got out of the first without allowing another run thanks to a caught baserunner, and he faced the minimum in the second by inducing a double play.

Griffin came back around in the third and started off another rally. He singled, moved to third on balks and scored with another baserunner easily on a double. An RBI single made it a 4-0 game, but Lakeland had no clue what to do with Clevari Tejeda. He mowed through the Flying Tigers’ lineup, striking out five with no walks.

Reyes only lasted through the third for Lakeland. Moises Rodriguez took over for him in the fourth and ran it up to 99.3 mph, but was a bit wild and put two men on before recording an out. A sacrifice bunt and Griffin single brought one more run around, and a two-run triple in the fifth all but decided the game.

Both teams coasted from there. Zack Lee threw the final four innings for Lakeland, and the duo of Jesus Clode and Alexis Torres split the load for Bradenton. Lee induced 15 whiffs on 57 pitches, but plenty of balls went into play, too. He struck out four and walked none while giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits, including the two-run triple.

Bradenton’s bullpen wasn’t that sharp, though. Torres walked five of the nine batters he faced, leaving the door open for Lakeland. Clode shut things down, facing the minimum over 2.1 innings.

One hit is never good. It’s just bad baseball. Not much else to say about this one. At least Bryce Rainer wasn’t involved.

Montilla: 0-4, 0 BB, 1 K

Reyes: (L, 0-1): 3.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; 44 strikes (29 pitches)

Coming Up: With the series tied up, neither team has a starter listed for Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. ET contest.