McGonigle and Pacheco homer in another Whitecaps romp over Dayton

Scores, news, and notes from around the Detroit Tigers farm system for Friday, May 30, 2025.

Toledo Mud Hens 13, Louisville Bats 4 (box )

The scorching hot Mud Hens kept it rolling on Friday night, pummeling Louisville for a fourth straight night. They hold a six-game winning streak and have won 13 of 16 games over their last three series.

Lael Lockhart Jr. got the start, and the left-hander threw a good game as the Hens built a slim lead. They scored first in the bottom of the third when Brian Serven and Hao-Yu Lee walked. With two outs, Jace Jung singled in Serven to make it 1-0 Hens.

Lockhart surrendered a run in the fourth, but in the bottom half Ryan Kreidler doubled with one out and then scored on a Bligh Madris single. Otherwise it was fairly tough sledding for the offense until MLB veteran lefty Wade Miley left after five innings. Unfortunately, that 2-1 lead slipped away when Lockhart came out in the sixth and gave up a pair of runs before his outing ended.

So the Hens were down 3-2 headed into the bottom of the sixth. They then proceeded to put up 10 runs in an epic inning of offense.

Brewer Hicklen walked to lead off and after Ryan Kreidler singled, Bligh Madris doubled to score them both. Brian Serven walked, and the Bats went back to the bullpen. A wild pitch followed before Parker Meadows struck out. They intentionally walked Hao-Yu Lee and then unintentionally walked Jung as well as Jahmai Jones. Manuel Margot flew out too shallowly for another run to score, making the second out of the inning but they were still just warming up.

Brewer Hicklen stepped to the dish and absolutely devoured a hanging slider. The ball left the bat at 110.6 mph and soared 456 feet for a grand slam. Ryan Kreidler filled the vacuum left by that majestic blast with a triple, and Madris, having launched a walkoff grand slam just the other day, crushed a two-run shot to right field to make it 12-3 Mud Hens. Serven popped out to mercifully put an end to that inning.

Ricky Vanasco finished the sixth inning for Lockhart, and Jordan Balavozic tossed a scoreless seventh. Brendan White is still struggling to recapture his old stuff, and he leaked a run in the ninth with Ryan Miller coming on for the final out.

Madris singled in the eighth and scored on a Serven double to compete the onslaught.

Parker Meadows played center field and went 0-for-5 with a walk and three strikeouts.

Hicklen: 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR, BB, K

Madris: 4-5, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2B, HR

Jung: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, K

Lockhart: 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday.

Reading Fightin Phils 5, Erie SeaWolves 4 (box )

The SeaWolves got off to a solid start, but the bullpen couldn’t hang onto this one as the Phils evened the series at two games apiece.

Max Anderson continues to rake and he doubled with two outs in the first inning. The ball actually lodged in the netting along the outfield wall and while Anderson booked it 360 feet on the play, he was placed at second where Thayron Liranzo singled him in.

Jaden Hamm allowed a run in the bottom half of the first. Hamm’s first exposure to the Double-A level has been a bit of a struggle, but that’s hardly unusual even for really good pitching prospects. Hamm’s high fastball and sharp curveball combo was plenty for High-A hitters, but he’s still trying to find another wrinkle in his slider or his changeup and tighten things up.

The SeaWolves took a 2-1 lead in the second when Roberto Campos, Chris Meyers, and Trei Cruz all singled. Hamm gave up a leadoff walk and then a two-run homer in the bottom of the third, but the SeaWolves again came right back.

Roberto Campos walked to open the fourth, and then an Eduardo Valencia single to center field was misplayed and Campos came all the way around to score. Valencia reached second on the play and then took third on a Chris Meyers lineout to right field. A wild pitch plated him as well for a 4-3 lead.

That lead held up a long time. RJ Petit took over from Hamm after five and he muzzled the Bats for two innings. Richard Guasch, who the Detroit Tigers signed out of the Mexican League this week, took over in the eighth.

The 27-year-old Cuban right-hander is a former farmhand in the Nationals and Athletics systems. He throws a good mid-90’s fastball up to 98 mph with a power slider, and he dispatched two hitters in the eighth on strikes in a clean inning. However, in the ninth he struck out the first hitter of the inning swinging but it was a wild pitch and Cade Fergus reached first base. Guasch walked the next two hitters to load the bases before getting a much needed strikeout. The next hitter lifted a sacrifice fly to right field that tied the game and got the new lead runner to third. Guasch then uncorked a strikingly wild fastball that sailed over the batter’s head to the fence for a self-inflicted walkoff loss.

Campos: 1-3, 2 R, BB

Anderson: 1-4, R, 2B

Liranzo: 1-3, RBI, BB

Hamm: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:45 p.m. ET start in Reading with the series tied at two apiece.

West Michigan Whitecaps 13, Dayton Dragons 2 (box )

The Whitecaps continued to torment the Dragons on Friday. They’ve now won six straight, including the first four of this series. They have scored 44 runs in those four games.

Josue Briceño got the day off after hitting three homers, a double off the wall, and then stealing home on a double steal on Thursday night. The ‘Caps pounded out 16 hits, drew 10 walks, and hit three home runs without him.

Another notable feature of the game was the first rehab appearance by Alex Cobb. The Detroit Tigers right-hander looked solid against the young Dragons lineup with 16 of 24 pitches for strikes. He allowed just a single in two innings of work while striking out three.

Three walks and a Seth Stephenson single opened the scoring for the Whitecaps in a two-run second inning. In the third, Peyton Graham continued his recent run with his second blast in as many days. The solo shot is his third home run of the year and made it a 3-0 lead.

Lefty Andrew Sears took over from Cobb and tossed 5 ¹⁄₃ innings of two run ball. Sears was fast working and aggressive as always and he struck out eight along the way against two walks. A pair of solo shots put a little damper on his outing.

The Whitecaps offense was actually quiet throughout the middle innings as the Dragons made it a 3-2 game. In the seventh, Kevin McGonigle led off with a single and John Peck followed suit. Dayton walked both Izaac Pacheco and Peyton Graham to make it 4-2 ‘Caps, but Irvin Machuca came on for Dayton and struck out Andrew Jenkins, Patrick Lee, and Bennett Lee to escape the jam unscathed.

Any relief on Dayton’s side quickly evaporated as the Whitecaps scored five in the eighth and four in the ninth inning to leave the Dragons in the dust.

Max Clark led off the eighth with a single and Stephenson and McGonigle doubled back-to-back. Peck flew out, but Izaac Pacheco hammered a double the opposite way to drive in McGonigle. Graham flew out to left but enough for Pacheco to tag and take third. Jenkins walked, and a new reliever came on only to walk Patrick Lee. Bennett Lee then dumped a pop up into right field and with two outs, Pacheco and Jenkins scored to make it 9-2. Clark grounded out to end the inning, but they came right back for more.

Stephenson singled to lead off the ninth and McGonigle cranked a two-run shot to straightway center field. It was his first of the year and had to feel good. Of course, he also came into the game with a 181 wRC+, an eight percent strikeout rate, and an OBP of .446 with eight doubles in 50 plate appearances.

They added two more in the inning when Peck followed with a single and Pacheco launched a two-run to right for his fourth of the year. Haden Erbe tossed a scoreless ninth, allowing a hit but collecting all three outs on swinging strikes.

McGonigle: 4-5, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR, BB

Pacheco: 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K

Graham: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, 2 BB, K

Stephenson: 3-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, K

Clark: 1-3, R, 3 BB, K, SB

Sears (W, 3-2): 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K

Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps will try to extend their winning streak to seven at 7:05 p.m. ET on Saturday night.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 9, Bradenton Marauders 3 (box )

A three-game road set began well for the Flying Tigers as they smacked the baseball all over the park, collecting 17 hits as they took down the Marauders on Friday night.

They jumped out to an early lead in the first when Bryce Rainer reached on an infield single and Jackson Strong lifted a towering shot over the right field wall for his fourth home run of the year.

In the third, Strong led off with a single and Garrett Pennington doubled him home. Stephen Hrustich singled in Pennington and Cristian Santana moved the line with another single. A ground out, a sacrifice fly from Abel Bastidas, and an error on a Sergio Tapia grounder to third scored two more and the Flying Tigers had a 6-0 lead.

RHP Lucas Elissalt posted a really good outing. He sits in the low 90’s, but his control and a pair of good breaking balls result in a pretty well spotted mix that helps his fourseamer play up a little at this level. He scattered three hits and a walk over five scoreless frames and struck out eight Marauders.

Ryan Harvey allowed a run in the bottom of the seventh, but David Smith, Rainer, and Strong singled in order to start the eighth inning and it was 8-1 when the inning ended.

A parade of singles from Bastidas, Tapia, Rainer, and Strong followed in the top of the ninth though the Flying Tigers only managed to cash in one run. Moises Rodriguez closed it out but allowed a pair of runs.

Strong: 4-6, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, SB

Rainer: 3-5, 2 R, BB, K, SB

Pennington: 2-6, R, RBI, 2B, K

Hrustich: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, K

Elissalt (W, 2-1): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, BB, 8 K

Coming Up Next: They’ll play a 5:00 p.m. ET doubleheader on Saturday, with Game 2 a makeup game from their May 11 postponement.

FCL Yankees 8, FCL Tigers 5 (box )

OF Nomar Fana: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB, 2 K

SS Jude Warwick: 2-4, R, 2 2B, BB, SB

RF Anibal Salas: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR

RHP Alastair Tanner: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, 3 K