Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Friday, July 4, 2025.
Toledo Mud Hens 5, Columbus Clippers 1 (box )
The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the Columbus Clippers, 5-1, on the Fourth of July.
Although he came up short of the necessary five innings to qualify for a win, left-hander Nick Margevicius delivered a solid performance for Toledo, allowing one earned run on three hits and no walks while striking out five over four frames.
Alex Lange made his second rehab appearance in Triple-A. He needed just 10 pitches to get through the fifth inning, six knuckle curves (four swings, three whiffs) and four sinkers (three swings, no whiffs). Lange gave up a base hit on a tapper to first, but he was otherwise lights out.
Drew Sommers took the sixth and seventh, striking out three along the way. He’s been good all year, so nothing new there. Tim Naughton faced the minimum in the eighth thanks to a 4-6-3 double play, but the ninth was a bit of a struggle.
Naughton got the first two batters without much resistance, but a Jhonkensy Noel double threw him out of rhythm. Naughton walked Kody Huff and Petey Halpin to load the bases, but Christian Cairo popped out to end the game at the same 5-1 score that held after the top of the sixth.
Toledo’s first pair of runs came in the third, a two-run homer from Hao-Yu Lee. Brewer Hicklen hit a solo shot in the fourth for run No. 3, and doubled up on the fireworks in the sixth with a two-run blast.
Although the power swing ultimately carried the Mud Hens to a victory, Toledo hit up and down the lineup. Only Justyn-Henry Malloy and Jace Jung went 0-for despite the team totaling nine hits.
Hicklen: 2-4, 2 HR (7), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K
Lee: 1-5, HR (8), R, 2 RBI, 3 K
Margevicius: 4.0 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 0 BB, 5 K; 64 pitches (46 strikes)
Erie SeaWolves 2, Akron RubberDucks 0 (box )
Detroit’s favorite knuckleballer, Kenny Serwa, continues to impress in Erie as he led the SeaWolves to a 2-0 win over the Akron Rubberducks Friday.
Serwa gave six innings of scoreless ball on two hits and three walks while striking out two. He dealt with baserunners in each of the first three innings, but only one reached scoring position. Most of Serwa’s trouble came in the fifth. He walked two and hit a batter, but a double play bailed him out.
Tyler Mattison went 1-2-3 in the seventh, and Richard Guasch did the same in the eighth and ninth. Erie has one of the best pitching staffs in the minors, and it’s games like this where we are reminded of that.
Erie’s offense didn’t do a ton, totalling just five hits on the day, but the SeaWolves scored when they needed to. Chris Meyers, who is rising up my prospect list, drove in Jake Fox in the opening frame with a sacrifice fly. Jake Holton and Eduarado Valencia each had hits in the innings, as well.
Justice Bigbie singled in the fourth, and Jim Jarvis drove in the second of the game with an RBI single in the seventh. The SeaWolves went down in order for nearly half the game (four innings), but two was enough for the win thanks to Serwa and Co.
Anderson: 0-4, K
Jarvis: 1-3, H, RBI
Meyers: 0-3, RBI, K
Serwa (W, 4-2): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K; 85 pitches (54 strikes)
West Michigan Whitecaps 15, Great Lakes Loons 1 (box )
Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle each had three hits Friday night as the West Michigan Whitecaps crushed the Great Lakes Loons, 15-1.
A five-spot in the first and six-piece in the fourth made it an 11-0 game before the halfway point of the game. Andrew Jenkins hit a grand slam in the first inning, Max Clark singled in a run in both frames and an error on the second Clark single cleared the bases. Peyton Graham, Patrick Lee and Samuel Gil all drove in runs in the fourth as well.
McGonigle got his taste of the action in the seventh, with an RBI groundout. Clark doubled in McGonigle for the baker’s dozen, and McGonigle added two more to go up 15-0. Hayden Minton and Dariel Fregio nearly threw a combined shutout, but the latter couldn’t finish off the job. A leadoff walk turned into a run, and another walk loaded the bases two batters later.
Minton delivered his first quality start for West Michigan. He allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out seven over six innings. Minton has climbed his way through the low minors, and spending the majority of 2026 in Erie seems likely.
Fregio, 25, made his West Michigan debut after starting the year in rookie ball. The two strikeouts are something to build off, and Fregio’s numbers look worse than he played. Outfielder Austin Murr got the final out of the day, so West Michigan didn’t have to burn an arm.
Clark: 3-5, 2B (11), 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, 2 K
McGonigle: 3-6, 2B (19), 2 R, 3 RBI
Briceno: 1-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K
Minton (W, 3-1): 6.0 IP, 3 H 0 R, BB, 7 K; 88 pitches (54 strikes)
Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Dunedin Blue Jays 0 (box )
Lakeland shut out Dunedin for a second straight day, winning 4-0 on July 4.
RJ Sales, rehabbing Thomas Szapucki, Lucas Elissalt and Iganacio Briceno combined to allow two hits, both off the bat of Sam Shaw. A soft bunt broke up the no-hitter in the fourth, and Shaw doubled to open the ninth.
Sales went three hitless before turning it over to Szapucki in the fourth. The bunt is a tough break, but Szapucki looks fine in rehab so far. Lucas Elissalt is back in the bullpen but is working in a long-relief role that usually looks for him to go four or five innings. Briceno closed it out.
Not a ton of blowaway stuff on the mound tonight, but everyone was efficient.
Franyerber Montilla and Chad Pennington each had two hits and two piece. Ricardo Hurtado doubled in Stepen Hrustich in the second, Pennington singled in Jack Penney in the third and Cristian Santana drove in Montilla later in the inning. Carson Rucker scored the fourth and final run on a balk.
Montilla: 2-4, 2 R
Pennington: 2-3, RBI, BB
Elissalt (W, 3-1): 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K; 44 pitches (29 strikes)