Thayron Liranzo’s eighth-inning blast was the difference Friday night, giving the Erie SeaWolves a 3-2 win over the Akron RubberDucks in a tight, well-pitched game.
Erie grabbed the first punch in the bottom of the second when Andrew Jenkins singled and came around on another homer from E.J. Exposito. It was already Exposito’s 18th long ball of the season.
Andrew Sears handled the early innings well for Erie, working four strong frames before Akron finally broke through for two runs in the fifth. The trouble started after Alex Mooney drew a leadoff walk.
The SeaWolves had a pair of extra-base chances in the fifth and sixth but couldn’t cash them in. Then Liranzo changed the game leading off the eighth. He got a first-pitch heater from the right side and drove it deep to left center, a shot that carried into the night for his 10th homer of the year.
Erie’s bullpen did the rest. Yosber Sanchez and Wandisson Charles combined to allow only two baserunners across 3.2 innings, and Trevin Michael finished it off for his sixth save.
Graham finished 2-4 with a double, a strikeout and a stolen base, while Liranzo went 1-4 with a run, an RBI, a homer and three strikeouts. Sears allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out four in 4.1 innings.
The SeaWolves are back at it Saturday with a 6:05 p.m. ET start.
Elsewhere, the Toledo Mud Hens dropped a 9-4 decision to the Columbus Clippers after Lael Lockhart Jr. and Beau Brieske were both hit hard. Max Anderson opened the game by walking, stealing second for his fourth swipe of the season, and scoring on a Corey Julks single, but Lockhart gave up two in the bottom of the first and three more in the third as Columbus built a big lead.
Toledo finally made a move in the eighth when Trei Cruz led off with a swinging bunt single, Jace Jung singled and Anderson walked to load the bases. Julks came through again with a two-run single, and a double play ball from Gage Workman brought Anderson home to cut it to 6-4.
That rally didn’t last. Brieske allowed two home runs in the bottom half, including a two-run shot, and the Mud Hens were quiet in the ninth.
Julks finished 2-4 with three RBIs and a caught stealing, while Anderson went 0-0 with two runs, four walks and a stolen base. Lockhart took the loss, falling to 2-2 after allowing five earned runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts in three innings.
West Michigan also came back to beat Beloit 4-3, despite a rough rehab outing from lefty Joe Miller. Miller gave up a two-run homer and another run before Eliseo Mota entered, but the Whitecaps answered in the third.
Juan Hernandez started the rally with a leadoff single, Woody Hadeen and Bryce Rainer walked, and Edian Espinal brought home Hernandez with a groundout. Clayton Campbell then tied it with a two-run single.
Mota settled things down before turning the game over to Win Scott in the fourth. Scott worked through a jam, and West Michigan added the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fourth after Cristian Santana was hit by a pitch, moved up on a balk, and eventually scored on Woody Hadeen’s double to right center.
That was enough. Scott, Luke Stofel and Zack Lee each threw two scoreless innings, and Lee earned his fourth save.
Hernandez went 2-3 with two runs, while Hadeen finished 1-3 with a run, an RBI, a double, a walk and a strikeout.
In Lakeland, the Flying Tigers fell 8-2 to Tampa after the bullpen unraveled behind a solid start from Cash Kuiper. Lakeland got on the board first when Jordan Yost and Michael Oliveto opened with singles, and Nick Dumesnil drove in Yost for a 1-0 lead.
Kuiper allowed a solo homer in the bottom half, but he settled in and tossed three scoreless innings as Lakeland briefly moved back in front. With two outs in the third, Dumesnil doubled and Ronald Ramirez ripped a ball off the center field wall for an RBI triple to make it 2-1.
From there, the relief corps couldn’t hold it. Pedro Garcia was charged with five runs, and Jan Carabello gave up two more.
Dumesnil finished 2-4 with a run, an RBI and a double, while Oliveto went 2-4 with a double and a strikeout.
In Other News...
Former Tiger Jake Rogers Lands In A Deadline Twist Fans Will Feel
Jake Rogers deadline day turned into a whirlwind, and for Tigers fans, it was a reminder of how fast baseball can move. After spending several seasons in Detroit, the catcher was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles and then quickly flipped to the Boston Red Sox in the same sequence of moves tied to a larger deal centered on Adley Rutschman.
Now Rogers lands in a situation where his role could be far more immediate than anyone expected when the day began. With Rutschman currently on the injured list, the former Tiger is in position to help Boston right away, giving his new club a short-term answer while leaving Detroit followers to track one more familiar name in a very different setting. [Read more 🡒]
Casey Mize Just Became A Tougher Tigers Deadline Call
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Casey Mize sits right in the middle of that conversation. There has been speculation that the Tigers could move the right-hander, and interest around him has been building as clubs hunt for rotation help. With one more name gone and the supply shrinking, Detroits choice gets tougher by the day: hold onto a pitcher it still values, or see whether the market gets strong enough to justify listening. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Suddenly Have One Deadline Need They Can't Ignore
Casey Mizes name is back in the rumor mill at the exact moment the Tigers are trying to keep their division lead steady, and now his next start has been scratched as a precaution. The timing only adds to the sense that Detroit could be weighing a bigger-picture decision with a pitcher who is nearing free agency, even if the Tigers would prefer the focus stay on the pennant race rather than the deadline.
Houston has emerged as one of the clubs watching closely because of its rotation injuries, and that need is hard to miss with the deadline approaching. For the Tigers, the question is whether holding onto Mize for a run at October is worth more than the kind of prospect package a contending club might be willing to put on the table, which is exactly the sort of call front offices hate making when the standings say one thing and the long view says another. [Read more 🡒]