Josue Briceño homered in his rehab stint, and Peyton Graham kept stacking extra-base hits as the Tigers’ affiliates put together a busy Tuesday across the minors.
Lakeland opened the night with a 7-1 win over Palm Beach, and Briceño supplied the swing that turned it into a comfortable night. Rehabbing from preseason wrist surgery, he drove an opposite-field homer in the fourth inning for his first blast of the year. The Flying Tigers had already nudged ahead with a run in the third, then kept adding from there.
Lakeland’s pitching held up well after an early scare. Grayson Grinsell ran into trouble right away, allowing three singles and a walk in the first, but he escaped without giving up a run.
The pitch count climbed to 33, though, and Lakeland went to Pedro Garcia in the second. Garcia answered with three scoreless innings and helped settle the game down.
The offense kept building in support. Jude Warwick and Nick Dumesnil started the third with singles, and Zach MacDonald and Jordan Yost drew walks to force in a run.
Later, Carson Rucker singled and Edian Espinal walked before a delay for an injury sent the Cardinals to the bullpen. The new reliever walked Dumesnil, bringing home Rucker on a Jesus Pinto ground out.
Pinto then broke things open in the seventh with a three-run homer, and Dumesnil added an RBI single in the eighth.
Across the league, Erie beat Akron 6-4 behind a huge night from Graham. The SeaWolves got four innings each from Hayden Minton and Carlos Peña, and both pitchers allowed two runs. Minton gave up both of his runs in the first before settling in, while Erie’s bats took over in the middle innings.
Graham was in the middle of everything. In the third, he doubled behind Seth Stephenson’s leadoff double and later scored on a Garrett Pennington single.
In the fourth, Stephenson and Graham again came through together, with Graham ripping a double that brought in two runs for a 4-2 lead. He finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and three doubles.
E.J. Exposito added his 12th homer in the sixth, and Chris Meyers followed with a solo shot in the seventh, extending what has become a multi-week heater.
Trevin Michael closed it out after Peña allowed two more runs in the eighth.
In West Michigan, Lake County outlasted the Whitecaps 20-11 in a game that turned wild fast and never really came back down. The night was defined by walks, tight strike zones, and enough pitching chaos that position players were on the mound by the end. Combined, the teams issued 24 walks.
The Whitecaps did claw back into it in the sixth after falling behind 7-4. Samuel Gil singled to start the inning, Patrick Lee followed with a hit after Luke Shliger struck out, and Woody Hadeen drove both in with a double. Bryce Rainer worked a four-pitch walk, Ricardo Hurtado singled in two more, and West Michigan had surged ahead 8-7.
But the Captains answered with eight runs in the seventh, and the game unraveled from there. Hurtado finished 3-for-5 with four RBI, Hadeen had two doubles, two walks, and three RBI, and Lee scored three times. Zack Lee gave West Michigan two scoreless innings in relief, but the Whitecaps’ bullpen day spiraled around him.
Toledo’s day was much quieter in a 3-1 loss to Iowa. The Mud Hens scratched out their lone run in the second when Brett Callahan singled, stole second, advanced to third on a wild throw from Moises Ballesteros, and scored on a bloop single from Jace Jung. That was it for the offense, as Toledo managed only four hits.
Dylan File took the loss after allowing three runs in 4.1 innings, striking out five and walking two. Brenan Hanifee, Tyler Mattison, Tanner Rainer, and Nick Sandlin all worked effectively in relief, but Will Sanders handled the Cubs’ end of the matchup. Callahan finished 1-for-4 with a run, a strikeout, and a stolen base.
In Other News...
Yankees Suddenly Made Another Change As Tigers Keep Applying Pressure
The Yankees kept churning their bullpen mix Tuesday, sending right-hander Yerry De los Santos down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and bringing right-hander Yovanny Cruz back into the major league relief corps. It is another small but notable roster tweak for a club trying to steady itself while the Tigers continue to apply pressure in the standings, and it shows how quickly New York is willing to move pieces around as it searches for the right late-game answers.
Cruz is not a new face to the big leagues this season, and his calling card is obvious enough once he takes the mound. The right-hander brings the kind of fastball velocity that can change the tone of an inning in a hurry, which is why his return is worth watching even in a move that might otherwise look routine on paper. [Read more 🡒]
This Tigers Infielder Is Suddenly Back In Deadline Trade Buzz
The deadline chatter around Detroits infield has started to pick up again, and it comes at a time when the market is being shaped by contenders looking for a right-handed bat. Bostons recent five-game surge has kept it in the playoff picture despite a mediocre American League field, and the Red Sox have at least given themselves a reason to keep searching for upgrades as the rotation continues to pile up quality starts.
For the Tigers, the part that matters is how a players rest-of-season value gets weighed against everything else in July. A bat with versatility across the middle infield and a contract situation that can make him more appealing to buyers usually draws notice, and Detroit is the kind of club that has to listen when that kind of name comes back into the rumor mill, even if the health question still clouds the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Suddenly Have A Real Shot At A Deadline Ace
Atlantas need for starting pitching has only grown as the club tries to hold onto first place in the NL East, and that kind of pressure usually pushes a front office toward the top of the market. MLB.coms Mark Feinsand has tied the Braves to Tigers ace Tarik Skubal as a possible deadline target, a sign that Atlantas combination of urgency, financial flexibility and prospect depth is being viewed as a real factor as July approaches.
For Detroit, any conversation around Skubal carries obvious weight because he is the kind of arm contenders covet and rebuilders rarely move without a steep return. The Braves already have a rotation stretched thin by injuries and uneven results, which is why the fit keeps making sense on paper, but the rest of the equation is still very much unsettled as the deadline picture starts to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]