Malachi Witherspoon gave Lakeland exactly the kind of start a rolling team wants, and the Flying Tigers kept right on moving Friday with a 6-3 win over St. Lucie.
Witherspoon worked three scoreless innings to open the game, allowing three hits but no walks while striking out five. He threw 25 of his 37 pitches for strikes, and he did it while pairing cleanly with Michael Oliveto behind the plate. The right-hander’s first pro-season line was short, but it was sharp.
Lakeland gave him room right away. Jude Warwick cracked a solo homer in the top of the second, his ninth of the year, and the inning kept growing from there.
Javier Osorio walked, Enderson Delgado doubled him to third, and Jordan Yost singled Osorio home. Oliveto followed with a single that brought in Delgado, pushing the lead to 3-0.
The Flying Tigers added on again in the fifth after Carlos Rodriguez had taken over for Witherspoon and worked two outs before a rain delay interrupted the game. Once play resumed, Xiomer Guacache came in and Lakeland later cashed in another chance. Jesus Pinto walked, stole second, moved to third on a Zach MacDonald strikeout, and Anibal Salas singled him home to make it 4-0.
St. Lucie chipped away after that.
Guacache gave up a run in the fifth and a solo homer to open the seventh, trimming the lead to 4-2. Jose Guzman later allowed another solo shot in the eighth, pulling the Mets within one.
Lakeland answered in the ninth. Pinto and MacDonald drew walks to start the inning, a wild pitch moved them both up, and Warwick reached on an error at second that allowed Pinto to score. Osorio then lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in MacDonald and stretch the margin to 6-3.
The win was Lakeland’s fourth straight over the Mets.
Elsewhere, Iowa beat Toledo 8-3 after a rough fourth inning for Jackson Wolf, New Hampshire topped Erie 4-2 despite a strong start from Max Alba, and South Bend fell behind early but still battled West Michigan in a 7-5 loss.
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Tigers Are Giving A Promising Lefty A Real Chance To Stick
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Now the Tigers are planning to use Sears as a bulk reliever in an upcoming bullpen game, which gives him a chance to show he can handle more than just a cameo. For a club that values pitchers who can miss bats and throw strikes, the recent gains in his command and strikeout rate make this a meaningful test, even if the assignment itself is only temporary for now. [Read more 🡒]