Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

Jeremy Bonderman looked like he was about ready to pitch for the Tigers as he was about as good as you could ask in the Hens 6-0 win over Charlotte.  He gave up just six runs without a walk and he struck out five in eight shutout innings.

Marcus Thames showed some life with a solid game.  He went two for three with a home run, two RBIs and two runs.  Mike Hessman also pitched in with a two run shot.

The Flying Tigers blew a three run lead but then came back in the top of the ninth to top Palm Beach 6-5.  Michael Bertram had the big hit with a two run single to win it in the ninth.  Justin Henry had a nice day at the plate in the win and he went three for five with a run and an RBI.

Trevor Feeney was solid in no-decision start.  He gave up an unearned run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts in five innings.  Scott Green didn’t allow a run in the final 1 2/3 innings and he improved to 3-0.

Luis Marte put a solid start together and he improved to 3-5 in the SeaWolves 7-2 win over Akron.  He gave up just a single run on two hits and four walks with three strikeouts.  This is Marte’s best start in a while so hopefully he’ll be able to keep this up.

Ryan Strieby continued to rake an he went two for five with a triple, two RBIs and a run.  Scott Sizemore went three for four with a walk, a run and an RBI.

Mauricio Robles fell to 4-3 on the season with a tough start in the Caps 8-3 loss to Wisconsin this afternoon. He gave up five runs on three hits and five walks with three strikeouts.

Gustavo Nunez had a big day at the plate in the loss.  He went four for five with two doubles and two runs.

The Hens lost to the Knights and once again they struggled to scored runs.  Don Kelly continued his hot hitting and he went three for three while Will Rhymes went three for four with a walk but the rest of the team managed just three hits.  One of the Hens runs came on Dusty Ryan’s solo homer in the second inning.  It was his eighth of the year.

Brooks Brown took the loss and he fell to 0-3 since joining the Hens.  He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts in eight innings.

Jonah Nickerson improved to 3-3 with a solid outing in Erie’s 4-1 win over Akron.  He gave up one run on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts in seven innings.  Cody Satterwhite pitched the final two frames and didn’t allow a run and he earned his sixth save of the season.

Maxwell Leon led the way at the plate and he went three for four with a double and a run.  Ryan Strieby went two for four with a double, a run and an RBI.

Jeramy Laster scored on Christopher White’s ground out in the top of the tenth and that proved to be the difference as Lakeland took care of Palm Beach 7-6.  This one almost got away because Brett Jacobson gave up three unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth that allowed the game to go into extra frames.  The win snapped the Flying Tigers four game losing streak.

Brendan Wise picked up the win and he improved to 1-0 with two shutout frames.  Scott Green pitched a shutout tenth and he earned his sixth save of the season.

Laster was the hitting star.  He went two for five with a home run, two runs and two RBIs.  Michael Bertram also pitched in with two singles, a run and an RBI.

Victor Larez gave up a three run blast in the top of the eighth inning and a two run lead turned into a one run loss as the Whitecaps lost to Wisconsin 4-3.  It’s too bad because Luke Putkonen put together a decent start.  He gave up one unearned run on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts in six innings.

Gustavo Nunez tripled, drew a walk and scored a run. Jordan Lennerton went two for four with a double and an RBI.

I guess you can say that a little publicity can go a long ways. After doing a simple run of the mill, Q & A for the Detroit Free Press, and having them mention this little tidbit of my life (which I have to thank them ever so much for), I have received some great feedback along with questions that go beyond my ordinary train of thought. No, I know what you may think, and yes please, if you think you have a better idea than me for a certain topic, feel free. I don’t relish in the fact that I may be the smartest minor leaguer out there. I am fully aware I may be nowhere close and don’t have half the interesting things to talk about or stories to tell as some guys who have been around a little longer. But I do talk to those guys and live the same life, so really, I am acting as a catalystic sponge of information, if you will. One of the interesting questions I had was if we had any sort of rituals when a player gets moved up or down, or when a new guy comes in. Well to hit on the first part, when someone gets called up, it usually happens after a game and it may be announced or it may not and the only way of knowing is if that person’s locker is empty the next day amongst the flood of rumors we may have heard. What is a little more interesting and to me, a little more fun is when we get a new player; particularly one who has not been at this team before. We usually try to think of something outrageous to do before the game in front of all the fans and say “Oh you have to do it, we’ve all done it.” And clearly no one has, but for our own humor pray that he does. For instance, in West Michigan they run a Whitecaps flag into center field before every game, and we would make new guys do that on their first day. It always got a decent laugh out of the dugout. Down here in Lakeland, things are a little slower because we don’t draw the kind of fans like other places, but we still try to find something like making new guys meet with the umpires and visiting coaches before the game to exchange lineup cards and go over any ground rules. I always hope this happens when I pitch, that way I can give my buddy a fifty before the game, and try to see if he can sway the umpires a la Rodney Dangerfield (“keep it fair, will ya”). But most of the time moves happen so fast that we don’t even know what’s going on until someone else is wearing the uniform. It’s all part of the game and everyone understands it, and any little bit of humor and laughter we can all get out of it makes the transition a little bit easier.

The Hens took care of Charlotte 5-1 and Lucas French got it done on the mound.  He gave up just five hits and a walk with six strikeouts in seven shutout innings.  Casey Fien gave up a run in his two frames but it was good enough for save number four.

Don Kelly led the way at the plate and he went two for four with a double, two RBIs and a run.  Brent Dlugach went two for three with a walk and an RBI.

Ron Chiavacci gave up a run in the top of the tenth and he took the loss as the Hens lost to Norfolk 7-6.  This was after a rough start by Rudy Lugo.  He gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits and two walks with a strikeout in 5 1/3 innings.

The offense kept the Hens in this one and it was Dusty Ryan who led the way.  He went four for five with two doubles, a home run and two runs scored.  Jeff Frazier went three for five with a double and a run.

Casey Crosby improved to 3-0 in the Whitecaps 8-0 win over Quad Cities.  He gave up just four hits and four walks with five strikeouts and the solid start pushed his ERA down to 2.53.  He has 52 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings but he hasn’t pitched past the sixth inning.

Ben Guez had the big hit of the game. He belted a grand slam in the third inning.  Brandon Douglas went three for three with a double, a triple, one walk and two runs.

The White Caps lost to Kane County 6-4 and the bummer on this game was that they scored the first four runs.  Unfortunately, the Caps pen was roughed up to the tune of four runs after six solid innings by Luke Putkonen.  Three of those runs were given up by Jared Gayhart and he took the loss to drop to 2-2.

Gustavo Nunez doubled and he drove in two runs.  Billy Nowlin doubled and he scored a run.

The SeaWolves had a tough time at the plate and they managed just five hits in an 8-1 loss to Akron.  Brennan Boesch had two of those hits to lead they way.  He doubled, tripled and scored the lone Erie run.

Luis Marte had a rough start but the two errors didn’t help much.  He fell to 2-5 and he gave up eight runs (just three earned) on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

The Hens lost to Norfolk and Eddie Bonine gave up the brunt of the damage.  He gave up four runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts in six innings and the loss dropped him to 0-2.

Don Kelly went three for four in the loss.  Wilkin Ramirez tripled and scored a run.

Down 3-0, the Whitecaps rallied for two runs in the ninth inning but it was enough in the 3-2 loss.  Bryan Pounds had the big hit with a double and two RBIs but that was the end of the rally.  Ron Bourqin drew two walks and he scored one of the runs.

A pretty good start by Mark Sorenson went to waste.  He fell to 0-1 and he gave up two unearneds run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in six innings.

Luis Marte fell to 2-4 on the season with a rough start in Erie’s 7-4 loss to Harrisburg.  He gave up all seven runs on seven hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.

Ryan Strieby hit his eleventh home run of the season and Scott Sizemore went yard with his seventh.  Sizemore also singled, drew a walk and he finished with two runs.

The Hens were held to just six hits in a 2-0 loss at the hands of the Charlotte Knights.  Jeff Frazier doubled and singled and Don Kelly singled twice to lead the way at the plate in the mediocre offensive outing.

A nice start by Eddie Bonine went to waste.  He gave up two runs on seven hits and three walks in the complete game loss.

I was thinking…I write a lot about what my life is like in the game of baseball. What I never really thought about until now was that I am writing based on what I think would be interesting and not what you, the reader, may necessarily not be completely interested in. So for the first time I am throwing the ball to you (no pun intended) and asking if there is anything anyone out there who has any questions. Questions about what something is like or just a burning topic you’ve been looking for input on. No worries, no subject is off limits, and if I think it is then I’ll do the honorable baseball thing and pull a Mark McGuire, or in media terms, no comment. I know there are people from all over the country who read this and I am giving you the chance to ask anything you may want answered. Hope for some fun stuff and thanks for participating in my little fan experiment. *Note: To ask, just comment on this entry and I will write on the topics accordingly.

Alfredo Figaro fell to 2-1 on the season despite a decent start in Erie’s 3-1 loss to Bowie.  He gave up three runs (two earned and all three came in the first two frames) on seven hits and four walks with five strikeouts in seven innings.

Scott Sizemore doubled twice to lead the way at the plate for the SeaWolves.  Cale Iorg went two for two with two walks, a double and a run.