Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

Chris Lambert left the game tonight with a 4-2 lead after six solid innings of work only to see the pen melt down in a 14-4 blowout loss.  Three relievers combined to give up 12 runs in just two innings in an ugly game.

Clete Thomas belted a two run homer but he’s still below the Mendoza line since getting sent down to Toledo.  Mike Hessman continued his impressive season with his eighteenth homerun, a solo shot in the first inning.

The Hens scored three runs in eighth inning but it wasn’t enough as they lost to Durham 5-3.  Michael Hollimon had two hits including a solo homer while Mike Hessman drew two walks and scored a run.

Jeramy Johnson lost his first decision of the season.  He fell to 4-1 and he gave up three runs on eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts in five innings.

The Mud Hens scored two in the eighth inning and one in the ninth to edge the Charlotte Knights 6-5.  Dane Sardinha drove in the winning run with a solo homer while Jeff Larish, Mike Hessman and Michael Hollimon all went yard.  For Hessman, it’s his 17th homer of the season and six homeruns in his last six games.

Dontrelle Willis had a tough time in his rehab start.  He gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.  Preston Larrison threw 2 1/3 innings of shutout ball and he improved to 2-1 while Blaine Neal threw a shutout ninth to pick up his 13th save of the season.

Timo Perez seemed to be hitting out of his slump as he was passed up for promotion after the release of Jacque Jones.  He went four for four with a triple, a homer, three RBIs and two runs in the Hens 11-7 win.  Mike Hessman belted his eleventh homer of the season and Jeff Larish hit his ninth and drove in three.

Virgil Vasquez picked up the win and he improved to 2-2.  He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts in five innings.

Yorman Bazardo improved to 1-0 with a nice start in the Hens 5-1 win over Rochester.  He gave up one run on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts in five innings.  Casey Fossum also had a nice outing with 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief and Blaine Neal got the final two batters of the game out for his tenth save of the season.

Mike Hessman had a big day at the plate.  He went three for three with a walk, his ninth homer, and two runs.  Brent Clevlen tripled, homered and drove in three.

Jeremy Johnson improved to 4-0 on the season with a nice start in the Hens 7-1 win over Indianapolis.  He gave up one run on four hits with four strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Mike Hessman hit his eighth homer of the season and Jeff Larish belted his seventh.  That’s quite a one/two punch with both of the guys in the lineup.  Michael Hollimon also had a nice game and he homered and drove in a pair.

Francis Beltran gave up two runs in the ninth inning and he took the loss as the Hens lost to the Clippers 5-3.  Far and away the pitching star was Francisco Cruceta, who made his minor league debut today.  He threw three shutout innings and he struck out six without giving up a hit.

Mike Hessman and Dane Sardinha both belted homeruns in the game.  For Hessman, it was his sixth of the season and he’s now driven in 15 runs.

The Hens lost to the Bats 10-7 despite the fact that Mike Hessman put the team on his back.  He went four for five with three homers and five RBIs.  Brent Clevlen also had a solid game and he went four for five with two doubles, a run and an RBI.

Jonathan Connolly took the loss and he fell to 0-2.  He gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.

The Hens got it done as they beat up on Lehigh Valley 6-4.  Mike Hessman homered and drove in two runs while Timo Perez homered and scored a pair.  Brent Clevlen also had a nice game and he went two for four with a double, a run and an RBI.

Jeremy Johnson picked up the win although he didn’t have his best start.  He gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks with one strikeout in five innings.

The Mud Hens blew out the Knights 11-4 and it was Timo Perez who led the way at the plate.  He went three for five with two doubles, four RBIs and a run.  Brent Clevlen and Mike Hessman both drove in two runs while Derek Wathan singled twice, drew a walk and scored three times.

Eddie Bonine picked up the win and he improved to 1-0.  He gave up three runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Jeff Larish got it done at the plate with a pair of homeruns and four RBIs in the Hens 6-1 win over the Bulls.  Mike Hessman had a solid game as well and he went two for four with two doubles and a run.

Jeremy Johnson picked up the win with three solid innings of relief.  He gave up a run on four hits and he struck out five while Clay Rapada threw three shutout innings and he struck out three.

Virgil Vasquez picked up his first win of the season with an impressive pitching performance in Toledo’s home opener.  He gave up just a single run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.  Preston Larrison gave up a run in his single inning and Blaine Neal pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his first save of the season.

Dane Sardinha was the hitting star in the win.  He went two for three with a solo homerun.  Timo Perez didn’t get a hit, but he stole two bases and Mike Hessman went two for four with a double and a run.

Aquilino Lopez gave up two runs in the top of the eleventh inning as the Toledo lost to Louisville 4-2 in eleven innings.  It’s too bad because a pretty good start went to waste.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in seven solid frames.

Mike Hessman drove in a pair of runs to bring his International League total to 100 on the season.  Jason Perry doubled and scored a run.

Ron Chiavacci improved to 12-6 on the season with another nice start in the Hens 2-1 win over Indianapolis.  He gave up six hits and one walk with four strikeouts in six shutout innings.

Mike Hessman provided the offense for the Hens.  He belted his 31st homer of the season and he drove in both runs.

Jordan Tata improved to 4-3 on the season with another nice start in the Hens 8-4 win over Indianapolis.  He gave up one run on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Mike Hessman belted his 30th homerun of the season for the Hens.  He also tripled, drove in two runs and scored twice.  Brent Clevlen went two for four with a solo homerun and two runs.

Ron Chiavacci improved to 11-6 with a nice start in the Hens 5-2 win over Columbus.  He gave up one run on four hits with six strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. 

Mike Hessman went two for two with two walks, a homerun and three RBIs.  Chris Shelton had a team high three hits with two doubles, a run and an RBI.

Andrew Miller threw three tough innings as he started his rehab assignment with the Hens.  He gave up five runs on five hits and five walks with four strikeouts in just three innings.  He reached his pitch count pretty quickly and those three pretty poor innings were all he could manage.  Joel Zumaya threw better with a shutout eight.  He didn’t strike anyone out but he also didn’t give up a base runner.

All of the scoring in this 8-7 win came prior to the sixth inning.  Mike Hessman homered and drove in four runs while Timo Perez went three for four with a triple, two RBIs and two runs.

The Red Sox took care of the Hens 3-2 in a less then stellar offensive display.  Give them some credit though because with guys like Mike Hessman and Ryan Raburn playing for the big league club, you have a big chunk of this team’s offense gone at least compared to a month ago.

One of the runs for the Hens came on a solo homerun by Henry Mateo.  Jack Hannahan doubled and he scored the other run.

A terrific start by Jordan Tata went to waste.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts in eight innings of work. 

Kevin Hooper singled home David Espinosa in the bottom of the ninth to win it for the Mud Hens, but it was slugger Mike Hessman who once again stole the shot.  He went three for four with a double, a homerun and three RBIs.  The homerun was his 26th and he now has 84 RBIs in 84 games.

Virgil Vasquez had a nice start but he didn’t get the decision.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits with six strikeouts in 6 1/3 inings.  Aquilino Lopez picked up the win and he struck out three in 1 1/3 shutout innings.

Mike Hessman belted a two run homer in the Hens 7-5 loss to the Bulls and while that in and of itself isn’t very spectacular, the face that he now has 81 RBIs in 81 games is.  The homerun was his 25th of the season which is also an impressive figure.   And while his walk rate isn’t good, it’s not great.  If there’s one knock, it’s the 103 strikeouts that he has.  That’s an awful lot at any level.

Anastacio Martinez took the loss and he gave up three runs in one inning of work.  Jordan Tata didn’t have all that great of a start.  He gave up four runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts in six innings.