Rayner Castillo spins a gem in Whitecaps victory, Kelvis Salcedo returns to Lakeland

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Toledo Mud Hens 4, Omaha Storm Chasers (box)(F/5)

This one lasted just long enough as the Mud Hens seized the lead in the bottom of the fifth, and then the game became official as rain washed out the rest of the day.

Lael Lockhart Jr. was uncharacteristically wild in this one, walking four. He gave up a run in the third, and then two more in the fourth. Matt Seelinger cleaned up a little jam, and then Brenan Hanifee handled the top of the fifth.

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So it was 3-0 headed into the bottom of the fourth. Jace Jung led off with a walk, and Eduardo Valencia launched his third homer of the year to make it a 3-2 game.

Hanifee immediately allowed a single and then a Josh Rojas double in the top of the fifth. A strikeout and a pair of ground outs got him out of the inning unscathed.

Ben Malgeri singled to open the bottom of the fifth, and by then the rain was really coming down and a half hour delay followed. It was still ominous when they resumed, but after Max Clark struck out, Gage Workman singled Malgeri to third. Workman stole second base, and the throw went into center field as Malgeri scampered home to tie the game, and the throw in from Drew Waters in center field also went awry as Workman roared around to score as well.

It wasn’t a walkoff, but it eventually functioned as one as the rain picked up again and the game was put into the books after five innings.

Malgeri: 2-3, R

Workman: 2-3, R, SB

Valencia: 1-2, R, 2 RBI, HR

Coming Up Next: It’s a 5:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday in Toledo as the Hens lead the series 3-1.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies 10, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)

Dariel Fregio made his fourth start after getting promoted to Erie and converted to the rotation out of need. He was mauled for six runs as the Ponies ran roughshod over the SeaWolves on Friday.

The Ponies scored a run in each of the first three frames, two on solo shots, before the SeaWolves answered back in the fourth. Brett Callahan led off the top half with a walk and Chris Meyers singled. Andrew Jenkins reached on a fielders choice that forced Meyers at second, and Callahan scored on an Izaac Pacheco ground out.

Fregio gave up three straight singles in the bottom of the fourth, and Colin Fields had to take over. That did not work out as Fields allowed all three runs to score on two sac flies, and then a two-run homer from the Ponies’ A.J. Ewing. 7-1 Binghamton.

In the sixth, Peyton Graham was hit by a pitch and Callahan walked. Graham moved to third on a Meyers ground out and scored on a wild pitch. Otherwise it was a poor night for the offense.

Fields allowed two more runs in relief, and the Ponies added one against Eric Silva to complete the scoring. The SeaWolves only had two hits on the night.

Fregio (L, 0-1): 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, BB, 2 K

Fields: 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves lead the series 3-1, with first pitch on Saturday set for 1:00 p.m. ET.

West Michigan Whitecaps 7, Lake County Captains 6 (box)

Rayner Castillo threw a great game, but the late innings got dicey until the Whitecaps stormed back to walk this one off in Comstock Park.

Castillo, our 25th ranked prospect in the offseason, had a down year in 2025 and has been up and down early on this year. The 21-year-old locked in on Friday night, two-hitting the Captains over five scoreless frames with five strikeouts.

The ‘Caps got on the board right away when Jackson Strong led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored on a Samuel Gil double. Nolan McCarthy launched a solo shot for his first with the Whitecaps in the fifth inning. Andrew Sojka followed him with a solid single to center and Clayton Campbell pumped an RBI double to center to make it a 3-0 lead.

Carlos Lequerica took over from Castillo with a snappy 1-2-3 sixth, but gave up a solo shot in the seventh. 3-1 ‘Caps.

Seth Chavez followed Lequerica, taking over in the eighth, and the Captains jumped all over him after the leadoff hitter reached on a Gil error from second base. They banged out five straight hits and a sac fly and it was a 6-3 Lake County lead with the smoke cleared.

Gil redeemed himself quickly by leading off the bottom half with a single, and Garrett Pennington made it count with a two-run blast that made it a 6-5 Lake County lead.

Lefty Ethan Sloan cleaned up the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 top of the ninth. That was well as it set the Whitecaps up for the comeback. Campbell led off with a single and Hunter Dobbins reached on an error. Two fly outs followed, but Pennington got an 0-2 pitch on the outer edge and dumped it into right field for a two-run walkoff double. And the LMCU faithful rejoiced.

Pennington: 3-5, R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR, K, CS

McCarthy: 2-4, R, RBI, HR, K

Gil: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B, BB

Rainer: 1-4, 3 K

Castillo: 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 2:00 p.m. ET start on Saturday with the series all tied up.

Tampa Tarpons 4, Lakeland Flying Tigers 3 (box)

Tampa rallied back to win on Friday, but I don’t care because RHP Kelvis Salcedo was back on the mound for his first start of the year.

The 20-year-old right hander broke out in a big way last summer, featuring huge stuff and advanced strike throwing. He had a minor meniscus clean up procedure this spring, so the Tigers started easing him back in with a two-inning outing in this one. Once he’s built up, Salcedo should be moving to West Michigan pretty quickly. He torched the Tarpons for two innings in this one, striking out five and allowing one single and a walk. His fourseamer was 94-95 mph, and he racked up plenty of whiffs on his slider in particular, getting 7 total whiffs on 15 Tarpon swings.

This is arguably the most exciting young pitcher in the system, at least of those who aren’t perpetually on the injured list. We’ll see.

Jordan Yost got the Flying Tigers started on Friday by leading off the bottom of the first with a deep drive to center field. He turned on the afterburners and raced around the bases for a triple off of lefty Justin West. Thayron Liranzo immediatley pulled a single to left for a 1-0 lead.

After the leadoff hitter reached on a Carson Rucker error to start the third, RHP Jose Guzman took over from Salcedo and did a nice job getting out of the inning, though most of the credit goes to Liranzo, who cut down the runner trying to steal third.

Zach MacDonald, one of the big stories early on this spring, crushed a 112.9 mph home run in the bottom of the third to make it 2-0. The 22-year-old outfielder now has six homers in 17 games and is showing off huge raw pop to go with his speed. He is still striking out a huge amount, however. Don’t get too excited. It’s just that center fielders with double plus raw don’t grow on trees.

Guzman was solid, while Charlie Christensen allowed a run in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half, Yost slapped a ground ball single the opposite way and advanced to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. Liranzo lifted a fly ball to right field for a sac fly to make it 3-1.

After that it was all Tampa. Eliseo Mota gave up three runs, two earned in the late innings, and the Flying Tigers’ offense didn’t have an answer.

Yost: 2-4, 2 R, 3B, K

Liranzo: 1-3, 2 RBI

MacDonald: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 3 K

Salcedo: 2.0 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:00 p.m. ET start in Lakeland on Saturday.

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