Jackson Jobe runs out of gas late in SeaWolves’ loss (2024)

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6, Toledo Mud Hens 4 (box)

Ty Madden had one of the crazier games you’ll ever seen, and the offense was a little quiet as the Jumbo Shrimp evened the series.

It was another Jekyll and Hyde performance from Madden. For half the game, he was overpowering, racking up 11 strikeouts on the night. And yet somehow, he also gave up six runs, five earned, on 12 hits.

The Shrimp scored two in the top of the second, but the Hens did fight back in the bottom half. Ryan Kreidler singled with one out and Stephen Scott doubled him home. An Eddys Leonard ground out moved Scott to third, and Andrew Navigato singled him home. Akil Baddoo singled as well, getting Navigato to third where he scored on a wild pitch. 3-2 Hens.

Both teams scored a run in the fifth, the Hens coming on a Navigato home run. In the sixth, after looking good for a few innings again, the wheels came off late in Madden’s outing. A parade of hits plated three runs to make it 6-4, and the Hens couldn’t answer.

After a few good games at the plate, Spencer Torkelson went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.

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

Kreidler: 2-3, R, 2B, BB

Madden (L, 3-5): 5.2 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 12 H, 0 BB, 11 K

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 5, Erie SeaWolves 4 (box)

Jackson Jobe cruised for five innings in this one, and then ran out of gas in the sixth inning as the Fisher Cats took a lead and then held on to even the series on Wednesday.

For four innings, the Fisher Cats did nothing against Jobe. He was just filling up the zone with abandon and getting a lot of routine outs. In the top of the fourth, Jake Holton was hit by a pitch. A Chris Meyers double got him to third base, and a Trei Cruz sacrifice fly made it 1-0 SeaWolves.

In the fifth, some wildness crept into Jobe’s performance as he walked two hitters. Still, he struck out the last hitter of the inning to keep the Fisher Cats off the board. In the sixth, the wheels finally came off a bit. Three singles and a walk allowed saw his pitch count approach 30 in the inning with two runs in, and Gabe Alvarez made the switch to Joel Peguero who allowed another run to score before shutting it down. This may seem slightly perverse, but I’m enjoying Jobe having to fight through some things more than I enjoyed him mowing everyone down all year long. Only way to learn, and the Tigers have been so cautious with him that stretching out to 90-100 pitches per outing will require some adaptation from the game’s top pitching prospect.

The SeaWolves fought back in the eighth. Down 3-1, Carlos Mendoza was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Hao-Yu Lee was back from a minor injury in this one, but flew out to left. However, Gage Workman came through with a single and Austin Murr blasted a three-run shot to give the SeaWolves a 4-3 lead.

Unfortunately, Jake Higginbotham took over in the bottom half, and allowed a pair of runs. The SeaWolves couldn’t answer back in the top of the ninth.

Murr: 2-2, R, 3 RBI, HR

Workman: 2-4, R, 2 K

Jobe: 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 K

West Michigan Whitecaps 7, Beloit Sky Carp 0 (box)

The debut of new pitching prospect Joseph Montalvo, acquired for Andrew Chafin, went pretty well, and the ‘Caps jumped all over Beloit pitching to cruise to victory in this one.

If Montalvo had any nerves making his Tigers debut, his offense helped him out by dropping four on the Sky Carp in the bottom of the first.

Max Anderson and Kevin McGonigle walked with one out, and a wild pitch advanced them 90 feet. Thayron Liranzo reached on an error, scoring Anderson and McGonigle, and then Roberto Campos blasted a two-run shot to left for a 4-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Montalvo cruised through three innings, allowing just two hits and no walks, with two strikeouts. He exited after three, possibly due to a minor issue with his thumb, and while the stuff was a little lighter than usual, he also broke off some really good breaking balls.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jim Jarvis reached on a two-base error, and Max Clark lined a double the opposite way to score him. In the sixth, Jim Jarvis, Danny Serretti, and Josh Crouch all singled with one out to make it 6-0, and a Max Clark ground out scored Serretti to make it 7-0.

Jack Anderson took over from Montalvo for three scoreless innings, and the bullpen had no trouble keeping Beloit down to finish this game off.

Left-hander Jake Miller, who has been great for Lakeland this season, has been promoted to West Michigan. The 23-year-old eighth rounder out of Valparaiso in the 2022 draft, holds a 33.9 percent strikeout rate to just 5.9 percent walks and a 1.16 ERA over 18 starts.

Campos: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB, 2 K

Jarvis: 2-4, 2 R

Montalvo: 3.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Clearwater Threshers 9, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1 (box)

Andrew Sears finally had a really rough outing after dominating most of the season, and the Flying Tigers bats were quiet on Wednesday night.

The left-handed Sears still holds a 2.89 ERA with a strong 27.5 percent strikeout rate, but he just didn’t have it in this one. He went five innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits without a walk.

The Flying Tigers led briefly when John Peck hit his first home run of the season, but they would manage only three more hits otherwise.

19-year-old Franyerber Montilla has been promoted to Low-A Lakeland from the Complex League. The switch-hitting shortstop has six home runs in 48 games and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. You’ll see him rocketing up Tigers’ prospects lists shortly.

Peck: 1-4, R, RBI, HR

Sears (L, 5-4): 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 3 K