Indianapolis Indians 8, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (box)

Jack Flaherty returned to game action Sunday, making his first appearance since right forearm flexor inflammation sent him to the injured list in July. The veteran right-hander worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings before Toledo’s bullpen blew a two-run lead in the ninth.

Flaherty gave up a one-out double in the first and walked another batter with two outs. He escaped the jam with a strikeout, then returned for the second and retired Robert Hassell III on a groundout to complete his outing.

Flaherty threw 13 of his 19 pitches for strikes and generated three whiffs on 10 swings. His four-seamer averaged 91.8 mph and topped out at 93.0 mph, down nearly one mph from his season average. The scoreless outing is good to see, but Indianapolis made some loud contact. All three balls put in play against Flaherty were hard-hit, averaging 103.1 mph. Detroit’s season is cooked anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. The Tigers have already said they don’t envision Flaherty building up enough to make starts by season’s end anyway.

Austin Gomber took over and completed the second before Indianapolis got to him in the third. Mitch Jebb doubled with one out and scored on a Duce Gourson single.

The Indians added two more runs on five hits in the fourth, but Gomber kept things from getting too out of hand, stranding the bases loaded.

Trei Cruz answered with his fourth home run of the season, cutting Toledo’s deficit to 3-1.

Gomber worked around back-to-back singles in the fifth to finish his outing. He allowed three earned runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings, striking out four without issuing a walk.

Andre Granillo, Enmanuel De Jesus and Tyler Mattison combined for three hitless innings, giving Toledo’s offense time to rally. Mattison needed only nine pitches to retire the side in the eighth, generating four whiffs on seven swings.

The Mud Hens took the lead in the seventh. Max Anderson and Corey Julks walked before Justice Bigbie bunted both runners into scoring position. James Outman singled Anderson home, and Andrew Navigato launched a three-run homer to left-center to give Toledo a 5-3 lead.

Tanner Rainey couldn’t protect it. He struck out the first batter in the ninth before allowing a single, an RBI triple and two more run-scoring singles. A walk kept the rally alive, and Brannigan scored on a wild pitch before Callihan came home on a groundout. Jack Little recorded the final out, but Indianapolis had completed a five-run inning.

Toledo went down in order in the bottom of the ninth but still secured a 4-2 series victory.

Navigato: 2-4, HR (4), R, 3 RBI

Cruz: 1-4, HR (4), R, RBI

Flaherty: 1.1 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 2 K

Rainey (L, 5-4): 0.2 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, BB, K

Coming Up Next: The Mud Hens open a series at Iowa on Tuesday at 7:38 p.m. ET.

Erie SeaWolves 11, Somerset Patriots 10 (box)

This one was crazy… Erie erased a four-run deficit with 10 runs across the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, then survived a five-run eighth to secure an 11-10 victory. The win clinched the Eastern League Southwest second-half title and Erie’s fifth consecutive playoff berth.

The SeaWolves struck first in the opening inning. Zyhir Hope and E.J. Exposito singled before Thayron Liranzo walked to load the bases. Izaac Pacheco brought Hope home with a sacrifice fly.

Carlos Peña held Somerset scoreless through two innings before running into trouble in the third. A walk and a double put two runners in scoring position, and consecutive RBI singles gave the Patriots the lead. A wild pitch brought home another run to make it 3-1.

That was it for Peña. He allowed three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out six over three innings.

Dariel Fregio worked a 1-2-3 fourth, but Somerset added two runs against him in the fifth. Cole Gabrielson singled and scored on a Core Jackson double before Roderick Arias drove Jackson home with a single. (Who names their kid Core?)

Erie’s offense immediately responded. Viandel Peña led off with a walk. He advanced to third on a Peyton Graham bunt single and a Hope groundout. Exposito brought Peña home with a sacrifice fly, and Liranzo followed with a two-run homer to cut the deficit to one. That’s Liranzo’s 16th of the year.

The SeaWolves retook the lead with five runs in the sixth. Roberto Campos walked, and Clayton Campbell singled before Seth Stephenson tied the game with a double. Graham put Erie ahead with an RBI single, and Hope launched a three-run homer — his fifth since being traded for Skubal — to make it 9-5.

Campbell and Stephenson started another rally with consecutive hits in the seventh. Peña drove in Campbell with a single, and Hope collected his fourth RBI with another base knock to extend the lead to six. Not a bad day for the Tigers to prospect.

Somerset wasn’t going down without a fight, though. Yosber Sanchez allowed consecutive singles with no outs before Moises Rodriguez entered and issued a walk to load the bases. A fielding error by Graham brought home two runs, and a wild pitch scored another. Exposito also made an error, allowing two more runs to score and cutting the lead to just one.

Rodriguez prevented the Patriots from tying the game and generated eight whiffs, the most by any Erie pitcher. Zane Barnhart retired the side in the ninth, striking out two to secure his sixth save. Phew.

Hope: 3-5, HR (5), 2 R, 4 RBI

Stephenson: 3-4, 2 2B (24), 2 R, RBI

Liranzo: 1-4, HR (16), R, 2 RBI, BB

Peña: 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves close the regular season with a six-game series at Reading beginning Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. ET.

West Michigan Whitecaps 5, Dayton Dragons 2 (box)

West Michigan finished its season with a victory, taking the series finale behind five strong innings from Connor Fenlong and a three-run homer from Jackson Strong. The Whitecaps finished 60-70 after splitting the six-game series in Dayton. It was a much better second half, but they faltered down the stretch a bit.

Fenlong opened his outing by striking out two in a perfect first. A Samuel Gil error put the leadoff man aboard in the second, but West Michigan turned a pair of forceouts to prevent the mistake from becoming costly.

The Whitecaps gave Fenlong a three-run lead in the third. Nolan McCarthy doubled, and Carson Rucker singled before Strong launched his 17th home run of the season to right.

Fenlong worked around a walk and an infield single in the bottom half before retiring the side in order in the fourth. Damian Ruiz broke up the shutout with a solo homer in the fifth. Dayton added two more hits with two outs, but Fenlong stranded runners on the corners with a groundout.

Fenlong completed five innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out seven and generated a game-high 10 whiffs.

West Michigan couldn’t add to the lead in the middle innings. The Whitecaps loaded the bases in the sixth, but McCarthy struck out. Two more runners reached in the seventh before Cristian Santana grounded into an inning-ending double play. A pair of walks went to waste in the eighth as the Whitecaps struck out three times.

None of that is great, but good pitching makes it all survivable.

Ethan Sloan worked around a two-out triple in a scoreless sixth, striking out two. Jalen Evans allowed a two-out single but struck out Ty Doucette to complete a scoreless seventh. Dayton pulled within one against Luke Hoskins in the eighth, but the Whitecaps finally added some insurance in the ninth.

Strong doubled with one out and scored on Jack Goodman’s first High-A double. Santana followed with an RBI single to make it 5-2.

Logan Berrier walked Justin Lebron with one out in the ninth before inducing a game-ending double play. Phew (again)

Strong: 2-3, 2B (12), HR (17), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, K

Goodman: 2-5, 2B (1), R, RBI, 2 K

McCarthy: 1-4, 2B (4), R, 2 K

Fenlong (W, 5-8): 5.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: West Michigan’s season is complete. The Whitecaps finished 60-70 and missed the Midwest League playoffs after Great Lakes claimed the East Division’s second-half title.

Bradenton Marauders 4, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1 (box)

Lakeland’s season ended with a loss despite an excellent outing from Kelvis Salcedo. The Flying Tigers managed only four hits and didn’t score after Jordan Yost’s leadoff home run.

Yost opened the game by launching his fourth homer of the season to right.

Bradenton threatened immediately. Chris Rembert doubled off Salcedo to begin the bottom half, and Tre Phelps added a one-out single to put runners on the corners. Salcedo escaped with consecutive outs, including his second strikeout of the inning and then reitred the side in order in the second.

Salcedo wasn’t as lucky in the third. The Marauders tied the game with an unearned run thanks to an error from Angel De Los Santos that extended the inning. Luke Scherrer followed with an RBI single before Salcedo prevented any further damage.

Salcedo finished his season by retiring seven consecutive batters. He completed five innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits without issuing a walk. He struck out nine and generated 18 whiffs on 41 swings. His cutter accounted for 13 whiffs and seven strikeouts, while his four-seamer and sinker both averaged about 96 mph.

Lakeland’s offense provided little support after Yost’s homer. Anibal Salas drew a leadoff walk in the sixth but was stranded, and Zach MacDonald’s seventh-inning single represented the Flying Tigers’ first hit since the opening frame.

Owen Hall took the loss, despite striking out the side across a perfect sixth and working around a walk in the seventh. His command disappeared in the eighth, as Rembert singled with one out before consecutive walks loaded the bases.

Yendy Gomez inherited the jam, and Scherrer drove in two runs with a single to right. Gomez recorded the second out before walking two more batters, with the latter forcing home Bradenton’s fourth run. All three runs were charged to Hall, who threw only 31 of his 62 pitches for strikes.

Yost singled to begin the ninth, but Tyson LeBlanc lined into a double play. De Los Santos added a two-out single before MacDonald lined out to end Lakeland’s season.

Yost: 2-4, HR (4), R, RBI

Salcedo: 5.0 IP, R, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 K

Hall (L, 1-1): 2.1 IP, 3 ER, H, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: Lakeland’s season is complete. The Flying Tigers split the series 3-3.