Hao-Yu Lee goes deep twice as Toledo splits with Iowa, Erie’s Callahan powers early before late collapse

Detroit’s farm system turned in a split weekend afternoon, with two different storylines across levels. In Toledo, Hao-Yu Lee powered the Mud Hens to one win and one loss against the Iowa Cubs in a seven-inning doubleheader, finishing the day with a pair of homers. In Erie, Brett Callahan delivered another big opposite-field shot early, but the SeaWolves could not hang on in the late innings.

In Game 1, the Iowa Cubs took a 7-5 win over Toledo after Dylan File struggled through a short stretch. File (the losing pitcher) lasted 6.0 innings and allowed seven runs, six earned, on 10 hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Lee got Toledo going in the top of the first with a two-run homer, but Iowa answered immediately to tie the game. The Cubs also tied the score after Tyler Gentry’s solo shot in the second. From there, the third inning decided the game, as File surrendered four more runs to put Iowa in control, highlighted by Eduardo Valencia’s solo homer in the fourth for his 12th of the season. Toledo tried to rally in the fifth, when Gage Workman doubled and came around on a Lee single, but it fell short. Lee finished Game 1 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.

Game 2 looked like a different matchup almost from the first pitch. Carl Edwards Jr. and Tyler Mattison combined to lock down Iowa, with Edwards Jr. taking over after an opener, Ricky Vanasco, allowed a run in the first. Edwards Jr. then blanked the Cubs for 3.1 innings, striking out seven without a walk, and Mattison carried the late workload by striking out four over the fifth and sixth. The Mud Hens tied the game in the second when Lee drew a walk and later scored on a Jace Jung double.

Toledo’s biggest push came with a late afternoon edge that kept turning into baseball drama. In the fourth inning, Lee was hit by a pitch to begin a frame that also featured ejections. Both Iowa pitcher Vince Velasquez and Cubs manager Denver Dangerfield were tossed in a lengthy argument, and later a batter’s-interference call on Tyler Gentry helped reset tempers even further. Toledo manager Gary Jones was also ejected, and pitching coach Doug Bochtler was sent out with him.

Back to the scoreboard, the Mud Hens broke the game open in the middle innings. Cal Stevenson led off the fifth with a triple and Max Clark followed with an RBI single to give Toledo the lead. In the top of the sixth, Workman and Lee hit back-to-back solo shots to make it 4-1. Three batters later, Gentry added a homer with Jung aboard, and Tomás Nido capped a larger inning with a solo shot to push the score to 7-1. Toledo then added insurance when Workman doubled, took second on a Lee single, and scored on a Trei Cruz sacrifice fly, finishing with an 8-1 victory. Lee went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk, and his second homer of the day.

While Toledo was solving Iowa pitching, Erie SeaWolves baseball featured a far more volatile ending. Brett Callahan provided the early spark for the SeaWolves, drilling an opposite-field, three-run homer that gave Erie a 4-0 lead, and later he would finish with a home run among his three-RBI day. But the SeaWolves’ advantage did not survive the final frame, as Wandisson Charles allowed five runs in the ninth inning and Richmond eventually walked it off.

The overall takeaway for Detroit’s organization was a productive display of power and responsiveness on the hitting side, paired with a reminder that pitching depth and late-game execution are still the separator at the higher minor-league levels. For Lee, the doubleheader offered a clean two-game snapshot of the kind of impact swings the Tigers will keep tracking in their development evaluations. For Edwards Jr., it was also a useful, bounce-back pitching outline, while Erie’s lesson is the same one many young staffs learn the hard way: early leads matter, but finishing innings is the real test.

If both teams respond quickly, the next few days could clarify what the doubleheader split means beyond one day. Toledo’s focus will turn to consistency after an 8-1 win that relied on sharp sequencing, while Erie will be looking for a correction after a ninth-inning collapse erased an otherwise strong start. For prospect followers, Lee’s ability to deliver both in the opener and in the nightcap will be the storyline to watch as the organization moves toward its longer stretch of games.