There are certain dead giveaways that a once-successful creative venture is running out of ideas. There'll be an episode featuring a seance, or two characters stuck in an elevator. Or maybe there'll be a very special guest appearance by Dick Van Dyke. Or they'll add a cool new kid named Roy. Or Ted McGinley will show up. Or, in the case of the minor-league update, they start adding trivia questions on a 2-2 night for the farm teams.

Toledo 5 Syracuse 0

Not much to say here. The Skychiefs’ series in Toledo ended badly with a whitewashing at the hands of Mud Hen Nelson Cruz and two relievers. Syracuse batters managed only 4 singles and struck out 12 times. Chris Baker started again for the pitching-starved Skychiefs (remind me again why Ryan Glynn was sold to Sacramento?), allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in just 4 innings, striking out 2. Matt Duff followed and was not wonderful, allowing the other 3 Toledo runs on 2 hits (including a homer) and a walk.

Do you suppose the Mud Hens liked or disliked their identification with cross-dressing Section-8-wannabe Corp. Max Klinger? Jamie Farr, a Toledo native, sponsors the LPGA’s Jamie Farr Kroger Golf Classic in his hometown, but I don’t know that he has any association with the Triple-A baseball team. Trivia question: Farr was one of only two M*A*S*H stars to have actually served in the Korean War. Who was the other?

Box score

Reading 5 New Hampshire 3

The cratering of Ismael Ramirez continues. After a promising start at Double-A, Ramirez lost his fifth game of the season last night, getting peppered for 8 hits and a walk in just 4 innings, yielding 4 runs. Bubbie Buzachero kept the Phillies at bay, allowing just 1 run in 3 innings on 2 hits, but with 3 walks. The only good pitching line in the upper minors belonged to Jamie Vermilyea, who struck out 1 in 2 innings of 2-hit shutout relief. Left fielder Ron Acuna doubled, singled and walked, while first baseman Glenn Barker had the only other 2-hit night for the Fisher Cats. Right fielder Maikel Jova had the highest batting average among the starters at game’s end, at .286. The next-highest average belonged to Barker -- .239.

Reading (pronounced “Redding”) is probably most well known for lending its name to Reading Railroad, a defunct line now best remembered as a Monopoly board property. The Reading Railroad company went bankrupt decades ago and the line itself was merged into Conrail in 1976, but in its heyday, its coal and anthracite runs (not to mention passenger, commuter and freight loads) made it one of America’s most prosperous lines. Because the Reading Railroad ran into Atlantic City, it appears in the universally recognized Charles Darrow version of Monopoly. In fact, every property on the standard Monopoly board existed in real-life Atlantic City when Darrow sold the game in 1935 – except one. Trivia question: which property is it?

Box score

Dunedin 7 St. Lucie 6

What a comeback by the D-Jays! They were down 6-0 after 3, thanks to another poor start by David Purcey, who seemed to be on the fast track to New Hampshire last month. Purcey allowed all 6 Mets runs on 7 hits (including 2 homers); he walked nobody and struck out 4. Then the bullpen turned the game around. Davis Romero struck out 4 batters in 2 shutout innings, and Tracy Thorpe scattered 3 hits in 2 more scoreless frames. Meanwhile, the bats woke up -- Ryan Roberts got the ball rolling with a 2-run homer to ignite a 3-run 6th, and he capped the comeback in a 4-run 8th by drawing a bases-loaded walk with the game tied.

Roberts finished the night with those 3 RBIs, while Adam Lind and a rehabbing John Hattig each contributed a double and a single (Lind also walked and pushed his average back over .300). Jayce Tingler doubled and walked twice. I don’t have much to offer trivia-wise here about Dunedin’s opponent, other than to say that the town was probably named for St. Lucy, martyred in 303 AD and patron saint of the blind. Trivia question: with what Sicilian town is St. Lucy normally associated? (Hint: the name appears in this minor-league report).

Box score

Lansing 2 Southwest Michigan 0

Another lights-out performance from Chi-Hung Cheng, who’s been one of Lansing’s brightest stars this season. Cheng fired a 1-hitter over 6 shutout innings, striking out 7 and (even better) walking only 1. Danny Hill allowed 1 hit in a scoreless 9th for his organization-leading 11th save. DH Joey Wolfe drove in both Lugnut runs with a 2-run double in the 6th inning of this 7-frame contest; Lansing managed only 3 singles otherwise.

I don’t have anything clever to say about Southwest Michigan, as Lugnut Fan has already briefed us on the franchise’s history and wacky name. So let’s talk about Lansing – not the delightful Michigan city that hosts the Lugnuts, but the tiny 18th-century settlement called Lansing that eventually became part of the good city of Toronto. Trivia question: at what modern Toronto intersection (that is, the corner of X and Y streets) was the community of Lansing founded?

Box score

Your Three-Star Selection: The first two stars are clear, but I can’t think of any player who deserves the third star tonight. So:

3. The Cast of It’s a Wonderful Life:The 30-second all-bunnies version.

2. Ryan Roberts, Dunedin: A 2-run homer and a bases-loaded game-winning walk.

1. Chi-Hung Cheng, Lansing: 6 shutout innings with 7 Ks and just 1 walk.

Trivia answers to appear late Saturday morning or early afternoon.