Norfolk Negates Hens' Hitting in Victory
June 28, 2016 - International League (IL1)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release
On a terrific night for some Holy Toledo Tuesday baseball at Fifth Third Field, offense was obsolete for the home Hens, as Norfolk shutout Toledo, 3-0.
Matt Boyd, who was looking to win his second straight start, struggled to find the strike zone consistently through the first three innings in route to dropping his fourth game of the season. The lefty was able to stick around for five innings, as he allowed three runs (one earned run) on four hits while walking four and striking out seven. Ariel Miranda, who came into Tuesday's game with a 4.40 ERA, fooled the Hens' hitters all night, not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. The southpaw picked up his third win of the season while going six innings allowing three hits, no runs, striking out three, and walking four.
Norfolk blasted a solo shot to left field in the top of the second inning for a second consecutive game, this time off the bat of Audry Perez to make it 1-0. The Tides kept the heat on following the home run with a single off the bat of Sharlon Schoop and back-to-back walks to Paul Janish and Michael Almanzar, and then the Tides capitalized on a Matt Boyd wild pitch with Dariel Alvarez at the plate, which plated Schoop to make it 2-0.
The Tides were back in business in the third inning when a leadoff walk to Trey Mancini was converted into the third run of the game making it 3-0 after Sharlon Schoop ripped a line drive triple to right field.
Toledo threatened in the fifth inning when Jeff McVaney and Dixon Machado knocked singles to right field, but Miranda was able to induce an inning ending groundout off the bat of JaCoby Jones to get out of the jam.
Toledo plays the final game of the three game set with Norfolk Wednesday afternoon, as Matt Crouse looks to win his third game as a Hen, with the first pitch slated for 12:05 p.m.
Toledo Tidbits:
McGehee Makes it Five- Casey McGehee increased his current team-high hitting streak to five games Tuesday night with a sharp single to left in the eighth inning. McGehee owns the team's season long hit streak, which he has done twice, at ten games. The veteran third baseman, who was called up for three games by the Tigers while recording one pinch hitting appearance, currently leads the Hens with a .309 batting average.
Bullpen Shines Bright- On a night in which there was virtually no hitting and the starting pitching wasn't spectacular, the bullpen stole the show. The Hens have yet to consistently put all three phases of the game together, but the bullpen showed they are ready to get the job done whenever the hitting hops on board. Preston Guilmet, 2.84 ERA, Blaine Hardy, 1.42 ERA, Logan Kensing, 2.89 ERA, and Bobby Parnell, 3.42 ERA, combined to pitch four innings of shutout baseball while allowing only one hit.
South Sorrows- With Tuesday's loss to Norfolk, Toledo dropped to 7-10 against the IL South. The Mud Hens happily welcomed the Tides to Fifth Third Field after a slew of seamlessly never ending series against teams from the IL North (10-23 overall record against the North), but the loss Tuesday night means Toledo will drop eight consecutive series. Basically, Toledo is ready to see a foe from the West, which they will get this weekend with a five game series against Indianapolis, and the Hens boast a winning 15-12 record against their IL West opponents.
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