Holaday Homers, But Mud Hens Come up Short
April 27, 2017 - International League (IL1)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release
In front of the large group of kids that were on hand from a variety of schools within the area, the Mud Hens took on the Knights in the rubber match of their mid-week series.
Dropping game one in a nailbiter, Toledo avenged their loss last night but wound up coming up short once again in this one in a home-run filled affair. Downed by a score of 6-5, the Mud Hens will have to get back on track this coming weekend to keep hold of their International League West Division lead.
Drew VerHagen got the call for Toledo for the fourth time this season and was just as effective as he's been all year. Throwing five innings and allowing only one run while striking out four, the righty dropped his ERA to 2.25.
Tyler Danish was his opposition for Charlotte and matched him pitch for pitch. He went five innings of his own and allowed just the one run, though he was only able to tally two punchouts on the afternoon.
Continuing on his hot start to the season, VerHagen led off the game by striking out top prospect Yoan Moncada and inducing a pair of quick groundouts to retire the Knights in short order.
Despite the early game, the Mud Hens bats had no problem waking up in the first inning. A single by Omar Infante got the party started and Efren Navarro followed that up with a double that pushed the score to 1-0.
The Knights threatened in the top of the second in response, with three separate singles and a walk. With two outs and the bases loaded, VerHagen was able to squeeze out of a jam by getting Jason Borgeois swinging for his third strikeout of the morning.
Toledo looked like they would add to their lead in the bottom of the second, with a Jason Krizan leadoff single and Argenis Diaz reaching base on a throwing error by third baseman Nicky Delmonico, but a flyout and an outfield assist helped Charlotte escape without any damage.
In the top of the third, it was more of the same as in the second. Moncada singled up the middle and stole second, while Willy Garcia walked with one out. The end of the Knights threat was self-inflicted however, as Moncada tried to steal third base but was picked off by VerHagen.
The Knights rolled through the bottom of the third, but a rain delay halted the game before the Mud Hens were able to take the field in fourth. Once they did however, VerHagen hadn't missed a beat; striking out another batter and working around a two-out double by centerfielder Adam Engel .
It didn't take long for the Mud Hens to get back in the swing of things, with James Loney leading off the bottom of the fourth with a walk. Bryan Holaday moved him up with a sacrifice bunt, but Toledo was unable to cash in and the lead held at 1.
After knocking on the door for three innings in a row, Charlotte finally broke through on VerHagen. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no one out, and a Garcia sacrifice fly scored Borgeois tied it up at 1. A timely double play ball fielded by Brendan Ryan limited what could have been a much bigger inning.
Angel Nesbitt took over for Toledo in the top of the sixth and didn't skip a beat, retiring the Knights in short order highlighted by a pair of consecutive slick plays by the third baseman Diaz.
New Knights reliever Juan Minaya didn't have the same luck as his counterpart in his first inning of work, as Infante led off with a walk and Navarro moved him over to third with a single. He was able to work out of it though and the game remained tied.
Following a strikeout and a walk by Nesbitt, Daniel Stumpf took over and right on cue struck out Moncada and forced a weak pop-up to send it to the bottom of the 7th.
The game was blown open in the top of the eighth, when Garcia roped a double down the first base line and Danny Hayes built on that with a two-run homer. On the next pitch, Rymer Liriano put a charge into one and put it over the fence in left-center field to make it 4-1. Dustin Molleken entered the game but found the same results as Stumpf, allowing a two-run home run himself to Adam Engel and it was 6-1.
After the long inning had come to a close, Toledo wouldn't go down without a fight. A pair of singles and a James Loney walk loaded the bases and Holaday clubbed a grand slam out to left field to shrink the deficit to one. Jason Krizan kept the rally alive with a single and Diaz moved him to third with a double. David Lough walked to load the bases again, but all three were stranded and the game stood at 6-5.
Bruce Rondon breezed through the top of the ninth, but Gregory Infante was able to close it down for the Knights.
The Mud Hens home stand continues Friday night as William Cuevas takes the ball. First pitch will be thrown at 7:05.
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