IL1 Toledo Mud Hens

Farmer Shines as Hens Split Doubleheader

Published on April 30, 2017 under International League (IL1)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release


Toldeo Mud Hens News List

Mud Hens Headlines

Farmer shines as Hens split doubleheader Apr 29th 2017, 20:26, by Brian Rzeppa

After being postponed due to rain last night, the Mud Hens took on the IronPigs in a double-header on Saturday night with Toledo looking to hold over the .500 mark on the season.

It appeared that the Mud Hens were going to drop two in a row after losing the first game 6-1 and falling behind in the second, but their bats came alive when they were needed and carried them -- along with a strong effort from the bullpen -- to a 2-1 10-inning victory to push their season record to 11-10.

William Cuevas started game number one for Toledo, looking to redeem himself from his last start against Lehigh Valley. In this outing, Cuevas went five innings and gave up five runs (four earned), while striking out one batter.

Ben Lively got the call for the first game for Lehigh Valley, hoping to build off of his last start against Toledo in which he went six innings and allowed just one run. As good as he was in their first meeting, Lively throwing seven innings for the complete game with one run allowed though he had just one strikeout.

The IronPigs wasted no time making noise to start off on the game, as centerfield Roman Quinn ripped a triple down the first base line on the first pitching of the evening. A fielder's choice by Jorge Alfaro drove him, making it an early 1-0 lead.

Alex Presley led off in return with a single, but was wiped away on a double play. Cuevas worked through the top of the second equally as quickly, with the frame being punctuated with a sliding play in right field by Steven Moya .

Toledo's bats were still unable to wake up in the bottom of the second, though James Loney put a charge into one that would have counted as his first home run of the young season; unfortunately for the Mud Hens, it was caught at the wall.

The Quinn/Alfaro pairing came back to bite Toledo again in the top of the third. Quinn reached on a fielder's choice and Alfaro drove him in with a line drive that hit Cuevas. Two men remained on base, that is until Dylan Cozens cleared the bases with his fourth home run of the season to make it 5-0.

Lively continued to roll in the bottom of a third with a 1-2-3 inning and their offense nearly added to that lead in the top of the fourth. Cameron Perkins led off the inning and Roman Quinn walked, but Cuevas was able to get out of it by inducing a groundout from Crawford.

It appeared as if the Mud Hens would be retired in short order once again in the bottom of the fourth, but Efren Navarro battled Lively in an 11-pitch at bat and claimed the victory with a single up the middle. He was stranded however, and the deficit remained 5-0.

Toledo was finally able to break through in the fifth, as after James Loney reached on an error, Omar Infante and Miguel Gonzalez singled to load the bases with one out. Brendan Ryan came through with yet another single to drive in Loney and make the score 5-1, but Lively got the ground ball he was looking for to get out of the jam.

Dustin Molleken entered the game in the sixth and walked Perkins to lead it off, an at-bat that would come to cost Toledo. Crawford dropped in his second hit of the game and third RBI to make it 6-1, but Molleken struck out the side to limit any further damage.

A leadoff double from Perkins had the IronPigs threatening once again, but Molleken was able to work around it and held the Lehigh Valley lead at five.

Steven Moya reached based on a single, but the Mud Hens were retired to close the game off at 6-1.

Looking to get their retribution, the Mud Hens turned to Buck Farmer in game two while the IronPigs went with right-hander Jake Thompson .

Farmer went six innings and allowed just run while adding six strikeouts.

Thompson slightly outdueled him throughout the night, continuing his career-long dominance over the Mud Hens. The former Tigers draft pick also threw six and a third innings, allowing just one run and striking out five.

Buck Farmer was in a groove early on with two strikeouts in the top half of the first inning, but Thompson matched him with a 1-2-3 bottom of the first.

Much like in the first contest, the IronPigs were able to get on the board early. Rhys Hoskins singled to lead off the top of the second and Nick Williams drove him in with a double into the gap in right-centerfield. A diving catch by Jason Krizan in right helped hold the score at 1-0.

Thompson continued to roll with another 1-2-3 inning in the second and retired the first batter of the third, but Bryan Holaday was able to reach base on a hit by pitch. The Mud Hens were unable to capitalize however, with a flyout and Holaday getting picked off to end the threat.

Despite the run in the second inning, Farmer continued to roll through the Lehigh Valley lineup and racked up four strikeouts by the time the top of the fourth came to a close.

Both pitchers flew through the bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth, but Toledo was finally able to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth. While their presence on the scoreboard was not via a run, the Mud Hens collected their first hit of the game on an Omar Infante single with two outs.

After Krizan's diving play earlier in the game, Infante and Farmer teamed up to try to top him in the top of the sixth. A ground ball deflected off of Loney at first base, but Infante was able to barehand it and make the throw to Farmer to get the out.

Toledo made their best effort of the game in the sixth inning, as Argenis Diaz roped a one-out single and moved to second on a fielder's choice. Much like the rest of the game however, Thompson was able to escape without harm.

Mike Zagurski came on for the seventh for Toledo and picked up where Farmer left off, striking out two batters in a scoreless inning.

Thompson came back out for the seventh and the Mud Hens were able to threaten once more. Efren Navarro walked and James Loney doubled to put runners on second and third, and an intentional walk to Infante loaded the bases for Krizan. Pedro Beato entered the game and allowed a sacrifice fly to Krizan to knot it up at 1.

Logan Kensing entered in the eighth inning and kept the momentum going for the Mud Hens staff, working yet another scoreless inning to bring his season ERA down 1.80.

JaCoby Jones singled to left field to put a runner on for the Mud Hens in the bottom of the eighth, but with a groundball the game moved on to the ninth.

A walk and a sacrifice bunt put a runner on second with one out, which brought Daniel Stumpf in for the Mud Hens. The lefty specialist did what he was known for, striking out Dylan Cozens (0-5, 5 K's on the game) to end the inning.

After running through the bottom of the ninth and the top of the tenth, the Mud Hens finally put a close on it. With a Jason Krizan single and a sacrifice bunt by Holaday to move him over, Diaz ripped a shot up the middle to give the Mud Hens a 2-1 come-from-behind victory.

The Mud Hens and IronPigs will meet on Sunday afternoon for the series-ending game in Toledo. Warwick Saupold takes the hill; first pitch is scheduled for 2:05.

Check out the Toledo Mud Hens Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from April 30, 2017


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central