IL1 Toledo Mud Hens

Hens Drop Back-And-Forth Affair with Gwinnett

July 31, 2016 - International League (IL1)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release


A four-run jump start got the crowd on their feet at Fifth Third Field in the first inning. Alex Presley drew a leadoff walk, and J.D. Martinez made his stay on base a short one by doubling to right-center to bring him in. Casey McGehee hit a ball hard to right field that was caught but allowed Martinez to advance to third. While most teams play a right-side shift on Steven Moya, Gwinnet chose not to; Moya took advantage of it, with two of his three hits coming on ground balls that would have been gobbled up by the strategically-positioned fielder. The first of these hits came after the Martinez double, scoring J.D. from third. Chad Huffman joined the hit parade by doubling to left as Moya himself hurried to third. JaCoby Jones dropped a hit into center that brought in both Moya and Huffman and made it 4-0.

The Braves got themselves on the board in the visiting half of the second. Rio Ruiz singled to right to get things started and moved to second on a grounder back to starter Thad Weber. Reid Brignac shot a single to center to score Ruiz and make it a 4-1 game. While Weber limited the damage to just one run, he would find himself in trouble later.

The offense provided even more support in the second, as they struck for two more to make it a 6-1 lead. With two outs, Presley reached on a single to second base. Martinez was plunked high on the shoulder, but shook it off and trotted to first. McGehee singled to right to score Presley and move Martinez to third. Moya again took advantage of the defensive shortage on the right side and poked a single past first base that plated and brought in Martinez.

Weber cruised through the third, but the Braves pulled themselves back into the game in the fourth. Mel Rojas, Jr. hit a line drive to center that Jones appeared to lose in the sun; it hit off his glove and rolled to the wall as Rojas, Jr. coasted into third for a triple. Weber traded in the run for a groundout off the bat of Ruiz. With the bases empty, Ronnier Mustelier got things going again with a single to center. Brignac then smacked a no-doubt shot to right field to make it a 6-4 ballgame.

Bradley Roney came on to replace Gwinnett starter Chris Ellis and proceeded to shut the Hens out over the course of his three innings of work. In fact, neither team would see any offense until the seventh. In the visiting half, though, the Braves rallied for two to tie the game. With Weber now gone and Chad Bell in his second inning on the mound, Gwinnett's bats got back to it. First baseman Blake Lalli and outfielder Emilio Bonifacio singled back-to-back to begin the frame. Omar Infante laid down a sacrifice bunt to move each of the runners up a base. Bell recorded a strike out and intentionally walked Rojas, Jr. to load the bases in hopes of a potential double play. Instead, he got a Rio Ruiz single that plated both Lalli and Bonifacio to tie things up. Preston Guilmet entered and, while he threw a wild pitch that allowed the go-ahead run to move into scoring position, struck out the next hitter to escape the inning.

The resilient Hens wanted their lead back and took it. Roney was removed in favor of Stephen Jones and recorded two quick outs, but Machado doubled to keep the inning alive. John Hicks answered with a single to bring in Machado and tie it up.

True to this game's back-and-forth nature, the Braves wanted more runs in their half of the eighth. Brignac led off the inning reaching on an error by Huffman at first. Lalli placed a routine single to right, but Huffman was eaten up by the hop on the throw from Moya and Brignac scored all the way from first. Sean Kazmar entered to pinch run for Lalli and moved to third on a flyout by Infante. George Kottaras singled to center to bring in Kazmar and give the Braves their first lead of the game.

After being shut down in the eighth, the Hens entered the ninth trailing by one. Maikel Cleto, who displayed control issues in Saturday night's game when he walked three of the four batters he faced, entered with the hope of closing it out. The hard-throwing righty struck out Huffman and Jones, but surrendered a solo shot over the left field fence to Machado that tied the game at 8-8. Cleto struck Hicks out to end the inning, but the Hens had willed themselves back into it.

Despite the Hens' quick comeback in the ninth, the Braves made sure to win the tenth. Joe Jimenez came in for his second appearance with Toledo. The 21 year-old walked Kazmar to start the inning, who proceeded to steal second. Bonifacio then popped one down the right field line that a diving Huffman could not reach. Bonifacio hustled into second for a double as Kazmar ran to third. With one down, the Hens brought the infield in. Kottaras grounded a ball to Argenis Diaz at second, but he bobbled it and did not make a throw home to get Kazmar. While he had time to retire Kottaras at first, the run had scored and the Braves were in front again.

The Mud Hens threatened in the bottom of the tenth, but Cleto struck out Moya with two men on to end it.

The Hens return home on Monday for two games with Louisville before heading down to Louisville for two more. First pitch on Monday is at 7:05p.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

Check out the Toledo Mud Hens Statistics



International League Stories from July 31, 2016


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