Jones Secures Second-Straight Walk off against Cubs

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IL Toledo Mud Hens

Jones Secures Second-Straight Walk off against Cubs

May 7, 2025 - International League (IL)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release


TOLEDO, OH - The Toledo Mud Hens earned their second-straight walk off with a 2-1 victory against the Iowa Cubs Wednesday afternoon. Toledo struggled to bring in runners throughout the game, but their excellent pitching kept them in it.

On his second rehab game as the designated hitter, Matt Vierling hit a stand-up double from the two-hole in the first inning, but no scoring would come of it.

Lael Lockhart got off to possibly his best start of the season as he kept things scoreless through five innings of action. While his pitch velocity seemed to take a dip, his command was much better than his previous starts. He would finish his day with four strikeouts and only one hit allowed.

Toledo and Iowa spent the early innings lacking in offensive efficiency. The Cubs only secured one hit, while the Hens found themselves scoreless despite earning five hits against Jordan Wicks.

The Mud Hens hoped to get on the board throughout the early innings, but failed to execute with runners on base. Mendoza did his part, getting on base with a triple in the fourth and a double in the sixth, but was left stranded both times.

With Lockhart's day coming to a close following the fifth, Matt Manning took things over for him from the rubber. The recently-turned reliever turned the Cubs away quickly, going one, two, three, including a run-saving diving catch by Jahmai Jones.

Toledo finally found their way onto the scoreboard in the eighth inning as Jones slid into second with a line drive to left field. Just a home run shy of the cycle, Mendoza would bring Jones in with his fourth hit of the day to put the Hens up 1-0.

With a chance to call game, the Mud Hens continued to rely on Ricky Vanasco to close things out. He got his first two outs after surrendering a walk, but Iowa stayed alive as Moisés Ballesteros put runners on the corners with a single into right field. James Triantos made the most of his situation as he tied things up with a grounder into right field.

After Austin Murr went flied out against Keegan Thompson and Andrew Navigato drew a walk, Toledo turned to Akil Baddoo. He would get on base with an infield single, putting runners on first and second. Things looked bleak as Hao-Yu Lee suffered a three-pitch strikeout, but Jones would be the hero for the second-straight game. He hit the ball sky-high as it flirted with the right-field wall, before eventually falling to the ground to give the Mud Hens the 2-1 victory.

The Toledo Mud Hens and the Iowa Cubs will face off again Thursday at 6:35 p.m.

Notables:

Lael Lockhart (5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K)

Carlos Mendoza (4-4, 3B, 2B, RBI)

Jahmai Jones (2-4, RBI, R)

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