Melton Deals Eight Strikeouts in Front of Sold-Out Crowd
IL Toledo Mud Hens

Melton Deals Eight Strikeouts in Front of Sold-Out Crowd

July 18, 2025 - International League (IL)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release


TOLEDO, OH - The Toledo Mud Hens fell to the Memphis Redbirds 7-0 Friday night. Fifth Third Field welcomed over 10,000 fans for the start of Margaritaville Weekend. Despite the sell-out crowd, Toledo fell behind early and could not find the hits to rally. The Hens prevented further damage thanks to stellar bullpen play.

On an MLB rehab assignment, Sawyer Gipson-Long had a shaky start Friday night. The Redbirds jumped out ahead 5-0 in the first with JJ Wetherholt starting things off with a lead-off double. Memphis would pick up four more base hits and draw two walks, before Toledo escaped the inning with a Tomás Nido throwdown to second base.

Despite the first inning struggles, Gipson-Long returned to the mound in the second inning. Wetherholt would hit a second lead-off double, before Nathan Church followed it up with one of his own to make it 6-0. The Mud Hens' miscues continued to wreak havoc as Matt Koperniak turned a routine flyball into an RBI double, putting the Redbirds ahead 7-0.

Memphis pitcher Curtis Taylor got off to a hot start, holding Toledo hitless through two innings. Taylor utilized a wide array of pitches, leaving batters lost or chasing pitches outside the zone. The Mud Hens would find their first hit in the third inning on an Eduardo Valencia pop-fly that found the infield untouched as the Redbirds struggled to communicate.

The Mud Hens looked reenergized with Troy Melton on the mound in the fifth inning. Detroit's tenth-ranked prospect quickly shut down the Redbirds with his fastball and cutter in the mid-to-high nineties.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Hens found themselves with their best scoring opportunity of the game thus far. Trei Cruz led off with a base hit, took second and third all before Valencia drew a walk to put runners on the corners with no outs. A Gage Workman walk would load the bases, bringing Hao-Yu Lee to the plate with one out. After a six-pitch battle with Taylor, it looked as though Lee had drawn a bases-loaded walk. That would be overturned, however, as Taylor challenged the pitch, leading to a strikeout looking.

Taylor's day would come to an end after his second successful challenge of the inning, as lefty Oddanier Mosqueda toed the rubber against Akil Baddoo. With a pitching motion that brought Mosqueda dramatically across his body, Baddoo struggled to locate the pitches early as they zipped across the plate right to left. The Hens would walk away scoreless as Baddoo went down swinging.

Melton's night only looked more impressive as his campaign went on. He began working in his slider and curveball in the sixth and seventh inning. Memphis continued to struggle regardless of the pitches coming their way as Melton earned six strikeouts in three innings of action.

After four complete innings, Melton would finish with eight strikeouts and no runs allowed. That brought Melton to 56 strikeouts in just 34.1 innings pitched over eight appearances.

Ultimately, the Mud Hens would not be able to find a way back into the game, making the 7-0 loss official. The Toledo Mud Hens and the Memphis Redbirds will face off again Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

Notables:

Troy Melton (4.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K)

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International League Stories from July 18, 2025


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