IL1 Toledo Mud Hens

Mud Hens Rally Past Bats on Opening Day

Published on April 4, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release


Toledo, OH - The Toledo Mud Hens (1-0) scored five runs in the seventh inning Thursday in a 10-5 win over the Louisville Bats (0-1) in front of a sold-out crowd at Fifth Third Field.

A deep fly ball double, which smacked the right field wall, for designated Daniel Woodrow jump-started the rally on Opening Day. Toledo went hitless in the first four innings and trailed by as many as four.

What began with Woodrow bringing home the tying run followed with Ronny Rodriguez, Victor Reyes and Brandon Dixon collecting back-to-back-to-back RBIs. All nine batters for the Mud Hens recorded at least one hit.

Reyes, who later reached on base in the eighth on a fielding error that scored Daz Cameron, knocked in a grounder down the right field line for the game's only triple.

The Bats were ahead 5-3 entering the bottom half of the seventh.

Woodrow, the former 2016 MLB Draft pick, and Jacob Robson each finished with two RBIs to lead Toledo.

Right-hander Kyle Funkhouser got the start for the defending International League West Division champions. It's the third appearance on the mound with the Mud Hens for the 25-year-old native of Palos Heights, Illinois.

Starting in 17 games last season for Double-A Erie, Funkhouser went three full innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out four.

Opening the scoring was Louisville in the second inning.

Josh VanMeter would advance home on two walks and a throwing error after singling as the leadoff hitter. Christian Colon recorded the first RBI of the game off his sacrifice fly to center field.

The second throwing error issued to the Mud Hens in the fourth inning came on the same sequence of Colon's second earned RBI.

Louisville led 4-0 before Dixon broke up the no-hitter in the fifth.

Right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne left after five full innings of work. Despaigne allowed just one batter on base until the Mud Hens scored three runs off doubles from Dawel Lugo and Robson.

Brian O'Grady registered the final run for the Bats in the sixth before Toledo answered with seven straight.

Cameron, who was hit by Despaigne in the first inning, singled up the middle with one out in the eighth to score Robson for the 9-5 lead.

Cameron is the fifth ranked Tigers prospect, according to MLB.com.

The Mud Hens went to 29-year-old right-hander Jose Cisnero for the save. Cisnero faced five batters and was one-of-two Toledo pitchers alongside right-hander Zac Reininger to not allow a run.

Woodrow and Dixon both had two hits on five plate appearances. Five different batters for Louisville attained an RBI.

What's Next:

Toledo and Louisville return for the second of a four-game series Friday at 7:05 p.m. (EST). Left-hander Ryan Carpenter gets the start for the Mud Hens.

Hens Notes:

- 2019 marked the 33rd season for Toledo as the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

- 15 players on Thursday's Opening Day roster, comprised of eight pitchers and seven position players, return after being part of last season's West Division title run.

- Doug Mientkiewicz begins his second season as manager of the Mud Hens. The native of Toledo spent 12 seasons with seven teams during his MLB career.

Check out the Toledo Mud Hens Statistics

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International League Stories from April 4, 2019


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