IL1 Toledo Mud Hens

W. Castro Leads Toledo to Win over Gwinnett

Published on May 28, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release


Toledo, OH - The Toledo Mud Hens bested the Gwinnett Stripers at Fifth Third Field on Tuesday behind a late inning home run to propel Toledo to a 5-4 victory.

The Mud Hens took back the lead in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs in the inning, Willi Castro came to the plate for Toledo. He sent a deep fly ball to left-center that cleared the fence, giving the Hens a 5-4 lead late in the game.

In the top of the first inning, Toledo catcher Jake Rogers flexed his arm from behind the plate yet again. On a pitch that skipped away from him, Rogers recovered to halt the attempt to advance by the Stripers' leadoff batter Rafael Ortega.

For Toledo's half of the second inning, Rogers began with a walk. Daz Cameron followed up with a single up the middle to put two on with no outs. After an auto-ball due to the pitch clock, Pete Kozma was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Dustin Peterson flew out to right, but a miscommunication on the base paths led to a 9-2-6-2 triple play for Gwinnett to escape the inning and leaving the score at 0-0.

The Mud Hens were able to load the bases again in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Jordy Mercer reaced on an infield single up the middle. Following, W. Castro was hit by a pitch and Mikie Mahtook walked to put three on for the Hens. Rogers would single to shallow left-center, scoring both Mercer and Castro to put Toledo on the board first.

After walking Cameron to load the bases again, the Stripers made a pitching change, pulling starter Patrick Weigel. Weigel tossed 2.2 innings, allowing three hits and four walks and not tallying a strikeout en route to hitting two batters and giving up two runs. He was replaced by Ben Rowen, who was able to escape the third inning without additional damage.

In the first at-bat of the fourth inning, Travis Demeritte for Gwinnett sent a shot to deep center field for home run No. 12 of his season. The home run knocked off the batter's eye in center field, cutting the Toledo lead to 2-1.

In the fifth, the Stripers added another run with two outs on the board, coming on a solo shot by Rafael Ortega, his eleventh home run of the season. The hit tied the game for Gwinnett.

Gwinnett took the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Alex Jackson singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a Sean Kazmar Jr. home run to left field. The home run was Kazmar's sixth of the season and pushed his RBI total on the year to 22. Following Kazmar's home run and a walk to Jack Lopez, the Hens made a pitching change.

Tim Adleman tossed 5.2 innings for Toledo, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six. He was replaced out of the pen by the right-handed Ethan DeCaster, who was making his home debut with Toledo, after pitching once during the previous road trip.

In the bottom of the seventh, W. Castro began the Hens half with a single through the right side of the infield. Next, Mahtook beat the shift with a single to the right of second base to put runners at the corners with no outs for Toledo. After getting the first out of the inning, Gwinnett made a change on the mound, taking out the reliever Rowen.

Rowen pitched 3.2 innings for the Stripers, striking out four while allowing five hits and one walk. He was replaced by the lefty Grant Dayton.

In his first batter faced, Dayton hit Cameron to load the bases for the Mud Hens with one out. Peterson would come through for Toledo, ripping a single up the middle to score both Castro and Maktook to tie the game at four, but that would be all the Hens would get in the inning.

In the bottom of eighth inning with two outs, Willi Castro sent a ball over the fence in left-center for this third home run of the season to give the Mud Hens the lead once again.

To open the ninth, Eduardo Jimenez entered for the Mud Hens. Reliever Ethan DeCaster tossed 2.1 innings for Toledo, striking our four while not allowing a baserunner. In the ninth, Jimenez struck out Kazmar Jr. and got Lopez to fly out to center before he walked Sal Giardina, who was replaced by Pedro Florimon on the base paths. Florimon advanced to second on a ground ball to third by Luis Marte that was marked as an error by Toledo. However, Ortega would pop out to conclude the game in Toledo's favor, marking Jimenez's first save of the season.

What's Next:

The Mud Hens will continue their series with the Stripers on Wednesday with an early 10:35 a.m. scheduled start time. Toledo is set to send Gregory Soto to the hill for the first time this season after Soto joined the team on Sunday. Wednesday will serve as the second of the three game series between the teams.

#RoadToDetroit Report (rankings according to MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch):

5. OF Daz Cameron: 2 for 2

6. RHP Beau Burrows: DNP (IL)

7. IF Willi Castro: 3 for 4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R

10. RHP Kyle Funkhouser: DNP (IL)

12. C Jake Rogers: 1 for 3, 2 RBI

16. OF Jake Robson: 0 for 3

20. OF Daniel Woodrow: 0 for 4

23. RHP John Schreiber: DNP

25. RHP Zac Houston: DNP

26. LHP Gregory Soto: DNP

27. RHP Sandy Baez: DNP

28. LHP Matt Hall: DNP

29. IF/OF Dustin Peterson: 1 for 4, 2 RBI

Hens Notes:

- Prior to the start of the game on Tuesday, Jeimer Candelario and Victor Reyes were called up to Detroit. Corresponding moves have yet to be announced to complete the Mud Hens 25-man roster.

- Coming on in the top of the fourth to replace Jordy Mercer, who is on a rehab assignment, Bobby Wilson took over at third with Willi Castro moving to shortstop. Despite playing in the minors and majors since 2005, this is the first game action that Wilson has spent as a third basemen.

Check out the Toledo Mud Hens Statistics

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International League Stories from May 28, 2019


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