Mud Hens beat Chiefs in rain-delayed slugfest
Teams combined for 17 runs between the second and fourth innings
Toledo, OH (June 10, 2015) - The Syracuse Chiefs fell to the Toledo Mud Hens, 11-7, Wednesday night at Fifth Third Field. 17 of the 18 runs scored in the game came between the top of the second and the top of the fourth, with Toledo taking the lead for good after an eight-run fourth.
Syracuse (19-41) got the scoring started in the second inning. Jason Martinson reached base on a strikeout plus a wild pitch and Caleb Ramsey walked against starter Tim Melville. Later in the inning, with two outs, Darin Mastroianni hit a three-run home run off Melville to give the Chiefs an early 3-0 lead. The long ball was Mastroianni's first since last August 20th.
Toledo (27-33) answered in a big way in the bottom of the frame. Steven Moya singled, Mike Hessman doubled, and Jeff McVaney was hit by a pitch to load the bases against Taylor Jordan with no one out. Two batters later, Corey Jones singled to get the Mud Hens on the board. With the bases still loaded, Manny Pina was hit by a pitch and Xavier Avery singled, with each play bringing in a run to tie the score. Dixon Machado then followed by hitting the first pitch he saw from Jordan over the left-field wall for a grand slam, jumping the score to 7-3. Toledo was not yet done, as after a single and walk, Jordan was replaced by Eric Fornataro. Hessman then doubled in one more run to cap the inning at eight runs.
The Chiefs pushed two more across in the third. Emmanuel Burriss reached on an error to begin the inning and moved to second on a single by Mark Minicozzi. Mario Lisson then singled to left field. McVaney bobbled the ball in left for an error, allowing Burriss to score to cut the lead to 8-4. After two outs, Josh Zeid walked two batters, Steve Lerud to load the bases and Josh Johnson to bring in a run and make the score 8-5.
The Mud Hens equaled the Chiefs' two runs with two of their own. Brendan Harris walked to start the third, followed by a Jones single. Pina was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Two batters later, Fornataro walked Machado to bring in a ninth run. Two batters after that, Moya walked for the Mud Hens' tenth run of the game.
Syracuse added its final two runs in the fourth. Tony Gwynn, Jr. walked to start the inning. Burriss then reach first on a ground ball to short when Machado's throw to second for pulled Jones off the bag, with an error charged to Jones. After Minicozzi walked to load the bases, Lisson hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Burriss for the Chiefs' sixth run. After a walk to Martinson re-loaded the bases, Toledo turned to Melvin Mercedes. As Mercedes finished his warmup pitches, the rain came pouring down on Fifth Third Field, delaying the game for 50 minutes. After the delay, Caleb Ramsey hit another sacrifice fly to get the Chiefs within three.
The game held at 10-7 all the way to the bottom of the eighth. With Evan Meek on the mound, McVaney tripled in Hessman, who had walked, to finish off the scoring.
Syracuse hits the second part of its Ohio road trip Thursday in Columbus. Paolo Espino is scheduled to start for the Chiefs opposite Cody Anderson for the Clippers. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m.