Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon
Triple-A Affiliate
The Official Site of the Indianapolis Indians Indianapolis Indians

Toledo's Late Barrage Leads to Series Split

Five ninth inning runs give Mud Hens division's top spot again
Kevin Newman was responsible for half of the Tribe's runs in Sundays loss against the Toledo Mud Hens.(Photo by Austin Friedline)
July 15, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS - Chad Huffman's long ball kicked off a nine-run affair for the Mud Hens Sunday afternoon at Victory Field. Toledo backed starter Matt Hall with 12 hits and four homers in the youngster's first Triple-A start.

INDIANAPOLIS - Chad Huffman's long ball kicked off a nine-run affair for the Mud Hens Sunday afternoon at Victory Field. Toledo backed starter Matt Hall with 12 hits and four homers in the youngster's first Triple-A start.

With one out in the ninth, five straight Mud Hens reached safely, three of them - Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Harold Castro and Christin Stewart - via home run.
The scoring began in the top of the fourth when Huffman laced a 1-1 pitch from Casey Sadler (L, 5-4) over The Vic's left field wall. His eighth homer of the year sailed 385 feet and gave Toledo a two-run lead.
The Tribe first inflicted damage in the sixth, adding a pair to the scoring column. Hall gifted three free bases by walking them loaded to start the inning, and consecutive sac flies from José Osuna and Kevin Kramer tied the game at two runs apiece.
Mike Gerber's RBI single in the top half of the seventh broke the tie ballgame and capped Sadler's afternoon. The Tribe starter struck out five and allowed five hits over 6.2 innings, but three earned runs resulted in his fourth loss this season.
Toledo added insurance when Josh Smoker replaced Sadler. Two singles and a walk packed the bases before Smoker beaned Stewart to bring in the Mud Hens third run of the game.
Montana DuRapau promptly put out the fire in the seventh, but surrendered a run in the eighth and all three dingers in the ninth. Ryan Lavarnway even got a shot on the mound, his fourth career appearance. He retired the only two batters he faced.
Hunter Cervenka (W, 2-0) was credited with the win after entering with one out in the sixth. Zac Reininger (H, 2) and Zac Houston allowed one hit between them, preserving the lead for the Mud Hens following Cervenka's outing.
With the loss, the Indians fall back into their second-place slot in the IL West Division. They have held sole possession of the division's number-one spot for a single day this season.
Indy heads to IL South territory for a seven-game slate, starting with Gwinnett (40-52). The Tribe will send all-star Tyler Eppler (9-3, 3.06) to the mound on Monday for game one. The Stripers will counter with right-hander Touki Toussaint (1-0, 1.35).