Bats Take First Loss In Series Against Mud Hens

Despite an additional two home runs on the series by the Louisville Bats, the Toledo Mud Hens offense shined brighter with a 12-hit performance to hand the Bats a 10-5 loss Thursday night at Louisville Slugger Field.

Jose Franco took the bump to start the day for the Bats, making his return to Triple-A ball after beginning the season with the Reds. Ty Madden manned the hill for the Mud Hens.

After a quiet opening inning, Toledo struck first with singles by Corey Julks and Tyler Gentry to spark a four spot in the top of the second. Louisville would not wait long to get on the board, however, as JJ Bleday would smack a two-run home run to cut the lead in half, 4-2.

The Mud Hens would tack on another two runs via a Corey Julks double in the third. That would spell the end of Franco’s day, as he would finish giving up six earned runs on seven hits through 3.0 innings in his return to Triple-A. Toledo would add one more insurance run off of Darren McCaughan in the fourth, keeping the Bats at bay 7-2.

After early struggles, Mud Hen’s starter Ty Madden would coast by, finishing with a final line of 5.0 innings of work and giving up just two runs on four hits. Drew Sommers would be his replacement and would face early trouble in the sixth, as Bleday would rope an RBI double to score Edwin Arroyo. Toledo manager Gabe Alvarez wasted no time in halting potential comeback, replacing Sommers with Burch Smith after just 0.2 innings.

Toledo refused to let their lead go away in the seventh, tacking on a run in response to Louisville’s score. McCaughan would exit after that, finishing with a final line of 3.0 innings with four runs on four hits. Hagen Danner would come in to mitigate the damage, but a hard-hit single would stretch the Mud lead to 10-3. Danner faced more adversity, but retired Gage Workman in an eight pitch at bat to get out of the inning.

Ivan Johnson would continue his hot streak at the plate, sending one over the fence in the bottom of the seventh. It would be his third home run in just five games with the Bats.

Toledo would hold the Bats in the remaining innings, and Louisville would take their first loss of the series 10-5. With two home runs on the day, the Bats move to 11 in the series. Bleday finished a triple shy of the cycle but struck out in his last at-bat. Madden (2-0) earned the victory for Toledo and Franco (0-1) took the loss for Louisville.

The Bats (10-8) continue their series against the Indians (8-10) on Friday night. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Louisville Slugger. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for Sports Talk 790.