Toledo loses wild one, 9-6, to Gwinnett on Saturday

GWINNETT, Ga. - The Toledo Mud Hens dropped their third straight game Saturday night, falling 9-6 to the Gwinnett Braves.

The Hens began the scoring in the second on a two-run home run by Ben Guez. Casper Wells, who led off the inning with a double, scored on the play.

Gwinnett answered in the home half of the inning with two runs of its own. Diory Hernandez hit a leadoff double. Matt Young followed it with an RBI triple to make it 2-1. A Joe Thurston groundout was all the Braves needed to tie it at two.

Much like last night, though, the Hens responded to retake the lead. Shawn Roof led off with a double and scored on an RBI double by Justin Henry to put Toledo up 3-2.

The Hens made it 4-2 on an RBI double by Max Leon in the fourth. After Max St-Pierre walked, Toledo had two on and one out. Leon would score when Shawn Roof hit a ground ball that Gwinnett tried to turn into a double play. However, the throw to first was wild, allowing Leon to advance to home.

Gwinnett cut the lead to 5-3 with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Hernandez tripled with one out and scored on a ground out by Young.

It quickly became 5-4 when Brandon Hicks hit a home run to begin the bottom of the fifth. Clint Sammons and Nate McLouth followed with back-to-back singles. Barbaro Canizares smacked an RBI single to tie the game at five. The Braves would take a 6-5 lead on a ground rule double by Hernandez.

The Hens were able to bounce back and tie the game in the sixth. Brent Dlugach was hit by a pitch to start the inning and then sacrifice to second. Dlugach then stole third. He would score on a sac fly by St-Pierre, making it 6-6.

Like each team had done all night, the Braves answered with a run. Joe Thurston singled to lead off the inning. He stole second, but St-Pierre's throw went into center field. Attempting to throw Thurston out at third, Wells' throw was wild, too, allowing Thurston to score and give Gwinnett a 9-6 advantage.

The Braves added to its lead with two runs in the seventh. Wes Timmons reached base on a throwing error by Dlugach. He would make the most of it as he scored on an RBI single by Canizares. Freddie Freeman, who walked, rounded the bases on a Hernandez line drive base hit, which put the Braves in front by three.

Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth to close the game out, collected his 14th save of the season. Michel Broadway (1-0) got his first win of the year, while Scot Drucker falls to 4-5.

The Hens and Braves continue their series Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. Upcoming Game Tickets | Box Score

Game Notes

• Ben Guez hit his sixth HR of the season.
• Casper Wells was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a run scored.
• Guez was 1-for-2 with two RBI and two runs.