Hero Hens vanquish villainous Pawtucket Red Sox
On 'Superhero Night' at Fifth Third Field, the superhero script followed suit, as the hero Hens triumphed over the Pawtucket villains by a score of 7-5 thanks in part to Dean "The Hulk" Green's three-hit, three-RBI performance.
The story of the game on a beautiful Monday night was the offensive output, as both teams combined for 27 hits and 12 runs. However, there were two starting pitchers. Toledo sent Daniel Norris to the mound for a rehab start for the Detroit Tigers, and Norris pitched a solid four innings allowing five hits and one run while striking out four. The Red Sox sent a righty, William Cuevas, to the mound, but he dropped his fourth game of the season, going six innings and allowing six runs off of eleven hits.
After two quick innings of baseball, Pawtucket's Chris Dominguez flexed his muscles and smashed a solo shot to left field to put the Red Sox up 1-0 in the third inning. Toledo answered quickly after Argenis Diaz reached second via an error by the Pawtucket shortstop, Deven Marrero, and then Dixon Machado launched an RBI double to left-center to tie the game, 1-1.
Toledo jumped ahead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Chad Huffman led off with a solid single to left, which was followed by a no-doubt-about-it blast to right field off the bat of Dean Green, his third home run of the season, to put the Hens up 3-1.
Ruben Alaniz was summoned from the Hen Pen in the fifth inning, replacing Norris, and the Cuba native, Rusney Castillo, jerked a line drive double to left to lead off the inning for Pawtucket. Castillo eventually came around to score thanks to a Ryan LaMarre single to right field to make it 3-2. However, Chad Bell smoothed things out for Lloyd McClendon by shutting down the Red Sox via a strikeout and two popups, and Bell became the pitcher of record earning his sixth win of the season.
The Hens' offense went back to work in the bottom of the fifth thanks to three consecutive singles off the bats of Alex Presley, Machado, and Steven Moya to load the bases for Casey McGehee. McGehee delivered with an RBI double off the wall in right field, plating two runs to make it 5-2 Toledo. Dean Green added to his big night with a bloop RBI single to score Moya and put the Mud Hens up 6-2.
The Red Sox chipped away at the Hens' lead in the seventh inning by pushing two runs across while facing Preston Guilmet, Blaine Hardy, and Logan Kensing. Guilmet allowed two base runners to reach, as Ryan Lamarre doubled and Marco Hernandez walked, so McClendon retrieved Hardy out of the bullpen. Hardy induced a groundball off the bat of Brennan Boesch to Chad Huffman, who misplayed it and allowed two runs to score. Kensing eventually came on to strikeout Deven Marrero, and Toledo tacked on an insurance run in the bottom half of the seventh via an RBI single scorched to left by JaCoby Jones, scoring Huffman to make it 7-4.
However, Pawtucket continued their persistent ways and made it 7-5 in the eighth inning after Marco Hernandez drilled an RBI single to center plating Lamarre.
Bobby Parnell came on in the ninth and pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning and earn his tenth save of the season.
Toledo plays game two against Pawtucket tomorrow night with a first pitch slated for 7:05 PM at Fifth Third Field, as RHP Justin Haley (2-3, 4.06) takes on the Hens' RHP Cory Riordan (1-0, 1.66 ERA).
Toledo Tidbits:
Boyd Ballin'- Matt Boyd picked up his first win of the season for the Detroit Tigers Monday night, as he pitched six shutout innings while allowing only three hits, striking out seven, and walking one batter. The southpaw has been dialed in since being called up for the second time this season, and he went five innings in a July 9th start against the Blue Jays, his former team, where he earned a no decision giving up four hits and one run while striking out six. Boyd is now1-2 with a 4.91 ERA through seven starts with the Tigers.
Norris on the Rehab- Daniel Norris hopes to not be back in Toledo anytime soon, as he pitched his four innings of rehab work for the Tigers Monday night in Toledo. The young lefty gave up five hits and one run while striking out four in his ML rehab stint with the Hens. Norris noted after his appearance that he felt good and all of his pitches were working, and he believes he will be back in the Detroit rotation in the very near future. Norris suffered an oblique injury on July 4th while pitching against the Cleveland Indians.
Have a Game Dean Green- Dean Green had his first three hit game of the 2016 season with the Mud Hens, and his first three hit game since June 14th with Erie. Green also had his first three RBI game of the season with Toledo, and his first triple RBI game since June 17th with Erie. Green is now hitting .267 with three homeruns and 13 RBIs with Toledo.