Hankins tosses a beauty, Hessman homers in 7-0 win

Toledo pitcher Derek Hankins overcame some serious pitches woes Sunday afternoon against Rochester.

The right-handed pitcher entered Sunday's contest with a 1-3 record and a 6.75 ERA, but he seems to have turned a new leaf.

Hankins not only dealt Toledo's first complete game of the season, but he dealt Toledo's first complete-game shutout in a 7-0 win over the Red Wings on Mother's Day.

It was Toledo's first complete-game shutout since Blaine Hardy stymied Gwinnett on August 19 last season.

The Mud Hens have won three straight games and five of their last six, improving to 16-21 this season. Rochester, which lost its seventh straight game, dropped to 16-19.

Hankins, who allowed just three hits, came into the game with a 21.00 first-inning ERA having allowed 14 runs and 17 hits in the opening frame this season. But Sunday was different. It was entirely different.

Sunday turned out to be Hankins' first start of the season in which he had not allowed a run in the first inning. Instead, Hankins tossed a perfect first inning and the Hens hitters followed with five runs in the bottom of the inning, giving him more than enough cushion. It was Hankins' seventh start of the year as he lowered his ERA to 5.22.

Hankins cited his mechanics as a reason for the first-inning problems. He said Sunday's performance was partly a result of tweaks and adjustments in bullpen sessions between starts.

Four of Toledo's eight hits came in the first inning, and then Mike Hessman extended the Hens' lead to 6-0 with a leadoff home run in the third. It was Hessman's 10th blast of the season and his 399th of his minor league career. With 254 International League home runs, he is now just four away from tying the IL all-time record of 258 set by Ollie Carnegie.

Hessman finished 1-for-3 while Hernan Perez, Tyler Collins and James McCann each had two hits. McCann also had two RBI.

Toledo will look to complete the four-game sweep of Rochester Monday morning at 10:30 a.m.