After a rain delay that lasted an hour to start the game and another nearly 30-minute delay in the fourth inning, the Mud Hens third contest with the Durham Bulls for the weekend was weighed down by the weather.Once the game was kicked off however, it was the Durham offense
After a rain delay that lasted an hour to start the game and another nearly 30-minute delay in the fourth inning, the Mud Hens third contest with the Durham Bulls for the weekend was weighed down by the weather.
Once the game was kicked off however, it was the Durham offense early an often. A six-run second inning was all the scoring that they needed, capturing the 6-4 victory over Toledo.
Myles Jaye got the start for the Mud Hens and after a six-inning shutout in his first start with Toledo, he was not quite as sharp in this one. Over 1.2 innings pitched, the right-hander allowed six runs (three earned) and had three walks.
Hunter Wood was his opponent for the Bulls and was able to limit the damage from the Mud Hens offense. The rigth-hander went five innings and allowed just two earned runs in a rain-soaked start.
The game started off quite casually, with only one base runner between the two teams in the first innings. After the Mud Hens were set down 1-2-3 in the top of the second however, the Bulls offense exploded.
Patrick Leonard started things off by reaching on an error and Casey Gillaspie capitalized on it with a two-run home run. Walks to Curt Casali and Alec Sole along with a single by Jake Hager loaded the bases with no one out. Johnny Field singled and Kean Wong grounded out to make it 4-0, while a Jake Bauers single brought it to 6-0. Jaye's day came to an end at that point, giving way to Sean Donatello who struck out one batter to get out of the nightmare inning.
After Donatello got through another inning scoreless, the Mud Hens bats came to life in the top of the fourth. John Hicks hit an inside-the-park home run (while it should have been ruled an out of the park home run), which was the Mud Hens first since May of 2012. After a Jason Krizan double, Tyler Collins drove him in with a single to make it 6-2.
Mud Hens reliever Kyle Ryan and Jeff Ferrell teamed up to pitch a pair of scoreless innings -- with three strikeouts between the two of them -- but the Bulls pitchers were able to keep the Toledo bats for the most part. Bryan Holaday added a double in the top of the sixth to put a runner in scoring position, but he was stranded there.
A 1-2-3 inning from Logan Kensing dropped the Bulls in the 6th, giving the Mud Hens another opportunity to cut down the lead. Navarro and Hicks both singled to put two men on with two outs, but Jeff Ames was able to get the strikeout he needed to get out of it.
Joe Jiménez struck out the side in the seventh, once again giving Toledo the chance to capitalize offensively. Bulls reliever José Alvarado had other plans though, and he retired the Mud Hens in short order.
With one more opportunity to come out on top, the Mud Hens were able to mount a bit of a comeback. Brendan Ryan led off the inning with a double and JaCoby Jones followed with a home run to left field. Durham reliever Ryan Garton was able to settle in and get through it however, and closed out the Bulls victory.
The Mud Hens conclude their series in Durham against the Bulls on Sunday evening. Buck Farmer is slated to start for Toledo; first pitch is set for 5:05.
