Mud Hens get back on track with win over Bisons

After dropping the first two games of the three-game set in Buffalo against the Bisons, the Mud Hens were looking to leave the city with a win to get back on track in their quest for the International League West division crown.
Powered by a strong outing from Buck Farmer and a potent offensive effort from Brendan Ryan, the Mud Hens were able to accomplish what they had set out to do with a 5-2 win.
Buck Farmer was back on the mound for Toledo after a career-best start for the Detroit Tigers in which he struck out 11 bats. In this one, he went six innings and allowed six hits, two runs (one earned) while fanning two batters.
Brett Oberholtzer was his counterpart for Buffalo and had an impressive outing, going seven innings and allowing three earned rusn while striking out three.
Efren Navarro was able to get the Toledo offense off of the ground in the first inning with a single, but with two outs he was left on base. Buffalo countered with a single and a walk of their own in the bottom half of the inning, but Farmer was able to work around it to leave two runners on base.
The Hens went 1-2-3 in the second, but the Bisons were able to get on the board once it was their turn. Ian Parmley reached second base on an error by Navarro and another error pushed him to third and put runners on the corners. Shane Opitz capitalized with a sacrifice fly to give his team the 1-0 lead.
That lead wouldn't hold for long however, as Brendan Ryan reached base on a walk in the top of the third and Omar Infante moved him forward with a single. Argenis Diaz jumped in with a single of his own to knot it up at 1.
Both pitchers began to settle in a bit in the middle innings, though Buffalo threatened in the bottom of the fourth. Jason Leblebijian singled and Christian Lopes added one of his own to put two men on with two outs, but Farmer was able to induce the groundout that he needed to get out of it and hold the tie.
While Buffalo was not able to break the tie in the bottom of the forth, Toledo did the job in the top of the fifth. Matt den Dekker led things off with a single and Ryan drove him in with a double. Michael Almanzar, replacing Infante, took a walk and Diaz did the same to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by Navarro brought in Ryan and the score was 3-1.
The Bisons were able to claw back into it in the bottom of the fifth. Roemon Fields led off the inning with a triple and was eventually driven in on a sacrifice fly by Rowdy Tellez to cut the Mud Hens lead in half.
Buffalo would threaten once again in the bottom of the sixth, as a lead off single by Raffy Lopez and another by Leblebijian put two men on with no one out. Farmer was able to get through it once again though, as a flyout, lineout and groundout in order held the Toledo lead at 1.
Oberholtzer rolled through the top of the seventh and Daniel Stumpf did the same in the bottom of the inning after taking over for Farmer.
In the top of the eighth the Mud Hens looked to bust open the game, putting runners at first and second with only one out, but a timely double play ball induced by Will Browning was able to hold the Toledo lead at 1.
After Stumpf struck out two in his one inning of work, Jeff Ferrell came on to do just the same -- a feat which lowered his ERA on the season all the way down to a miniscule 1.32.
While the pitching was strong, Toledo was still looking for some insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Ryan walked once again, while Almanzar reached on an error. Diaz drove in Ryan for the second time in the game to make it 4-2, while Navarro pushed it to 5-2 with a single of his own to drive in Almanzar.
Edward Mujica came on for the bottom of the ninth and came out with his second save of the season.
The Mud Hens continue their road trip on Friday night in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take on the RailRiders. Aníbal Sánchez will take the hill for Toledo; first pitch is scheduled for 6:35.