In the final game of the series against the Norfolk Tides, the Mud Hens blew a three-run lead in the ninth to fall by a final of 9-7 Matt den Dekker and John Hicks each hit home runs to lead the Toledo offense.
In the final game of the series against the Norfolk Tides, the Mud Hens blew a three-run lead in the ninth to fall by a final of 9-7 Matt den Dekker and John Hicks each hit home runs to lead the Toledo offense.
Coming into Thursday's game with a taxed bullpen, the Hens needed starter Anthony Vasquez to go deep into the game. Despite allowed four runs in the first three innings, Vasquez settled in with four shutout innings as he went seven strong. He allowed four runs, on nine hits, walking two, and striking out three.
After retiring the first two batters of the top of the first inning to start the contest, Vasquez allowed a no-doubt home run to Pedro Álvarez. The Tides took an early 1-0 lead in the first.
The Hens couldn't muster much besides an Efren Navarro bloop hit in the bottom half of the first before the long ball came back to bite Vasquez again in the top of the second. With two outs, Mike Yastrzemski hit one that cleared the wall in right field for a two-run shot. Heading into the bottom of the second, Norfolk led 3-0.
The Tides scored another two-out run in the third inning when Craig Gentry tripled to the corner in right field that brought Pedro Alvarez around to score and extend the lead to 4-0.
Toledo's offense got going a bit in the bottom of the third as Matt den Dekker and Alex Presley each singled to start the inning. Norfolk starter Gabriel Ynoa's day was done after a lineout by JaCoby Jones put men at the corners. Paul Fry came on in relief and got the next two outs, including a strikeout of John Hicks to end the Mud Hens' threat.
After three scoreless innings, the Hens put together a two-out rally that ended with a bang. Logan Watkins walked and Brendan Ryan was hit by a pitch to put den Dekker up, and he followed with a long drive to right that cleared the wall easily. The three-run bomb was the first of the year with Toledo for den Dekker and cut into the Norfolk lead, as they led 4-3 after four.
Vasquez settled in after a shaky opening three innings by blanking the Tides in the fourth and fifth innings. He was rewarded by another home run in support of him in the bottom of the fifth when Hicks smacked his fifth of the year on a line drive to left off of Norfolk reliever Edwin Jackson for a two-run bomb. Jason Krizan walked and Omar Infante followed with a double off the left field wall to score Krizan. The three-run inning gave the Hens a 6-4 lead after five innings.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Krizan walked and scored on Infante's second double of the night to put the Hens up 7-4.
Edward Mujica came on in relief in the top of the eighth for the Hens. He picked up a pair of strikeouts in the 1-2-3 inning to keep the Toledo lead at three.
In the ninth, Bruce Rondón walked two straight batters with one out. Robert Andino made him pay with a long double that nearly went out to left-center. The two-base hit scored both runners that reached on walks. Chance Sisco followed with a base hit up the middle to score Andino and tied the game. Craig Gentry followed with a double to the right field corner put the Tides up. Gentry stole third base and a throwing error from Hicks allowed him to score and put the Tides up 9-7.
The Hens faced Jimmy Yacabonis in the bottom of the ninth and went down in order to drop the game.
The Hens will welcome the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders for the first of a four-game series on Friday. First pitch will be thrown out by William Cuevas at 7:05 p.m.
