Toledo finishes strong in Rochester
Toledo and Rochester wrapped up their series with an afternoon game on Father’s Day, where the Mud Hens earned a 9–6 win. Toledo leaned heavily on just two pitchers to get the job done, with Ty Madden making the start and Troy Watson carrying the bulk of the innings in
Toledo and Rochester wrapped up their series with an afternoon game on Father’s Day, where the Mud Hens earned a 9–6 win. Toledo leaned heavily on just two pitchers to get the job done, with Ty Madden making the start and Troy Watson carrying the bulk of the innings in relief.
The Hens got to work early in the top of the 2nd. Max Anderson reached first with a single on a ground ball to shortstop. Corey Julks followed by reaching on a force out, with Anderson erased at second. Jace Jung then dropped a swinging bunt single in front of the mound to put runners on first and second. Tyler Gentry delivered the first run of the afternoon with a single back through the middle, scoring Julks and giving Toledo an early lead. Max Burt then loaded the bases after working a seven-pitch walk. Andrew Navigato followed with a hard-hit single past the third baseman that brought home both Jung and Gentry, extending the lead to 3–0.
Toledo kept the momentum going in the top of the 3rd. Eduardo Valencia battled to a full count before shooting a single through the middle. Max Anderson followed and just cleared the right-field wall with a two-run homer, stretching the Hens’ lead to 5–0.
Rochester finally got on the board in the bottom of the 4th and did so in a hurry. Andrew Pinckney and Riley Adams launched back-to-back home runs over the right-center field wall, cutting Toledo’s lead to 5–2.
The Hens answered immediately in the 5th. Corey Julks led off with a long double off the left-center field wall and advanced to third on a groundout from Jace Jung. Tyler Gentry continued his productive day with a line drive single to center field, bringing Julks home and making it 6–2.
Toledo stayed hot at the plate in the top of the 7th. Ben Malgeri fought his way aboard with a bloop single that dropped just behind the mound and beat the throw down the line. Max Clark followed with a home run that inched over the center-field wall to make it 8–2.
The Hens added one more in the 8th. Max Burt opened the inning with a line drive over the shortstop’s head before Andrew Navigato followed with another single to left. Malgeri moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt, and Max Clark was intentionally walked to load the bases. Eduardo Valencia then delivered a rare sacrifice fly into foul territory down the first-base line, allowing Burt to tag and score Toledo’s 9th run.
Rochester made one final push in the bottom of the 8th. Trey Lipscomb reached on a throwing error by third baseman Jace Jung before Andrew Pinckney walked and Riley Adams was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Phillip Glasser then cleared them with a double drilled off the center-field wall, cutting the lead to 9–5. Toledo was able to limit the damage there and stop the momentum before it grew further.
However, the Red Wings added one more in the 9th when Trey Lipscomb homered to left field, but the comeback stopped there as the Hens recorded the final three outs.
With today’s win, Toledo leaves Rochester with a split of the six-game series. Tomorrow the Hens return to the road and will prepare for their next series against Worcester, with first pitch scheduled for Tuesday at 6:45 p.m.
Notables:
Max Anderson
3-5 (HR, 2 RBI, R)
Troy Watson
W, (4.1 IP, 4 K)