Toledo Mud Hens Weekly Release No. 26: September 21, 2026

Overall Record: 74-74 (40-34 Second Half), 6th in International League, Current Streak: 2 Wins

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, September 15^th vs. Louisville (5-3 W)

Wednesday, September 16^th vs. Louisville (3-1 W)

Thursday, September 17^th vs. Louisville (5-1 W)

Friday, September 18^th vs. Louisville (1-3 L)

Saturday, September 19^th vs. Louisville (4-1 W)

Sunday, September 20^th vs. Louisville (2-0 W)

Mud Hens Notes:

Ending With a Bang: The Mud Hens took five of six games from the Louisville Bats this past week, bringing their season record to .500 and winning nine of the team’s last 12 games at home. It started with a 5-3 Tuesday victory, scoring three runs in the seventh to take the lead late. The Hens got on the board first on Wednesday, holding onto the 3-1 lead for the win. They followed up with another win, this time 5-1, on Thursday, as Jace Jung drove in four of the team’s five runs. The Hens’ only loss came on Friday, dropping a close 3-1 contest despite out-hitting the Bats, eight hits to one. They closed out the week with 4-1 and 2-0 victories on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The nine runs that Toledo pitchers allowed in last week’s series is the team’s lowest mark in a six-game series this season.

Home Cookin’: The Mud Hens clinched a winning record at Fifth Third Field for the third consecutive season with their win on Saturday night (going 42-33 in 2025 and 39-36 in 2024), marking their seventh home winning record in the last nine seasons. The team hit 71 home runs at Fifth Third Field this season, the team's most since 2023 (79), and posted their sixth-best on-base percentage at home (.345) and fifth-most runs (336) in the last 20 years. Cal Stevenson led the Hens in batting average at Fifth Third Field this season (.322), Max Anderson led the team in hits (56), and Jace Jung led the team in home runs (13) and total bases (96) at home.

Through 148: The Mud Hens squeezed out five wins against the Louisville Bats to reach an even 74-74 record to finish the 2026 season, the team’s fifth time reaching .500 in the last eight seasons, and the team’s first time reaching .500 this season since May 25^th. The Hens brought 452,248 fans through the gates of Fifth Third Field this season (averaging 6,370 each game), which stands as the ninth-highest average figure out of all 120 full-season Minor League Baseball clubs. The 12,112 fans that joined the Hens for the home opener was the seventh-largest crowd in the Minors this season, which stood as Toledo’s first of sixteen sellouts on the year (bringing the tally at Fifth Third Field up to 576).

Birds to Big Cats: Of the 83 players that the Mud Hens rostered throughout the season, 27 of those players also appeared with Detroit this season (not including 12 players who were in Toledo on rehab assignments). Eight of those 27 players made their Major League Debuts this season, including Max Clark, Ben Malgeri, Brett Callahan, Trei Cruz, Hao-Yu Lee, John Peck, Eduardo Valencia, and Andrew Sears (the only pitcher to debut with Detroit this season). Valencia is hitting .339 with 17 extra-base hits and 18 RBIs since his debut in Detroit, Clark has ten doubles and five stolen bags with the big club, and Lee has driven in 45 runs on the season, the fifth-most by a Tiger this year.

Grand Finale Showcase: The Mud Hens pitching staff had one of their best weeks to close out the season. Carl Edwards Jr. threw in two games, pitching 10.1 innings, earning two wins on the week, striking out 14 batters and allowing just one run. Dylan File had his fifth quality start of the season on Thursday, striking out five batters. Sawyer Gipson-Long collected his first quality start of the season one day later, throwing six innings and allowing only one run on two hits. Jackson Wolf continued his dominance since joining Toledo, throwing 5.2 innings of one-run ball on Wednesday. The staff combined for a 1.50 ERA on the week, walking 16 batters and striking out fifty-two.

Only 186 Days Away: The Mud Hens will be back in action on Friday, March 26^th, 2027, as part of "Fins and Feathers Weekend" and the first-ever Fins and Feathers Festival. They’ll host the Indianapolis Indians for the first game of a three-game series while the Walleye play two games over on Jefferson Ave. that same weekend.

Mud Hens Player of the Week:

              Max Anderson (.348 AVG, 8 H, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB)
                        
                        

Mud Hens Pitcher of the Week:

              Carl Edwards Jr. (2-0, 0.87 ERA, 10.1 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 14 K)