Baddoo's base running isn't enough in 9-3 loss

After being swept in Friday’s double header, the Mud Hens hoped to improve offensively for Saturday night’s matchup with the Louisville Bats. Toledo found some much needed hits but fell short 9-3.

Hits had been a hard commodity to come by for both teams in the last few games. Brandon Leibrandt kept that trend going to open the game for Louisville on the mound, holding the Hens hitless.

After two straight games of spectacular pitching by Bryan Sammons and Bryce Tassin, Toledo turned to Lael Lockhart to keep it going. Lockhart would be making just his second pitching appearance for the Mud Hens, having spent most of the season with the Erie Sea Wolves following an appearance in Detroit with the Tigers.

Lockhardt struggled in his opening inning, in which he surrendered three runs. He lost control of a slider that hit Livan Soto before giving up a one-out single to Rece Hinds. P. J. Higgins then loaded the bases by drawing a walk. Michael Trautwein wasted no time clearing the bases with a three-run triple to take an early 3-0 lead.

The Hens’ hitting woes continued to plague them as Leibrandt picked up his first two strikeouts of the game in the second inning. On the other side, Lockhardt seemed to figure things out, picking up two quick outs in the bottom of the second inning. That was until Blake Dunn took him 396 ft to right-center field as the Bats took the 4-0 lead.

The Mud Hens finally found their first hit in the third inning, but not before the Bats could force two flyouts. Justyn-Henry Malloy would fall behind in the count 1-2, before getting nicked by a curveball. Jace Jung looked to change the narrative of this game with a double off the wall in right field as Malloy made it to third. Ryan Vilade was unable to bring the base runners in though as he hit a groundout to shortstop Soto.

Lockhardt began to figure things out in the bottom of the third. He only gave up a walk and a base hit before forcing two straight outs to close the frame. The lefty also picked up his first strikeout of the game.

Things seemed to be trending in the right direction for Toledo going into the fourth inning. The inning began with two outs, but then Anthony Bemboom came up to the plate. He hit a no doubter 365 ft to make it a 4-1 game.

Lockhardt continued his start into the bottom of the fourth as he continued to improve. The lefty showed a strong command over his curveball and four-seam fastball, going one, two, three to take the game into the fifth.

The Mud Hens continued to cut into the Bats’ lead in the fifth inning. Akil Baddoo was able to draw a walk and make the most of it, stealing second and third on back to back pitches. Malloy made it 4-2 with a sacrifice fly that almost looked like it was over the center-field wall before Jung found a base hit. Jung’s hit would end Leinbrandt’s day on the mound as Yosver Zulueta took over on the mound.

With no action in the Toledo bullpen, Lockhardt began his fifth inning. He began the inning by giving up a base hit to Soto, before Rece Hinds moved him to third with a double to right field. Peyton Burdick then loaded the bases with a walk, which brought Trautwein to the plate and queued the Hens to get a pitcher warm. Trautwein took advantage of the situation with an RBI single to make it 5-2. Lockhart’s day would come to an end as Levi Jordan hit a double to left field that allowed Hinds and Burdick to score. Andrew Vasquez would be chosen to take over from the rubber. Lockhart would be credited for another run as former Hen Hernan Perez hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Trautwein and make it 8-2. Vasquez was able to find the final out, striking out Erik Gonzalez to take the game to the sixth inning.

The Hens would find themselves in scoring position yet again, thanks to back to back walks dealt by Zulueta. The righty figured it out though, striking out Bemboom before Buddy Kennedy hit a ground ball into a double play.

The sixth inning brought with it another pitcher to take the mound for Toledo. Alex Lange would make his season debut with the Mud Hens after being optioned by Detroit on Thursday. He was able to force two quick groundouts before his groove was shaken up by Hinds. Hinds expanded on the Louisville lead with a fly ball deep into center field, making it a 9-2 game. Lange gave up two more base hits before forcing a final groundout.

With some work ahead of them now, the Mud Hens got the seventh inning started with a single from Baddoo. Malloy was able to bring him home with an RBI double off the wall, cutting the deficit 9-3. Malloy would make his way to third, but two straight outs left him stranded.

Toledo would turn to their bullpen once again in the bottom of the seventh as Easton Lucas made his way to the mound. This would be Lucas’s second appearance for the Hens after Detroit claimed him off of waivers from Oakland. He went one, two, three with a strikeout to keep the lead within reach.

Louisville would make a change on the mound as well, looking to Alex Young to help close out the game. Young walked Hiura, but picked up three-straight outs, including two strikeouts, to hold onto the Bats’ 9-3 lead.

As Louisville looked to expand their lead even further, Andrew Magno would be tasked with stopping them. Magno looked dominant, despite some off-speed control issues, as he picked up three strikeouts to close the frame.

With one last chance for the Hens to find six runs, the Bats would send Zach Maxwell out to find the final three outs. The righty went one, two, three with two strikeouts to secure the 9-3 win for Louisville.

The Bats and the Hens will face off one last time on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Toledo will look to put an end to a three-game skid before returning home on Tuesday for a series with the Scranton Wilkes Barre RailRiders.

Notables:

• Anthony Bemboom (1-3, HR, BB, RBI, R)
• Akil Baddoo (1-4, BB, R, 2 SB)
• Justyn-Henry Malloy (1-2, 2B, BB, 2 RBI)