Hens' Norris baffles Bats and nails down series victory
The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the Louisville Bats at Louisville Slugger Field Thursday night by a score of 7-1 thanks to a dealing Daniel Norris and some primetime Hen hitting.
Louisville's Amir Garrett was only able to get two outs before getting yanked in the first inning, as he picked up his third loss of the season. The Bats proceeded to utilize five arms out of the bullpen to get through the game. The Hens' Daniel Norris made his first official appearance after being on the DL with the Tigers and making a couple rehab starts, and the crafty lefty appeared to be ready to be back in Detroit, as he went seven innings striking out seven, walking none and only allowing one run on five hits for his fifth win of the season.
Toledo jumped ahead early with some patience at the plate drawing four first inning walks. Alex Presley led off with a hit by pitch, followed by a Casey McGehee single and a Steven Moya walk to load the bases for Chad Huffman who launched a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Presley to make it 1-0 Mud Hens. Patience paid off once again in the inning when Dixon Machado and Miguel Gonzalez drew a bases loaded walk to make it 3-0 Toledo.
The Bats got on the board in the bottom of the third inning via a Dillson Herrera sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 Hens.
Daniel Norris pitched out of a sticky situation in the fourth inning with a runner on third and one out, but the crafty lefty lefty struck out the next two batters to work his way out the jam.
Toledo made it 4-1 in the fourth when Argenis Diaz crossed the plate after a Louisville fielding error on a Moya groundball, and the Hens extended their lead to 5-1 following an RBI double off the bat of Miguel Gonzalez in the fifth inning. Gonzalez and Machado drew bases loaded walks (for the second time in the game) to make it 7-1 Toledo in the sixth inning.
Cesar Ramos, who made his first appearance in a Mud Hens uniform, pitched a perfect eighth inning out of the Hen pen, and Dustin Molleken appearing in a Mud Hens' game for the first time since July 1st after being in a Tigers uniform since then, pitched the ninth inning to shut things down.
Toledo continues their road trip Friday night with the first pitch slated for 7:05 PM, as they head to Indianapolis for four games, with the first game featuring the Hens' LHP Matt Crouse (5-4, 2.78 ERA) against the Indians' RHP Trevor Williams (6-5, 2.88 ERA).
Toledo Tidbits:
Man on a Mission- Daniel Norris looked like a pitcher who knew there might be something more than just a Mud Hens victory on the line Thursday night. The Tigers' recently placed Mike Pelfrey on the DL, and Jordan Zimmerman was set to undergo an MRI after Thursday's start against the White Sox, meaning Daniel Norris could be very valuable to the Tigers real soon. Norris took advantage of his opportunity, pitching seven superb innings while only allowing five hits and one run while striking out seven and walking none.
Diaz Doing Work- Argenis Diaz is a fan of playing at Louisville Slugger Field. The everyday Hens' second baseman launched his first homerun of the season Wednesday night to go along with a single. Thursday night marked back-to-back two hit nights for Diaz, as five of his 12 two-hit games have now come against the Bats.
All We do is Win Win Win (Against Louisville)- With their win Thursday night, Toledo improved to 16-6 against the Louisville Bats for the 2016 season, including an 8-2 road record. The victory also improved the Hens' record against the IL West to 27-22 with an 11-9 overall road record with their intra-division foes.