Montero and the Hens shutout the Cubs

TOLEDO, OH - After a brutal 14-1 loss on Tuesday, the Mud Hens turned things around against the Cubs on Thursday with a 1-0 victory. The rainout on Wednesday put the Hens in an odd situation for pitching, but it turned out to be to their benefit. Toledo’s pitching staff was able to hold Iowa to just 3 hits.

After a rough four innings last week against Round Rock, Keider Montero took the mound for his second start of the season. Montero looked wildly efficient from the bump, only throwing 25 pitches in his first 3 innings of the day.

Montero displayed a strong mix of fastballs and off-speed pitches. His slider and sinker attacked the corners of the strike zone, while his knuckle-curve was nearly impossible for batters to track. His pitching rotation spoke for itself as he finished his day with 6 strikeouts and no hits or walks allowed.

After three scoreless innings, the Hens began to string together a few hits to give their pitchers some help. Jace Jung got things started with a lead-off single and worked his way to second as the next two batters struck out. Bligh Madris wouldn’t leave Jung stranded though, as an RBI single to right field gave Toledo a 1-0 lead.

Going into the fifth inning, Montero and the Mud Hens had maintained a perfect game. Montero forced two quick outs, but was pulled in favor of Tyler Owens. Owens struggled to get warm in the cold weather, walking his first two batters before forcing a groundout.

With the no-hitter still alive, Toledo would turn to Matt Manning in the sixth inning. This would only be Manning’s second career bullpen appearance, as Wednesday’s rainout canceled his start. Manning was able to seat his first two batters, but Ben Cowels then broke the no-hitter with a grounder into left field.

While Manning’s appearance in this game was different and shorter than most, he did display some further development that began last season. While he did rely heavily on his four-seamer and his coveted sweeper, we did get a few glimpses at the slider he began developing last season. If he can bring his slider into a more prominent role in his rotation, batters are sure to have their work cut out for them going forward.

The Mud Hens’ maintained their 1-0 lead going into the ninth inning. Manning remained on the mound, but the Cubs refused to back down. A flyball off the bat of Vidal Brujan put the game-tying run on base. A stolen base and a wild pitch moved Brujan to third with one out. Manning, however, dialed it in, striking out Jonathon Long. The game then came down to a Cowles at bat, but his popup to Madris sealed the shutout.

The Mud Hens and Cubs will continue their series Friday night at 7:05 p.m. With their six-game series tied 1-1, both teams will look to get an early edge on the other.

Notables:

• Keider Montero (W, 5.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)
• Matt Manning (SV, 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K)
• Bligh Madris (2-3, RBI, BB, K)