Mud Hens fall short of ninth-inning rally by Red Sox

Toledo got off to a strong start in this series, sweeping Worcester in their double header on Wednesday. The Mud Hens followed that performance up with a late game 7-5 loss against the Red Sox Thursday night.

Brant Hurter would get the start on the mound. In his first inning he gave up a double to Vaughn Grissom, but the Red Sox would not be able to make anything of it. Akil Baddoo would find a lead off single to get things started for Toledo, but three straight outs would end the inning.

The Hens were able to find the success at the plate that they’ve been enjoying as of late in the second inning. Red Sox pitcher Brian Van Belle found himself with bases loaded after allowing back to back singles from Keston Hiura and Justyn-Henry Malloy and a walk drawn by Justice Bigbie. A sacrifice fly from Dillon Dingler put Toledo on the board first. Andrew Navigato followed that up with an RBI single to put the Mud Hens up 2-0.

Worcester would begin to figure things out in the beginning of the third inning. Karson Simas had a hard-hit grounder to Hiura, but Hurter couldn’t cover first in time. Simas would make his way to third while Worcester picked up two outs. Jamie Westbrook brought him in with an RBI double, but the Hens were able to prevent any more damage to be done.

In Toledo on a rehab assignment from Detroit, Andy ​​**Ibáñez** nearly sent one over the left-field wall, but still picked up a double as it fell short. Ibáñez stole third, but three straight outs from the Mud Hens left him stranded.

Hurter had a hot start in the fourth. He picked up back-to-back strikeouts to begin the inning before giving up a single to Mark Kolozsvary. Things got even worse from there as Elih Marrero hit a homerun deep into left-center field. That would prompt Toledo to begin to warm up Trey Wingenter in the bullpen. Hurter gave up another single to Simas and allowed him to steal second again, but escaped the inning though with a groundout from Chase Meidroth.

Now down 3-2, the Mud Hens looked to regain their lead. Bigbie led the way with a single to right field, bringing Dingler to the plate. Dingler made solid contact, but hit into a double play that cleared the bases. Toledo was unable to get back on the board as the inning ended with a Navigato groundout.

Wingenter would take the mound to begin the fifth inning. He would earn a strikeout after a challenging at bat with Major Leaguer Grissom. Wingenter’s strong start continued with a line out and a diving catch from Malloy that ended the top of the fifth inning.

Baddoo led off in the bottom of the fifth inning, drawing a walk. Ibáñez picked up his second hit of the day with a single to right field. A strong grounder from Jung moved Baddoo and Ibáñez, but led to Toledo’s first out of the inning. Things looked promising for the Hens with Hiura up to bat, but he hit into an unassisted double play. Meidroth caught the line drive to third base and dove to the bag, tagging out Baddoo to end the inning.

Wingenter picked up right where he left off, going one, two, three in the top of the sixth inning. He forced a groundout and picked up two more strikeouts.

Toledo would break Van Belle in the bottom of the sixth. Malloy led the way with a double that dribbled through left field. Bigbie brought him in with a double of his own, tying the game 3-3. The back-to-back doubles brought an end to Van Belle’s time on the mound. Worcester brought out Jorge Benitez to replace Van Belle, but that wouldn’t stop the Hens from scoring. An RBI single from Navigato that brought in Bigbie gave Toledo the 4-3 lead.

Wilmer Flores took over to begin the seventh inning. He would pick up a strike out and two groundouts, going one, two, three. Following Flores’s half of the inning, the Mud Hens hoped to tack on a few more runs, just to be safe. Jung was able to draw a walk, bringing Hiura up to the plate. Hiura had had a frustrating day so far, but changed that by hitting an RBI triple deep into center field. Toledo ended the seventh up 5-3.

Worcester would need to get things going if they wanted a chance at this one. Flores was quick to pick up two outs, but after two walks, his day came to an end. Toledo turned to Sean Guenther to try and keep their lead safe. The lefty would end the inning grabbing a grounder that went right to the mound.

With Toledo unable to expand their lead, their two-run lead would be put to the test in the ninth inning. Toledo brought out Andrew Vasquez to try and end the game. Vasquez found his first out, striking out Koloszvary. He followed that up by giving up a double from Marrero that went deep into right field. Vasquez’s night would come to a close following a walk. Brian Hanifee was given the responsibility to stop the rally and end the game. It was a rough start for Hanifee, giving up an RBI single that put the tying run on third base.

Things began to look bleak for Toledo when Eddy Alvarez tied the game with an RBI double off of the wall that also brought Meidroth, the lead stealing run, to third base. Westbrook followed that up with a two-run double giving the Red Sox the lead for the first time since the sixth inning.

The Mud Hens would have to craft a rally of their own if they wanted to win or at least extend this game. Baddoo was walked, bringing Bligh Madris, the game tying run, to the plate. Madrid had a hard-hit line drive into right field that would be dropped by Tyler McDonough, putting runners on first and second base. A Jung and a Hiura strikeout brought Malloy to the plate with a chance to win the game. He had a hard-hit ball that went right down the left-field line, but it fell foul. He was able to draw a walk, bringing Bigbie up to bat with the bases loaded. Bigbie was unable to execute, completing the Wocester comeback win.

Notables:

Justice Bigbie 2-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB

Keston Hiura 2-5, 3B, R, RBI

Andy ​​Ibáñez 2-3, 2B,

Justyn-Henry Malloy 2-4, 2B, R

Trey Wingenter 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K