The Hens' offense struggles in 7-0 loss to Chasers

TOLEDO, OH - The Toledo Mud Hens were shutout by the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-0 Thursday night. The Mud Hens kept things close, but the Storm Chasers got the best of them late in the game.

The Mud Hens would be chasing the Storm Chasers early as Toledo local Joey Wiemer and Luke Maile got aboard to open the second inning. Wiemer was quickly brought in after Nick Pratto hit a double deep into left field to make it 1-0.

Dietrich Enns had himself yet another notable start as his day ended after 4.1 innings pitched. Enns showed off his entire arsenal with four-seamers, changeups, and cutters dicing the Omaha lineup for six strikeouts.

The Storm Chasers would add to their lead come the fifth. Ricky Vanasco inherited runners on first and second as Enns’s night came to an end. Omaha then made it 2-0 on a throwing error on Gage Workman.

They continued to threaten to score with runners on the corners. Darion Blanco and MJ Melendez both attempted a double steal, but Jace Jung returned a throw from Tomas Nido at 87.0 mph to catch Blanco in the act and end the inning.

Toledo would give themselves a chance to get ahead in the eighth with Eric Cerantola replacing Sam Long. Cerantola dealt walks to Brewer Hicklen and Manuel Margot to give the Hens a chance with just one out. Andrew Navigato and Akil Baddoo were due up, but both made weak contact to keep the deficit at 2-0.

Ryan Miller would attempt to keep his team in it in the ninth, but the Storm Chasers quickly loaded the bases as Miller struggled to find the zone. The walks would build up as Omaha went up 3-0 when Nick Pratto drew a four-pitch walk.

Things fell apart even further when Blanco came up to bat following a Diego Castillo fly out. Blanco, who was clearly upset after being thrown out at home in the fifth, took all of his frustrations out on one of Miller’s sweepers. He pimped the grand slam 387 ft to put the Storm Chasers ahead 7-0.

Omaha handed closing duties to Andrew Hoffman. Hao-Yu Lee would look to keep things at least interesting as he drilled a ball into the right-field corner. He really turned on the wheels as he strolled into third for a lead-off stand-up triple. The Hens weren’t able to bring him home however as the Chasers made the 7-0 shutout official.

The Toledo Mud Hens and the Omaha Storm Chasers will face off again Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Toledo will look to bring an end to a three-game losing streak and earn their first win of the series.

Notables:

• Dietrich Enns (L, 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 HR)
• PJ Poulin (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR)
• Hao-Yu Lee (2-4, 3B)