Similarly to last night, the Hens scored in the first to jump out to an early lead. On a 3-2 fastball, Jacob Robson pulled his hands in nicely and barreled up a pitch that left the yard, flying over the right field fence.
The Hens offense stayed busy in the second inning. Aderlin Rodriguez singled to left to start the frame and Christin Stewart followed it with a double to right, putting men at second and third with no outs. JaCoby Jones then walked to load them up. Yariel Gonzalez proceeded to hit a sac fly to center field that scored Rodriguez.
The Mud Hens scored in the third straight inning to make it 3-0 early. After Renato Nunez reached on a hit by pitch and Rodriguez walked, Stewart punched a base hit through the right side of the infield that scored Nunez.
After 2.2 scoreless innings from righty Angel De Jesus, lefty Locke St. John took over. De Jesus allowed one hit and struck out two.
Gonzalez singled to start the fourth. After a wild pitch by knuckleballer Steven Wright, he moved up to second base. Willi Castro then turned on a pitch and hit it to right field for a single that allowed Gonzalez to score, making it 4-0 Hens. Nunez walked and then Clemens dropped a bloop single into right that scored Castro.
In the top of the fifth, Stewart recorded his third hit of the game with a single to right. He moved up to second on a wild pitch and scored on an opposite field double off the bat of Gonzalez. Jon Rosoff and Jacob Robson both walked to load the bases. Another wild pitch allowed everyone to move up, including Gonzalez who would come across to score. On a 2-2 pitch, Renato Nunez obliterated a ball way over the left field wall for a three-run homer that made it 10-0. The very next hitter, Kody Clemens, blasted a solo home run to right field as the Hens hit the 11-run mark for the second straight night.
After three scoreless relief innings from St. John, righty Wladimir Pinto took over. In the bottom of the seventh, Hunter Owen broke up the shutout effort with a solo home run to left-center field. The Indians would add to their total after a walk and two singles loaded the bases. Dee Strange-Gordon hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed one run to score, but on a throwing error by Gonzalez at shortstop, another run came around to make it 11-3.
Right-hander Nolan Blackwood entered to pitch the eighth inning. A walk and a single put men at the corners with no outs. A deep fly ball to center was then caught by Jones, but allowed both runners to tag, making it 11-4. An error by Rodriguez let Owen reach and Bethancourt moved up to third base. Blackwood then threw a wild pitch and Bethancourt scampered home to score. Blackwood pitched himself out of the inning, but not before the Indians plated a pair to cut the Hens lead to six.
Southpaw Robbie Ross Jr. came on as the fifth pitcher for Toledo to work the ninth. He recorded an easy 1-2-3 inning as the Hens took game two against Indy to even up the series.
What’s Next:
The Toledo Mud Hens and Indianapolis Indians meet for game three of the series at Victory Field on Thursday at 7:35 p.m.
Hens Notes:
- OF Christin Stewart notched his 2nd four-hit game of the season and 5th among all Hens.
- With three scoreless innings today, LHP Locke St. John has thrown 19 consecutive innings without conceding a run.
- The Mud Hens scored runs in the first five innings of the game.