TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo Mud Hens got back in the win column with a convincing 11-1 victory over the Midwest Division-leading Omaha Storm Chasers on Friday at Fifth Third Field. The result puts the Mud Hens (42-32) two games behind the Storm Chasers (44-30) in the division race with
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo Mud Hens got back in the win column with a convincing 11-1 victory over the Midwest Division-leading Omaha Storm Chasers on Friday at Fifth Third Field. The result puts the Mud Hens (42-32) two games behind the Storm Chasers (44-30) in the division race with a pair of games left in this week’s series.
Renato Núñez finished 3-for-5 with an RBI double and three runs, while Aderlin Rodríguez ended the night 3-for-5 with a trio of singles and four RBI. Christin Stewart went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, and Kody Clemens was 2-for-5 a pair of RBI singles along with a run.
Pedro Payano earned his second Triple-A win of the season after completing six innings of work, conceding an unearned run on two hits and a half-dozen walks while striking out six. Drew Carlton added two perfect innings of relief, before Miguel Del Pozo hurled a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the contest.
Omaha opened the scoring with an unearned run in the top of the first frame. With a runner on first and one out, Nick Pratto grounded into a fielder’s choice to second and was able to advance to third on a missed catch error by Rodríguez at first base. Ryan McBroom then singled off the top of the left-field wall to drive in Pratto, but was easily thrown out at second by Stewart trying to stretch his hit into a double.
The Mud Hens manufactured a run to pull even in the bottom of the same inning. Núñez singled through the left side, reached second on a wild pitch and moved up to third on a Clemens groundout. Rodríguez followed by pulling a base hit into left that allowed Núñez to trot home.
Toledo proceeded to snatch the lead with a four-spot an inning later. JaCoby Jones sliced a leadoff double into the right-field corner, and Cole Peterson walked to put men on first and second with nobody out. After Jon Rosoff’s sacrifice bunt ensured both runners were in scoring position, Isaac Paredes brought them in with a double to left that gave the hosts a 3-1 advantage.
The hit parade continued as Núñez whacked a double to deep right-center that bounced off the glove of center fielder Kyle Isbel and allowed Paredes to score, before Clemens grounded a slow roller up the middle to plate Núñez and open up a 5-1 cushion.
The Mud Hens didn’t need a hit to tack on another run in the bottom of the third. Yariel Gonzalez drew a one-out walk, took second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a throwing error by right fielder Anderson Miller and scored on another wild pitch to make it a 6-1 ballgame.
Stewart added to Toledo’s lead in the home half of the fifth when he lifted a solo shot toward the right-field corner for his fifth homer in his last six games and 14th of the campaign.
The Mud Hens reached double-digits with three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth stanza. Dylan Rosa beat out an infield single to first and Núñez reached on a fielding error by third baseman Travis Jones to put runners on first and second with two down. Clemens then pulled his second RBI single of the night into right-center to bring in Rosa, before Rodríguez lined a two-run single into left to make it 10-1.
Toledo scored its 11th and final run in the last of the eighth. Rosoff picked up his first career Triple-A hit with a leadoff single up the middle, and eventually scored when Rodríguez hit an opposite-field single to right.
What’s Next:
The Mud Hens continue their six-game series against the Storm Chasers on Saturday at Fifth Third Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Hens Notes:
• The 11-1 win matched Toledo’s largest margin of victory this season, when the Mud Hens won 10-0 at Louisville on May 30.
• The Mud Hens set a season-low by surrendering two hits in Friday’s game.
• Rodríguez grabbed sole possession of the Triple-A East lead with 58 RBI.
• Rodríguez notched his 25th multi-hit game and 15th multi-RBI outing of the year.