TOLEDO, Ohio – The Iowa Cubs topped the Toledo Mud Hens, 3-2, on Saturday night at Fifth Third Field in a low-scoring affair.
It took a total of two pitches for the Iowa Cubs to strike first as Ian Miller smoked a leadoff home run to right field. The Mud Hens righty starter, Pedro Payano, would allow a single and hit a batter as well in the first, but he was able to limit the damage to just the one run.
With the game still sitting at 1-0, center fielder Michael Hermosillo hit a towering blast to left field in the top of the third inning, extending the Iowa lead to two. The plot thickened after two walks and an error by shortstop Cole Peterson loaded the bases with one out. With nowhere to put Andrew Romine, Payano buckled down and induced a ground ball to third that Yariel Gonzalez came home with to cut down Alfonso Rivas at the plate. Then, Erick Castillo rolled into a 5-4 fielder’s choice to end the inning with the Cubs leading 2-0.
The Mud Hens first hit of the game came from Willi Castro, an infield single in the third inning. Renato Nunez proceeded to walk for the second time to put two on with two out for Gonzalez. After falling behind 1-2 in the count, Gonzalez hit a fly ball to left that hung up for Miller, which allowed him to make a running grab to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Christin Stewart got all of one, sending it way over the right field wall for a solo home run to put the Mud Hens on the board. This cut the Iowa lead to 2-1.
Payano exited after five innings of two-run ball. He was rather fortunate to only allow two as he pitched around four walks without any of them coming around to score. Right-hander Jason Foley came on and immediately struggled with his command, walking two and allowing a base hit that loaded them with no outs. The Mud Hens played the middle at double play depth, a move that paid off. Matt Duffy hit a ground ball to Castro at second base who started a 4-6-3 double play as Romine came across to score. Trent Giambrone then struck out to end the threat with the Cubs holding a 3-1 lead.
After scoreless seventh and eighth innings, the game headed to the bottom of the ninth with the Hens still trailing by two. Aderlin Rodriguez pulled the Hens even closer with a long home run to left field to start the frame. JaCoby Jones drew a one-out walk, bringing Stewart to the plate. Stewart walked on four pitches to move the potential tying run into scoring position. Cubs reliever Ben Leeper then went 3-0 to Grayson Greiner, but threw back-to-back strikes to go full. Greiner hit a fairly deep fly ball to left that was caught for the second out of the inning. Kody Clemens stepped up as a pinch hitter. The second pitch to Clemens got away from the catcher, which allowed both runners to move up. On a 2-1 pitch, Clemens swung and hit a foul pop-up that catcher Erick Castillo made a great grab on to end the game as the Mud Hens fell 3-2.
What’s Next:
The Toledo Mud Hens and Iowa Cubs meet for the series finale on Sunday at Fifth Third Field with the first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Kids are welcome to run the bases after the game as well.
Hens Notes:
- RHP Ethan DeCaster pitched a scoreless eighth inning in his Triple-A season debut.
- OF Christin Stewart hit his eighth home run of the season, the most of any left-handed hitter for Toledo.
- INF Aderlin Rodriguez was the first Hen to hit the 15-homer mark this season.