TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo Mud Hens took game one of the series 9-3 versus the Omaha Storm Chasers at Fifth Third Field on Tuesday night.
With the win tonight, the Mud Hens gained a game on the Storm Chasers, cutting their division lead to just a single game.
Right-hander Ricardo Pinto got the start and sent the Chasers down in order to start the game, picking up two strikeouts along the way. Kody Clemens got the Hens on the board in the bottom of the first inning with an opposite field solo shot.
Following a scoreless second inning, the Chasers offense got busy in the third. Back-to-back solo shots from Edward Olivares and Bobby Witt Jr. put Omaha in front 2-1. The Hens responded quickly though, as Dylan Rosa ripped a leadoff triple on the first pitch he saw in the bottom half of the frame. A ground ball off the bat of Cole Peterson would bring in Rosa to tie the game. Back-to-back singles from Jacob Robson and Renato Nunez followed by a passed ball put men at the corners with one out. Clemens delivered with a sacrifice fly to center field that ended up being dropped and ruled an error, allowing Nunez to move up to second and Clemens to be ruled safe at first. Yariel Gonzalez proceeded to walk to load them up. On the first pitch he saw, Christin Stewart launched a grand slam to dead center field, giving the Hens a 7-2 lead.
A leadoff walk in the fourth by Robson set the table once again for Clemens and he delivered. Clemens ripped a 1-0 pitch into the right field corner for a triple, scoring Robson from first, making it 8-2 Toledo.
Omaha got a run back in the sixth, thanks to a double from Witt Jr. down the left field line. Pinto limited the damage to just the single run as the Hens still held a relatively comfortable five run lead.
Pinto went six innings, allowing five hits and three runs while striking out three, earning a quality start against one of the best offenses in Triple-A. Righty Alex Lange entered to pitch the seventh for Toledo. He struck out the first two batters he faced before walking the next two. He got out of it though, as Olivares grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
Righty Jason Foley was called on to handle the eighth inning after one inning of work from Lange. He had a smooth 1-2-3 inning, capped off by a strikeout to end the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Peterson hit an infield single. He swiped second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Robson walked, Nunez came to the dish and hit a sacrifice fly that scored Peterson, making it 9-3 Hens.
Southpaw Miguel Del Pozo came in to close this one out for Toledo. He punched out the first man he faced before inducing a weak ground ball to third that was easily put away by Gonzalez. He went full on the third hitter of the inning, but struck him out looking to put this one in the books.
What’s Next:
The Toledo Mud Hens and Omaha Storm Chasers meet for game two of the series Wednesday night at Fifth Third Field with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. With a Toledo win, the Mud Hens and Storm Chasers would be tied for the division lead.
Hens Notes:
- OF Christin Stewart homered for the third time in three games.
- OF Dylan Rosa recorded his first multi-hit game of the season in a 2-for-4 effort.
- INF Kody Clemens finished 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.
- RHP Alex Lange, RHP Jason Foley, and LHP Miguel Del Pozo combined to throw three no-hit innings out of the Hen-pen.