PAPILLION, NE.: Five was a kind number for Toledo on Wednesday evening. The Mud Hens hit five home runs and RHP Alex Faedo turned in five phenomenal innings on the mound in his Triple-A debut as Toledo picked up its fourth straight win and routed the Omaha Storm Chasers in
PAPILLION, NE.: Five was a kind number for Toledo on Wednesday evening. The Mud Hens hit five home runs and RHP Alex Faedo turned in five phenomenal innings on the mound in his Triple-A debut as Toledo picked up its fourth straight win and routed the Omaha Storm Chasers in the process, 14-0, at Werner Park.
Faedo (1-0) followed three solid outings with Lakeland by tossing a gem in his first start with Toledo. The Tigers first round selection in 2017 scattered four hits and eight strikeouts without issuing a free pass over the five scoreless innings to seal the win.
RHP Miguel Diaz and RHP Angel De Jesus each chipped in a scoreless frame out of the bullpen in relief of Faedo. RHP Logan Shore went the final two stanzas, working around a knock and fanning three Storm Chasers.
The Hens staff yielded just five hits to the Storm Chasers and held the opposition off the scoreboard for the third time this season.
It didn’t take long for Toledo to get the bats going. Zack Short drew a walk and Daz Cameron swatted a single to put two men on the bases in the top of the first. Josh Lester came through with a mammoth home run to center, his third of the year, to break the Mud Hens onto the scoreboard, 3-0.
Lester was the only Hen to get on before two outs were recorded in the top of the fourth. Ryan Lavarnway singled him in opposite RHP Jackson Kowar for the first run of the frame. Jack Lopez and John Valente also registered hits in advance of Short, who promptly cleared the bases with a grand slam over the left field fence to balloon the lead to 8-0.
Kowar (0-2) took the loss for Omaha, surrendering eight hits and eight runs over four innings.
Three straight knocks from Lavarnway, Lopez, and Valente enabled the Hens to load the bases in the sixth. Short delivered with a sacrifice fly to center, tacking on another run for a 9-0 edge.
Toledo wasn’t close to being done offensively. In the eighth, with Valente already on via a walk, Short slammed another home run to cap his record-breaking night, a two-run shot that drove in his sixth and seventh runs of the evening. Kody Clemens went back-to-back with Short, belting a solo blast over the right field fence for a 12-0 Hens lead. Jacob Robson brought in Cameron and himself with an opposite field dinger, his third of the campaign, to round out the scoring.
RHP Colten Brewer permitted six hits, five earned runs, two walks, and the three long balls in 1 and 2/3’s frames for Omaha.
Short went 3-3 on the evening with a walk, two homers, and seven RBIs. This RBI total bested his former career-high output of six, which was set on April 25, 2017 when he was playing with the South Bend Cubs.
Clemens moved his hitting streak to nine consecutive games with that eighth inning blast.
Lopez went 3-5 with a run scored for Toledo. He has hit safely in five consecutive assignments and in seven of his last eight.
Lavarnway pieced together his first four-hit effort since August of 2018, going 4-5 at the dish.
NEXT UP: Toledo and Omaha will battle for the third time in this series on Thursday evening at Werner Park. First pitch is slated for 7:35 p.m. EDT.