GAME RECAP (TOLEDO, OH): After their first loss of the series, the Mud Hens looked to get back in the win column and take a 3-1 series lead over the Louisville Bats. After a 56-minute rain delay, RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez took the mound, hoping to obtain his fourth winning decision
GAME RECAP (TOLEDO, OH): After their first loss of the series, the Mud Hens looked to get back in the win column and take a 3-1 series lead over the Louisville Bats. After a 56-minute rain delay, RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez took the mound, hoping to obtain his fourth winning decision of the season, and lower his 5.64 ERA.
It did not take Louisville long to get on the board first. The Bats drew first blood with a leadoff homer to right field, hit by the Cincinnati Reds rehab batter, Tyler Naquin. After the home run, RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez struck out two batters, while obtaining the three outs in the inning. In the next inning, the Bats drove in another run, and scored on an error to make it a 3-0 ballgame in favor of Louisville. However, Rodriguez would strikeout two more batters, as he now had four total of the ballgame.
In the top of the third, RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez would retire the Bats in order, and began to settle down after giving up the three runs. For the Mud Hens offense, they were seeking to find answers after being hitless through the first three innings.
Heading into the fourth, the Bats tallied five more runs, to make at an 8-0 game. In the bottom half, the Mud Hens bats would finally wake up. RF Daz Cameron would tally a two out triple, giving the Mud Hens their first hit of the night. The next batter, 1B Josh Lester would then follow with a two-run shot to right field, cutting the lead down to a score of 8-2. Lester now has three home runs in the past six games and has tallied 13 so far this year. The two RBIs driven in now puts him at 43 on the year.
After the Mud Hens held the Bats scoreless in the fifth, LF Kerry Carpenter led off with a double. The double extends his on-base streak to six games with the Mud Hens. Then, 2B Jamie Westbrook would follow up with a double, driving in Carpenter. Westbrook now has eight doubles, and 22 RBIs on the year. Westbrook would also tally another double later in the game, giving him nine on the year.
The Bats would score four more runs in the game, as they took game four of the series, with a score of 12-3. Their back-to-back victories with the Mud Hens have nodded up the series at two apiece.
NEXT UP: The Mud Hens will look to regain the series lead, as they will continue their showdown with the Louisville Bats. RHP Michael Mariot (6-1, 4.73 ERA) will take the mound for Toledo, hoping to get the Hens back in the win column.