Offense explodes in Indy, Hens win seven straight

Toledo Mud Hens

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – After taking the first three games of the series, the Mud Hens were looking to win today’s early afternoon game to clinch another series win. A win would give the Mud Hens their seventh straight victory and would put them 17 games over the .500 mark. The

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – After taking the first three games of the series, the Mud Hens were looking to win today’s early afternoon game to clinch another series win. A win would give the Mud Hens their seventh straight victory and would put them 17 games over the .500 mark. The Mud Hens were trailing 6.0 games behind the first place, Nashville Sounds in the International League West before today’s game, and were looking to continue creeping up in the standings. Bryan Garcia took the mound for Toledo, looking to lead his squad to victory.

In the beginning of today’s ballgame, the Indianapolis Indians wasted no time on Garcia, as the Indians tallied a home run each in the first three innings. One of the home runs was inside-the-park, as Indianapolis had a 3-0 lead over the Mud Hens after three. However, the Mud Hens would respond in the fourth, putting up a crooked four-run inning. The Mud Hens would load the bases after a couple of walks and a hit-by-pitch. John Valente would walk to bring in a run, bringing the Indy lead down to a 3-1 score. Then, Zack Short would hit his 31st double of the year to clear the bases. Dustin Garneau, Corey Joyce, and John Valente would all score, and the Mud Hens now had a 4-3 lead.

In the top half of the fifth, the Mud Hens would cap on two more runs. Brendon Davis and Jamie Westbrook would go back-to-back in the home run category to give the Mud Hens a 6-3 lead. Davis now has 12 home runs on the year, along with Westbrook obtaining 11 this season. The runs would keep coming for the Mud Hens in the sixth inning, as Corey Joyce and John Valente began each with a single. Zack Short would then walk to load the bases. Next batter, Josh Lester would hit an infield single to score Valente, and a throwing error to the plate trotted Lester to second. The Mud Hens now had an 8-3 lead. The final run of the top half would come off a sacrifice fly by Andre Lipcius, leaving Toledo with a 9-3 lead over Indianapolis.

Three more runs came from the hot Toledo offense in the eighth, as Jamie Westbrook would tally another RBI hit to score Daz Cameron, who singled earlier in the inning. Then, Dustin Garneau would hit his eighth double of the year to score Andre Lipcius, which also singled earlier, and Jamie Westbrook came in to also score from first.

The Mud Hens took tonight’s game, with a score of 12-3. Toledo would finish with a total of 16 hits in tonight’s game (3 shy of season record). They have officially clinched their current series with the Indianapolis Indians, and have obtained a winning record (8-7) over Indianapolis this season. With today’s win, John Valente, Zack Short, Josh Lester, Jamie Westbrook, and Corey Joyce each had a multi-hit game this afternoon. Corey Joyce went 3-3, while reaching base with a walk as well. He hit a double in his first at-bat. Westbrook would join him in the three-hit day department for today’s game. Short, Lester, and Valente would tally two hits today. Zack Short led the teams in RBI today, with three giving him his 11th multi-RBI game of the season. On the baserunning side, John Valente would steal three bases, as he stole two of them in the first (second and third base). Bryan Garcia would earn today’s win, improving to a 4-3 record. He went six strong innings, giving up five hits, the three home runs, only allowed one walk, and struck out six Indy batters. Nick Vincent would come of the IL to close the game, striking out two batters in the ninth to close the ballgame.

NOTABLE HITTERS:

John Valente: 2-5, RBI, 2 R, BB, 3 SB

Zack Short: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R, 2 BB, K

Josh Lester: 2-6, RBI, 2 K

Brendon Davis: 1-4, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB, K

Jamie Westbrook: 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB

Corey Joyce: 3-3, 2 R, BB

NOTABLE PITCHERS:

Bryan Garcia: GS, W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 6 K, 3 HR

Nick Vincent: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

NEXT UP: The Toledo Mud Hens have now improved to a 77-60 record and have now trail just 5.5 games behind the Nashville Sounds for first place in the International League West. The Mud Hens will look for their eighth straight win during tomorrow’s game, as Ricardo Sanchez will take the mound. The Mud Hens are three straight wins away from sweeping their first opponent all season. Game time is set for 7:05pm ET in Indianapolis.

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