The Toledo Mud Hens lost to the Columbus Clippers 11-10 in 10 innings on Wednesday night. It was the first game of the second half of the season, and three players made their Mud Hens debuts (Colt Keith, Nick Maton, and Sean Guenther).
Tarik Skubal started the game for Toledo.
The Toledo Mud Hens lost to the Columbus Clippers 11-10 in 10 innings on Wednesday night. It was the first game of the second half of the season, and three players made their Mud Hens debuts (Colt Keith, Nick Maton, and Sean Guenther).
Tarik Skubal started the game for Toledo. In 4.0 innings of work, he gave up two (unearned) runs on three hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. It was Skubal’s fifth rehab start this year and third with the Mud Hens. Since his first rehab start with High A West Michigan, he has thrown 14.2 innings and given up just two earned runs. Skubal has yet to pitch for the Tigers this year.
Colt Keith put the Hens on the board in the second inning with a solo home run in his first AAA at bat. The 21-year-old spent the first half of the season with AA Erie and absolutely tore it up with the SeaWolves. In 59 games, Keith slashed .325/.391/.585 with 14 home runs and was named the Eastern League Player of the Month in May. He would finish today’s game 3-4 in his Mud Hens debut.
The momentum of the game shifted between the Mud Hens and the Clippers for the entire game. After the Clippers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, the Hens would score a run in each of the next two innings to tie it at 2-2, thanks to Colt Keith’s homer and a Nick Maton double in the third inning. Columbus retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning from Zack Collins’ RBI single, but Parker Meadows took it right back in the next frame with a two-run homer to make it a 4-3 ballgame.
With that swing, Meadows increased his active hitting streak to 16 games, which is tied for the longest hitting streak by a Hens hitter this year (Malloy, 4/6 – 4/26). Meadows has been swinging a hot bat this month, slashing .333/.363/.563 since June 1st.
After the Clippers answered with a go-ahead two run home run of their own in the seventh inning, Parker Meadows came through once again to tie the ballgame in the eighth with an RBI single. Justyn-Henry Malloy was the next batter and cleared the bases with a double to give the Hens a three-run lead. Colt Keith collected his third hit and second RBI of the night when he singled in Malloy later in the inning.
The Hens entered the bottom of the ninth with a 9-5 lead and looked poised to secure the win after Miguel Diaz recorded two outs with one base runner aboard. After a walk put two aboard, Diaz was replaced by Matt Wisler. Wisler walked another batter which loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate, and on a 1-1 pitch, Jhonkensy Noel hit a game tying grand slam with two outs in the ninth. The game would have ended in the ninth had right fielder Nick Solak not made a spectacular diving catch to end the inning and prevent the game winning run on second base from scoring.
The Hens got one back in the 10th from an Andre Lipcius RBI groundout, but the Clippers bats stayed hot against Wisler. Oscar Gonzales hit an RBI single to score Daniel Schneemann, and Columbus won the game 11-10 in the 10th inning.
Despite the tragic ending, the Hens offense was clicking on all cylinders. They scored 10 runs on 13 hits and walked eight times compared to just four strikeouts.
The battle of Ohio will continue tomorrow night at 7:05 P.M. in Columbus.
Notables:
Tarik Skubal: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Trey Wingenter: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Colt Keith: 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Justyn-Henry Malloy: 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
Parker Meadows: 2-6, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI
Nick Maton: 2-4, 2B, BB
Donny Sands: 2-4, 2B, BB