Lester finished 1-for-4 with a solo shot, while Torkelson and Short both went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk. Riley Greene ended the night 1-for-4 with a single, a walk and a run, while Aderlin Rodríguez was 1-for-4 with a base hit.
Ricardo Pinto was limited to three-plus innings of work due to injury, taking the loss after surrendering six earned runs on four hits and five walks while striking out a pair. Making his first appearance in a Toledo uniform since Aug. 21, 2018, A.J. Ladwig needed 46 pitches to complete four perfect innings of relief.
The Mud Hens (70-53) looked to open the scoring in the top of the third inning as Greene and Torkelson drew back-to-back walks to lead off the frame. After a passed ball allowed both runners to move into scoring position, Kody Clemens hit a ground ball to second that allowed Greene to come home and stake Toledo to a 1-0 lead.
Lester doubled the Mud Hens’ advantage an inning later, smashing a 3-1 pitch over the wall in center for his seventh Triple-A home run of the campaign. The Columbus, Ga., native paces the Detroit Tigers organization with 32 minor-league homers, 25 of which came with Double-A Erie.
Louisville (53-69) captured the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth, sending 13 men to the plate as part of an eight-run inning. In all, the Bats capitalized on five singles, an error, a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly and five walks, three of which came with the bases loaded.
The Mud Hens cut into the Bats’ lead with a pair of solo blasts. Torkelson led off the top oft the fifth frame by hammering a 1-0 pitch over the wall in dead center to trim the deficit to 8-3. left-center. With one out in the top of the eighth, Short added a solo shot of his own to left-center to make it a four-run contest.
What’s Next:
The Mud Hens, who are 1-2 during the Triple-A Final Stretch, look to even up their five-game series against the Bats on Saturday afternoon. First pitch from Louisville Slugger Field is at 1 p.m.