A tight game slipped away late for Toledo

The Hens narrowed the gap in the middle innings before the Clippers broke it open

1:50 AM UTC

On May 28, 2026, the Hens and Clippers played their third game of the series, where Toledo dropped a tough one, 10–3. Once again, the bullpen carried a heavy workload for the Hens, with five different pitchers taking the mound.

The game became eventful from the moment the clock started. Columbus opened things with a walk from Juan Brito, who then attempted to score on a double ripped into the right-field corner by Kahlil Watson. However, Brito was thrown into a rundown between third and home and was eventually tagged out. The chaos allowed Watson to advance to third base. Up next, Ralphy Velazquez singled on a ground ball through the right side, scoring Watson and giving the Clippers an early 1–0 lead after the opening inning.

Columbus continued building onto its lead in the top of the 2nd. CJ Kayfus singled on a ground ball to shortstop before Angel Genao followed with an infield single to the left side. Cooper Ingle then did the damage, launching a three-run homer that barely cleared the left-field wall. All three runners came around to score, and the Clippers jumped ahead 4–0 after 1.5 innings.

Toledo began chipping away at the deficit in the bottom of the 3rd. Ben Malgeri reached on a walk and then swiped second base. Max Clark followed with an infield single that deflected off the first baseman, allowing Malgeri to score and cut the deficit to 4–1.

The Hens continued responding in the bottom of the 4th. Eduardo Valencia started the inning with a single up the middle before Corey Julks joined him on the bases after battling through an eight-pitch at-bat to draw a walk. Tyler Gentry then singled to left field, loading the bases for Toledo. Cal Stevenson picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice to the first baseman, allowing Valencia to score while Gentry was retired at second. Andrew Navigato followed with a shallow single into center field that brought Julks home, trimming the Clippers’ lead to just one run at 4–3.

Columbus did not stay quiet for long, responding with another rally in the top of the 6th. Nolan Jones led off with a double off the left-field wall before CJ Kayfus lined a single down the right-field line. The ball ricocheted off Stevenson’s glove at first base, allowing Jones to score and extend the lead to 5–3. Milan Tolentino later worked a walk to put runners on first and second before Cooper Ingle delivered another RBI single to right field, scoring Kayfus and making it 6–3. Juan Brito then added a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Tolentino to cross the plate. After 5.5 innings, Columbus held a 7–3 lead.

The Clippers went right back to work in the 8th inning. Angel Genao singled to right field before Milan Tolentino followed with a line drive single to left. Juan Brito added another RBI with a ground ball single to left field, scoring Genao and pushing the score to 8–3. At that point, Toledo hit a wall and turned to position player Luke Ritter to finish the inning on the mound. Ritter recorded the final two outs of the frame to limit further damage.

Ritter returned to the mound in the 9th. Bo Naylor started the inning with a ground ball single to shortstop before Nolan Jones followed with a single into center field. CJ Kayfus then grounded into a force out at second, leaving runners on the corners. Angel Genao added onto the lead with a double off the left-field wall that scored Naylor and made it 9–3. Columbus added one more run later in the inning when Milan Tolentino grounded out to shortstop, allowing Kayfus to score and extend the lead to 10–3 heading into the bottom of the 9th.

After Toledo’s final push in the bottom half of the 9th came up empty, the game officially ended at 10–3. The Hens will look to put this one behind them as they continue the series tomorrow night. First pitch for Game Four is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.