This afternoon, Toledo played in the final game of its six-game road series in St. Paul, where the Hens took both the game and the series with a 10-6 win.
Today started off a lot like how last night’s game went down. In the bottom of the 1st inning, the Saints scored their first run in a familiar way: with a solo home run. Aaron Sabato sent a fly ball over the left-center field fence with two outs on the board, making it a quick 1-0.
Toledo didn’t want to fall too far behind, and in the top of the 4th, the Hens put together a team effort at the plate. The inning started with back-to-back singles from John Peck and Max Anderson on ground balls into center field. Cal Stevenson then loaded the bases with a sacrifice bunt, reaching first on a throwing error by the Saints’ pitcher. Seby Zavala gave the Hens their first lead of the game with a sharp double into left field, bringing in two runs. Jace Jung followed with an RBI groundout to second, scoring Stevenson. Then, with two outs, Max Burt doubled into the right-center field gap to bring Zavala home. The final run of the inning scored on a combination of a wild pitch and a passed ball by the St. Paul battery. By the end of Toledo’s half of the inning, the Hens had turned things around and taken a 5-1 lead.
In the bottom half, the Saints continued a familiar pattern. Kala’i Rosario hit his third home run of the past two days, this one a solo shot over the left-field wall, chipping away at the deficit and making it 5-2. St. Paul then got things going again with an infield single from Ben Ross, followed by a walk from Tanner Schobel. Ian Daugherty brought Ross home with a line-drive single to right field, cutting the score to 5-3.
The Hens were having none of the Saints’ comeback attempts and doubled down in the 5th. John Peck led off with his second single of the day, and Max Anderson joined him on base with a walk. Seby Zavala then loaded the bases with a sharp line-drive single to left field. That brought Jace Jung to the plate, and he made the Saints pay. Jung hit his 20th home run of the year, a grand slam that cleared the bases and quickly pushed the score to 9-3. Yet, Toledo still didn’t seem satisfied with a six-run lead. With two outs, Max Burt drew a full-count walk before Riley Greene singled on a ground ball to center field. With runners on the corners, Trei Cruz singled on a ground ball to shortstop, scoring Burt. By the end of the top of the 5th, the Mud Hens had built a 10-3 lead.
The Hens couldn’t seem to fully shut down the Saints, though. In the bottom of the 6th, St. Paul continued to chip away at Toledo’s lead. Tanner Schobel singled to right field before Ian Daugherty was hit by a pitch. Emmanuel Rodriguez then singled on a line drive to right, allowing Schobel to score and cutting it to 10-4.
In the 7th, home runs continued to be a thorn in the side of Toledo’s pitching staff. Rosario hit his second homer of the game, marking back-to-back days with two home runs in a game. Then Cody Morissette added another with a fly ball to right field, cutting the score to 10-6.
However, Toledo was finally able to shut down the Saints’ offense and finish off the game with a 10-6 win. The Hens took the overall series 4-2, ending their road trip on a high note. Tomorrow will be their off day before they begin their next six-game series against the Indianapolis Indians.
Notables:
Max Burt
2-3 (2B, 2 BB, RBI, 2 R, 2 SB)
Seby Zavala
3-5 (2B, 2 RBI, 2 R)