Des Moines, IA- The Toledo Mud Hens (28-31) topped the Iowa Cubs (24-34) on Wednesday, June 3, in a competition that held the opponent scoreless through eight complete innings. After two games, the Hens have dominated on offense, outscoring the Cubs 26-3. The Cubs had to put a position player on the mound for a second consecutive game, both of which were catchers.
In a different start than game one for the Hens, three quick outs put them away hitless in the first. Watson opened his outing with a strikeout before allowing a pair of hits. Zeros stayed on the board through the inning.
Ben Malgeri made it to third from a walk, stolen base, and no-out fly ball. A shallow ball to left from Trei Cruz held Malgeri from dashing home then a line out up the middle ended the frame before Malgeri could put a number on the board. Watson dealt two more Ks to get out of the second clean.
Jace Jung got caught swinging to lead off the third and Clark got caught stealing, but nine-hitter, Tyler Gentry, garnered the first Toledo run in between with one swing of the bat. A solo ball flew far over the left field gates for a 1-0 lead. Watson continued to battle on the mound, striking out Cubs first baseman, Jonathon Long, after a 7-pitch faceoff.
The fourth started with a Gage Workman first-pitch double. Workman got put out at third and Hao-Yu Lee replaced him at second on a fielder’s choice out. A ground ball to the Cubs infield put the third Hen away to end the top half. Following two quick outs in the bottom, Watson was relieved by righty Ricky Vanasco.
Eduardo Valencia went yard for the second time this series; his solo missile put the hens up 2-0. Vanasco put two away in the home half, assisting with the eight-inning shutout.
Anderson tallied his first steal of the year in frame six, placing him on second after a walk. A costly fielding error allowed Lee to land on second following his single up the middle that scored Anderson (3-0). Cruz followed Lee’s lead with an RBI single of his own before the inning concluded. (4-0)
Max Clark doubled his home run number on the series with a 420-foot solo shot in the seventh (5-0). Defensively, Clark made a big sliding catch to retire the opponent at the dish.
If it wasn’t already, the game surely leaped into the hands of Toledo in the penultimate inning, following a 2-RBI double off the bat of Lee with no one gone (7-0). Jace Jung hit a second 2-RBI double following Lee’s (9-0) that caused a bit of a stir on the field; the result of the events was an ejection of Cubs Manager, Marty Pevey. Gentry sent a ground ball far enough for a 10th batted in run. The Toledo bullpen sent down 12 straight after eight.
The door to a Mud Hens shutout ended in the final inning with a two-run blast from left fielder, Chas McCormick, before the end of the game. Regardless, Toledo walked away from Principal Park victorious for the second time out of two.
The Mud Hens remain in Iowa for game three of the series on Thursday, June 4, at 7:38p.m. where they look to add another to their winning streak.
Notables
H. Lee – 2/5, 2R, 3RBI, 2B, 0K
T. Gentry – 1/4, HR, 2RBI
M. Clark – 1/4, HR, RBI, BB
E. Valencia – 1/4, 2R, HR, RBI, BB