On Tuesday, July 21, the Toledo Mud Hens and Louisville Bats opened their six-game series, where Toledo took Game 1 with a 5-1 victory.
With tonight's contest serving as a bullpen day, six Mud Hens pitchers took the mound. Nick Sandlin, Troy Watson, Enmanuel De Jesus, Beau Brieske, Luke Taggart, and Tanner Rainey combined to hold Louisville to just one run on four hits while striking out 11 batters in a dominant effort.
The Mud Hens wasted no time setting the tone. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Max Clark stepped to the plate and immediately energized Fifth Third Field, launching the second pitch he saw deep over the right-field wall for a leadoff home run. Max Anderson kept the inning rolling by ripping a double over the center fielder's head before Gage Workman lined a single into right field to put runners on the corners. Corey Julks then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, bringing Anderson home and giving Toledo an early 2-0 advantage after one inning.
For the next few innings, both pitching staffs settled in and turned the game into a defensive battle. Toledo's bullpen continued to keep Louisville's lineup off balance, while the Bats struggled to generate much offense. Louisville finally broke through in the top of the 5th when Michael Toglia doubled into the right-field corner before Michael Chavis followed with a ground ball to shortstop. Gage Workman attempted to make the throw to first, but an errant throw into the visiting dugout allowed Toglia to come around and score, trimming Toledo's lead to 2-1.
Despite Louisville getting on the board, the Hens never let the momentum shift. After another stretch of scoreless baseball, Toledo created some breathing room in the bottom of the 8th. Trei Cruz started the rally with a ground-ball single through the right side before Jace Jung worked a walk. Bennett Lee continued his impressive start in Triple-A by driving a ball to center field that rolled all the way to the wall, allowing both runners to score as he raced into third with a two-run triple. Moments later, Max Clark capped off his impressive night by legging out an infield single to first base, bringing Lee home and extending the lead to 5-1.
That would be all the offense Toledo needed. The Mud Hens closed out the ninth to secure a 5-1 win in the series opener over Louisville. Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m.
Notables:
Max Anderson
3-3 (2B, 2 BB, R)
Max Clark
2-4 (HR, BB, 2 RBI, R)
Bennett Lee
2-4 (3B, 2 RBI, R)