By Josh Cook
It may not be a long stay in Triple-A for Rick Porcello.
In his first career Triple-A start the right-handed pitcher limited Louisville to one hit and one unearned run over eight inning in Toledo's 6-1 win Thursday night in front of 9,136 at Louisville Slugger Field.
Porcell was recently demoted from the parent Detroit Tigers after posting a 4-7 record with a 6.14 earned-run average in 13 starts this season. He went 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA as a rookie with the Tigers and he seemed to recapture that form Thursday night. Porcello (1-0) gave up only a one-out double to Juan Francisco in the fifth inning and one run on a throwing error, while walking one and striking out three.
He got all the run support he would need in the second inning when Wilkin Ramirez hit a two-run homer off Louisville starter Ben Jukich (2-4). It was just Ramirez's third home run of the season, but his second in as many days against the Bats.
The Mud Hens (41-33) scored twice more in the third when Jukich walked in a run and gave up an RBI-single to Ramirez.
Toledo scored another run in the fifth to chase Jukich, who gave up six hits and five earned runs while walking three and striking out nine.
Louisville's lone run came in the fifth when Francisco doubled, then scored on an errant throw by Toledo shortstop Brent Dlugach.
Once again, though, the Bats (34-40) didn't do themselves any favors in the field, committing four errors. The Bats have at least one miscue in their last 10 games, which is the franchise's second-longest streak since 1989. A pair of those errors came in the ninth when Toledo tacked on a run against Louisville reliever Philippe Valiquette.
Casey Fien pitched a perfect ninth inning to preserve the win for Porcello.
Thursday saw the return of Ryan Hanigan to Louisville. The former Bats catcher is down from parent Cincinnati on a rehabilitation assignment after breaking his left thumb in May. The 2008 International League All-Star went 0-for-2 at the plate, but reached base twice on a throwing error and when he was hit by a Porcello pitch in the eighth inning.
In other news the Reds signed outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. to a minor league contract and assigned him to the Bats. Matthews, 35, appeared in 36 games earlier this season with the New York Mets. He hit .190 in 58 at-bats. Matthews, who was an American League All-Star with the Texas Rangers in 2006, hit .250 with 50 RBIs last season for the Los Angeles Angels.
Louisville, which has split its last five serieses, begins an eight-game road trip at 7:15 p.m. Friday night at Norfolk. Louisville left-hander Travis Wood (4-6, 3.40) is slated to take on fellow southpaw Troy Patton (5-7, 4.74).
