The Toledo Mud Hens went on an offensive onslaught Wednesday night against the Louisville Bats en route to an 8-4 victory. The win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Mud Hens and halted a four game winning streak for Louisville. 7,925 were in attendance.
Former Bat Danny Dorn went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored in the game. Dorn’s RBI double, as part of a three-run sixth for Toledo, put the Hens up 5-2 and turned out to be the game-winning hit.
Dorn, who was released by the Reds June 30 and signed with the Detroit Tigers July 17, has fit in well in Toledo. In 23 games with the Mud Hens, he is hitting .301 with three homers, eight doubles, and 15 RBIs.
“It’s completely different being in the other dugout,” Dorn said. “Right now, I’m just trying to get some hits. I just want to go out, get on base, and drive in runs.”
The next batter in the sixth, Audy Ciriaco, belted his 11th homer of the season. The two-run blast pushed the Mud Hens to a 7-2 lead, effectively putting the game away.
The three sixth inning runs came off Bats reliever Josh Judy whose ERA is now 7.49.
Adam Wilk (5-11) started for the Mud Hens (45-74) and picked up his first win since July 5.
Louisville’s defense was sloppy in the first inning. With one out and runners at second and third, John Lindsey hit a slow roller to first. Neftali Soto made the play and, as he stepped on first, lazily dropped the ball to allow Lindsey to reach. Two batters later, Audy Ciriaco hit a grounder up the middle that Chris Valaika misplayed behind the second base bag. The error allowed another run to score and put the Mud Hens up 2-0 before the Bats even came to the plate.
“(The errors) got things started off on the wrong foot,” Bats manager David Bell said. “It’s tough to recover from that.”
The Mud Hens got an RBI single from Jerad Head in the second that extended their lead to 3-0.
Louisville got on the board in the third when Brian Peacock laced a two-run homer that just cleared the left field wall. It was Peacock’s first career Triple-A home run and his first of the season.
“(Peacock) has been through a lot this season,” Bell said. “It was extra special for him tonight. Our guys were thrilled for him.”
The Mud Hens again extended their lead in the fifth when Argenis Diaz drew a bases loaded walk against Judy to make it 4-2. The inning could’ve been huge for Toledo but Judy managed to get Cale Iorg to strike out and Justin Henry to fly out to center to end the frame.
After the Hens’ big sixth inning, the Bats continued to battle. Henry Rodriguez’s RBI single in the sixth cut it to 7-3 and Felix Perez’s fourth home run of the season made it 7-4. Perez, Peacock, and Neftali Soto all finished with two-hit games.
Perez, who has hit safely in 36 of his last 50 games, has risen his batting average from .227 to .288 since the beginning of June.
The Bats look to take the series and finish the homestand with a winning record Thursday. They will send Sean Gallagher (9-7, 4.84 ERA) to the mound against the Mud Hens’ Casey Crosby (6-5, 4.08 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05. Fans can enjoy Happy Hour from 5:30-7:00.
