Mud Hens lose pair, and one really hurts

8/3/2001

The Mud Hens suffered a pair of losses to Columbus at Skeldon Stadium last night.

But one of the losses hurt much worse than the other.

In the opener, the Hens hit four solo home runs but were beaten 5-4. But in the nightcap Toledo was just two outs away from a victory before coughing up three runs in the top of the seventh of an 8-6 loss.

The Hens, losers of four straight, have no one but themselves to blame for the second-game loss, manager Bruce Fields said.

“We played the second game well enough to win,” he said. “We should have won. We didn't.”

The Hens fashioned a 6-5 lead in the final inning of the nightcap. But with one out Kris Keller walked the bases loaded, then uncorked a wild pitch to score the tying run.

Bobby Estalella followed with a two-run bloop single to score the winning runs.

“When you don't have guys who throw the ball over the plate, you're going to lose. Simple as that,” Fields said.

It looked as if the Hens would benefit from the wildness of Clippers starter Randy Keisler in that second game. Keisler, who was demoted from New York before the game, walked five and hit a batter in 32/3 innings.

In the second David Lindstrom doubled down the left-field line to drive home Lyle Mouton, who had led off with a double. Then Jermaine Allensworth beat out a bunt that scored Lindstrom.

The Hens scored a run without getting a hit in the third inning as Keisler walked two Hens and hit a third before Trace Coquillette's sacrifice fly scored Brian Rios.

In the fourth Keisler walked two more batters, and Carlos Mendez smacked a three-run homer to make the score 6-1.

Pablo Arias, who was promoted from Single-A Lakeland for an emergency start, sailed through the first four innings of his first Triple-A game. Arias, who is 11-4 pitching for both West Michigan and Lakeland, gave up just a triple to Pasqual Matos in the second. Matos scored on a sacrifice fly by Mike Frank.

But the wheels came off in the fifth. Drew Henson reached on an error by Jhonny Perez at short, and Carlos Garcia followed with a two-run homer. A ground-rule double by Matos, an RBI triple by Donzell McDonald and another sacrifice fly by Frank knocked Arias out of the game.

In the first game Allensworth homered off Brandon Knight in the first, but the Clippers countered with a four-run second. Scott Seabol started things with a home run off Hens starter Shane Loux, and Henson reached second on an errant throw by third baseman Jarrod Patterson.

One out later McDonald singled home Henson with an unearned run. McDonald stole second, and Loux issued back-to-back walks to load the bases before Estalella singled to drive home two runs.

Chris Wakeland hit a home run to right in the fourth, then one to left in the sixth that made the score 4-3.

The Clippers scored an insurance run in the seventh when Darren Bragg homered, and that run proved to be crucial when Patterson homered to lead off the bottom of the seventh.

The Hens conclude their three-game series with the Clippers at Skeldon Stadium tonight at 7 p.m. Nate Cornejo (3-0) makes his first home start for Toledo against former Hen Brian Williams (5-2).

NOTES: After the game it was announced that pitcher Luis Pineda was promoted to Detroit. ... Lefty Mark Redman, the pitcher the Tigers received in trade from Minnesota, is expected to make the first of two rehab starts with the Hens on Monday in the first game of the doubleheader against Charlotte.