Hens seem wedded to good records in June
6/29/2007The Mud Hens red-hot June has a chance to become a record-setting month.
Even with last night s loss Toledo has posted a 19-8 record this month, giving the Hens an opportunity to post 20 wins in a month for the first time since August of 2005. It would be just the second 20-win month since the franchise moved to Fifth Third Field in 2002.
Entering last night s contest the Hens had a .293 team batting average, a .371 on-base percentage and 27 home runs, all tops in the International League for the month.
The pitching staff began the night with a 3.39 ERA as nine of the 19 pitchers who had thrown for the Hens had a sub-2.00 ERA. And the defense had committed just 11 errors in 26 games, resulting in just four unearned runs.
We ve been saying this for the last month and a half: the way our guys are playing, the way they are preparing, and the way they have gone about their business has been tremendous, Hens interim manager Mike Rojas said.
June is the Hens' month. In 2005 the Hens were 18-11 and last year they were 19-11 in June to give them a 56-30 record and .651 winning percentage for the month over the last three seasons.
INJURY UPDATE: Pitcher Dennis Tankersley threw a side session yesterday and Rojas reported that the right-hander reported no problems afterward.
If Tankersley, who went on the disabled list June 18 with a sore right shoulder, feels no ill effects, Rojas said he expects Tankersley will pitch July 3 at Durham.
Outfielder Brent Clevlen, who broke his right ring finger May 15, is on a rehab assignment with Detroit s Gulf Coast League affiliate. In his first nine games there Clevlen hit .294 with two homers and six RBIs.
HARLEY HENS: The Mud Hens wore limited edition Harley-Davidson uniforms for last night s game. The jersey tops were primarily orange with yellow and black flames under the black sleeves. The jerseys were auctioned off during the game, with the proceeds of the auction going to the Great Lakes Center for Autism.
THE MAGIC MARK: Last night s crowd of 8,006 pushed the Mud Hens season attendance total to 301,528. It marks the sixth straight season the team has passed the 300,000 mark in season attendance.
THREE-DOT DATA: Ramon Santiago extended his current hit streak to 14 games by singling in the first, while Kevin Hooper and Ryan Raburn now have 10-game hit streaks. Jack Hannahan and Mike Hessman pushed their current hit streaks to eight with singles in the sixth.