Sizemore hits walkoff; Mud Hens tag 5 homers in comeback victory

Wilkin Ramirez, right, argues with the home plate umpire after being called out in the third.

The Mud Hens won Saturday night's game over Buffalo 5-0, and that helped them win the contest 11-10.

Scott Sizemore's second home run of the game, a no-doubt line drive over the fence in left, gave Toledo five home runs on the night - and their third straight win.

Sizemore's homer also helped the Hens salvage a win in a contest where they had twice scored five times to wipe out Bison leads.

The first rally came in the fourth, with the Hens already behind 5-0. That eruption began when Jeff Larish lofted his sixth home run of the season into the right-field seats. Jeff Frazier followed with a single, and Brent Clevlen lined his 12th homer of the year into nearly the same spot as Larish's blast.

Brent Dlugach caught the Bisons napping with a bunt single, and Max St-Pierre lined the next pitch off the base of the scoreboard in left for his fourth round-tripper of the season.

But the Bisons scored three times in the sixth, forcing the Mud Hens to post another rally. And Toledo was up to the task in a five-run eighth that began when Wilkin Ramirez led off with a double, taking third on an error by the center fielder, and came home on Sizemore's home run just inside the left-field foul pole.

With their five home runs last night, Toledo now has hit homers in five consecutive games and 15 of its last 16 contests overall. The Hens have hammered 27 homers in those 16 games; Frazier has six of the home runs, while Clevlen has five.

But the Hens still needed more runs after Sizemore's homer. The next two batters made outs, reliever Jon Switzer came on and walked Larish, gave up a single to Frazier, then walked Clevlen on four pitches to load the bases.

Dlugach fell behind 1-2, then fouled several pitches off before slamming a triple to dead center that cleared the bases.

It did look bleak for the Hens early as the Bisons took an early lead when Mike Lamb led off the second with a double off Mud Hens starter Brooks Brown, and Rene Rivera doubled him home.

Buffalo used a two-out, none-on rally to score twice in the third. Jesus Feliciano got things started with a single, then moved up a base when Brown walked Nick Evans. Both runners came home to score on Lamb's double into the right-field corner.

The Bisons pumped up their lead to 5-0 in the fourth with some help from the Hens. Josh Peterson opened the frame with a single, and Andy Green walked.

Wilson Valdez then hit a slow roller to third; Don Kelly tried to tag Peterson and missed, then threw to second to retire Green. Scott Sizemore tried to throw out Valdez at first, but his throw skipped past Jeff Larish for an error that allowed Peterson to score.

Argenis Reyes and Jesus Feliciano followed with singles to score Valdez.

After the Mud Hens' big fourth-inning, the Bisons regained the lead with three runs in the sixth. With one out Reyes beat a high hopper behind second base, then moved to third when Feliciano singled to right. Evans singled to left to score Reyes, and when the ball rolled under the glove of Ramirez to the wall in left, Feliciano came home while Evans rambled to third. Lamb then blooped a single over the drawn-in infield to score Evans.

The Bisons, who came into last night's contest having won five of their last seven games, found a way to tie the game in the top of the ninth. With two outs and none on, Green and Valdez both singled off Hens reliever Josh Rainwater, and Reyes drilled a game-tying triple to dead center to bring both runners home.

Rainwater got Feliciano to ground out, setting the stage for Sizemore's one-out heroics in the bottom of the ninth.

Contact John Wagner at:

jwagner@theblade.com

or 419-724-6481.