Buckner helps Hens shut out Bats

6/22/2010

LOUISVILLE - Billy Buckner threw eight innings of shutout ball to lead the Mud Hens to a 6-0 win over Louisville Monday night.

The right-hander allowed just four hits and one walk in his eight innings of work, improving to 2-2 with Toledo despite not striking out a single Louisville batter.

The 26-year-old Buckner, who came to the Hens when Detroit traded Dontrelle Willis to Arizona, allowed just three baserunners in the first seven innings, and only one of those runners advanced past second base.

The only trouble Buckner faced came in the bottom of the eighth, when the Bats used a hit batsman, a double by Chris Burke, and a walk to load the based with two outs. Buckner got Yonder Alonso to ground out to end the threat.

Casey Fien came on in the ninth and allowed only a double by Juan Francisco to complete the shutout.

The game was scoreless until the Hens plated a run in the fifth off an old nemesis, Matt Maloney. Will Rhymes hit a one-out single, then advanced to third on a throwing error by Maloney, who entered the game with a 2-0 record and 1.69 ERA against the Hens this season.

Jeff Kunkel followed with a single to right to score Rhymes.

In the sixth Toledo knocked Maloney out of the box with five runs. Jeff Larish and Casper Wells both walked and, with two outs, Rhymes doubled in both.

Rhymes stole third on reliever Jared Burton, and then scored on a single by Kunkel. Scott Sizemore reached on an error by the Bats' Todd Frazier, and Brent Dlugach's double brought both Kunkel and Sizemore home.

Dlugach finished the game with four hits in five at-bats, while Rhymes and Kunkel each added a pair of hits.