Mud Hens drop series finale at Louisville

Mud Hens pitcher Kyle Dowdy throws against the Columbus Clippers in an earlier game this season. Dowdy and Toledo fell at Louisville on Sunday.

The Mud Hens scattered just five hits as the Louisville Bats won 6-1 on Sunday at Louisville Slugger Field and prevented a three-game sweep by Toledo.

The loss sends Toledo into the Triple-A All-Star break with a record of 49-39, with the Mud Hens clinging to first-place in the International League West Division ahead of Indianapolis.

What happened: Louisville scored first in the second inning on an RBI single from Blake Trahan that scored Nick Longhi. Phillip Ervin then came up with a two-out, two-run single to make it 3-0 Bats early on. With two outs in the top of the third, Jason Krizan reached on a two-out error by Brandon Dixon. Kody Eaves scored on the play after his triple. In the bottom of the third, Gabriel Guerrero connected on a solo-homer to give the Bats a 4-1 lead. Josh VanMeter tacked on an RBI single in the eighth as did Stuart Turner to stretch the Bats’ lead to 6-1. 

Mud Hens starter Kyle Dowdy lasted just three innings, giving up nine hits, four earned runs, and a walk with three strikeouts. 

Game MVP: Ervin gets the nod with a multi-hit game including his big two-run single which gave the Bats a cushion to work with early in the game.

Make a note of it: Coming into Sunday, Toledo was tied for second in team batting average at .261… Indianapolis is first at .276, while Durham is also at .261…Mud Hens reliever Junichi Tazawa pitched two scoreless innings in relief...Homer Bailey pitched two scoreless relief innings for the Bats, giving up one hit and two walks with one strikeout.

Comings and goings: Tigers infielder Dixon Machado cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by Detroit and accepted an outright assignment to Toledo.

A look ahead: The Mud Hens are off until Thursday with the Triple-A All-Star game being played on Wednesday in Columbus. On Thursday, Toledo opens a four-game series at Indianapolis.

Contact Brian Buckey at bbuckey@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @BrianBuckey.