Hens can’t hold on to early lead at Columbus
Toledo batters strike out 11 times in defeat
7/5/2014COLUMBUS — The Mud Hens suffered a 6-5 loss to Columbus Saturday, the team’s second straight loss at Huntington Park.
The Mud Hens rolled to three first-inning runs off Clippers starter Danny Salazar. Ezequiel Carrera opened the game with a double, and after a two-out walk to Mike Hessman, Trevor Crowe’s ground-rule double plated Carrera. Both Hessman and Crowe scored on a double by James McCann.
Columbus’ Tyler Holt struck out but raced all the way to third when McCann threw wildly to first trying to complete the strikeout. Holt came home on a groundout by Jesus Aguilar, beating a throw home by Toledo’s Hessman at third base.
Columbus scored three times in the third on a rally that ended with an unusual play. Matt Carson singled to start the rally, and with two outs Holt drew a walk from Toledo starter Kyle Lobstein.
Aguilar singled in one run, and with two outs Giovanny Urshela hit a three-run homer to left. But the Mud Hens appealed at home plate, and umpire Brian De Brauwere called Urshela out for failing to touch home plate, leaving him with a two-run triple.
Toledo tied the game in the fourth when McCann reached on an error, moved to second when Ben Guez was hit by a pitch, then scored on a single by Wade Gaynor.
The Clippers broke the tie with a pair of two-out runs in the sixth. Elliot Johnson walked and Carlos Moncrief singled to set the table for Matt Carson, who brought both runners home with a double.
Salazar walked the first two Hens he faced in the seventh and was replaced by Bryan Price, who gave up an RBI single to Hernan Perez.
Toledo could not find a way to score the tying run as Columbus completed the sweep of the two-game series.