Article published August 01, 2008
Mud Hens coast to shutout win over Indianapolis
Bonine gains 12th win as Toledo collects 15 hits
Toledo's Eddie Bonine threw what appears to be a knuckler sparingly, allowing Indianapolis just 5 hits through 7 innings.
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THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
)
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By JOHN WAGNER
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
It took seven games, but the Mud Hens finally got to play a laugher at Fifth Third Field.
After six consecutive home games that were decided by three or fewer runs - including four one-run decisions - Toledo claimed a relatively easy 8-0 victory over Indianapolis last night.
"It was a nice birthday present for [hitting coach Leon] 'Bull' [Durham]," Hens manager Larry Parrish said of his team's 15-hit attack. "That was a nice game, and we haven't had many of those lately.
"We scored a bunch and we shut them down."
It looked as if the Mud Hens were going to continue their struggles hitting with runners in scoring position when their first three batters - Freddy Guzman, Clete Thomas and Brent Clevlen - collected hits to load the bases in the first, but Toledo managed just one run.
Timo Perez lifted a sacrifice fly to right that scored Guzman and sent Thomas to third. On a 3-2 pitch, Clevlen was running from first when Jeff Larish struck out, and the Tribe executed a rundown that eventually nabbed Thomas at the plate.Back-to-back leadoff singles by Max St-Pierre and Guzman in the third didn't result in a run after a double play, but the Hens finally got to Thompson in a three-run fourth.
Perez led off with a double, then came home on a one-out double by Erick Almonte. A double off the wall in right-center by Michael Hollimon plated Almonte, and a two-out single by St-Pierre scored Hollimon.
Toledo finished the game 7-for-14 when hitting with runners in scoring position, a far cry from the team's 8-for-53 effort (.151 average) in those situations in the first six games of this homestand.
"I know I've had several opportunities with guys on third and less than two outs and haven't gotten the hit to drive them in - or even a sacrifice fly," said Clevlen, who finished with four of the Hens' 15 hits. "I thought we did a better job of fouling pitches off or hitting the ball the other way to get the guy in.
"It's been awhile since we've come through, so it's great to get that off our shoulders."
That outburst was more than enough offense for Hens starter Eddie Bonine, who shut out the Indians on five hits over seven innings to claim his third consecutive win with Toledo and improve his season record here to 12-2.
"He locates the ball well," Parrish said of Bonine. "He moves the ball in and out. And he throws that knuckleball, which is kind of a weird pitch - and you don't see it enough to zero in on it.
"And he doesn't panic when he's in trouble. He doesn't throw harder, get behind and have to throw a fastball down the middle. He doesn't get out of his game plan. He just executes."
Bonine weaved through trouble before retiring the final six Indianapolis hitters he faced. The Indians advanced runners to third in both the second and third innings before the right-hander got the outs he needed to avoid damage.
He nearly wasn't as fortunate in the fifth, when a single by Michel Hernandez and a one-out walk to Andrew McCutchen put two runners on. Then with two outs, Luis Ordaz lined a single to center, but Thomas threw out Hernandez at the plate to save the shutout.
"I made a few mistakes, and they got some singles and doubles," Bonine said. "But then I got some groundballs, and the next thing you know I got out of it.
"I just tried to make pitches. I told [catcher Max ] St-Pierre in the dugout after the inning where we scored three that we had to treat it like a 0-0 ball game and keep pitching."
Brian Rogers relieved Bonine and held the Indians off the board in the final two innings.
NOTES: An MRI revealed a cyst in Danny Worth's right shoulder, and it's not certain when or if Worth will play again this year. … Yesterday Max Leon took batting practice from the right side for the first time since his injury … Perez extended his current hit streak to 13 games with his double in the fourth. …Last night's crowd of 10,403 was the Mud Hens 26th sellout this season and the 201st in the seven-year history of Fifth Third Field. … It also marked the third time in ballpark history that every game in a homestand has sold out. It was "Tribute to Bobs Night"at the field last night. Every player was given the first name "Bob" by the night's public-address announcer, former Mud Hens - and current Tigers - P.A. man Bobb Vergiels.
Contact John Wagner at:
jwagner@theblade.com
or 419-724-6481
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