The Toledo Mud Hens carried the sharp pitching performance from rehabbing Detroit Tiger Eduardo Rodriguez until the Omaha Storm Chasers tied Thursday’s game in the ninth inning with a one-out, three run homer.
The tie didn’t last long.
Spencer Torkelson led off the Mud Hens’ half of the inning with a walk-off home run in the Mud Hens’ 4-3 win over the Storm Chasers at Fifth Third Field. Toledo extended its win streak to five games.
What happened: Walks came back to bite the Mud Hens in the ninth. Toledo reliever Chi Chi Gonzalez walked two batters before surrendering a game-tying three-run homer to Logan Porter, his first at the Triple-A level.
On Torkelson’s bobblehead night, he clubbed a solo home run on the second-pitch offering from Anthony Misiewicz (2-1) over the left-field wall to end the game.
The Mud Hens had an opportunity to take an early lead in the second off Omaha’s right-handed starter Max Castillo. Torkelson and Daz Cameron singled in consecutive at-bats, and Zack Short walked. With one out, Andre Lipcius drew a bases-loaded walk to plate Torkelson. Castillo worked out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts of Chris Rabago and Austin Meadows.
In the third, Toledo’s Ryan Kreidler raced home on a grounder to third baseman Clay Dungan. Dungan threw the ball to catcher Freddy Fermin, who dropped the ball and allowed Kreidler to score. Castillo allowed three runs, one earned, over three innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Josh Lester clubbed a solo home run to right field in the seventh for the Mud Hens.
Rodriguez retired the first six Storm Chasers he faced with three straight strikeouts. The left-handed Mud Hens starting pitcher struck out six, and allowed one hit and one walk across five scoreless innings.
Rodriguez and Gonzalez scattered three hits and three walk through eight innings against the Storm Chasers. Omaha struck out nine times. Miguel Del Pozo (3-2) earned the win.
Zach Willeman, a Napoleon grad, pitched a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts for the Storm Chasers.
He said it: “I think we're never out of it,” Torkelson said. “We're always in the game. And it feels like when we have an opportunity to walk it off, we're not going to lose. We're going to win that game.”
Game MVP: Torkelson’s game-winning home run was his second hit of the game. He went 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Make note of it: Lester leads the International League with 30 doubles and is third in RBIs (69).
The Mud Hens (56-51) entered Thursday’s contest in fourth place in the West Division. Toledo is 9½ games back of the first-place Nashville Sounds.
Comings and goings: Rodriguez began a major league rehab assignment with Toledo. Left-handed pitcher Daniel Norris was selected by the Detroit Tigers.
Meadows continued a rehab assignment with the Mud Hens on Thursday. He led off and played right field, going 0-for-3 with one strikeout.
A look ahead: The Mud Hens and Storm Chasers (51-56) take the field at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Fifth Third Field. Toledo right-hander Austin Bergner (1-0) will start against Omaha’s lefty Drew Parrish (2-6).
First Published August 12, 2022, 2:06 a.m.
