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Lehigh Valley IronPigs 5, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)
The Mud Hens took an early lead in their International League opener in Lehigh Valley, but the offense ran out of gas and the Hens bullpen floundered late to lose it.
Sean Guenther got the spot start and had to pitch through a minor jam in the first. He did so, and then put the Pigs down in the second inning. Meanwhile, Trei Cruz got the Hens started in the top of the second with a single, and then took second on a wild pitch. Outfielder Corey Julks singled him in for a 1-0 lead.
Max Clark walked and stole second in the top of the third, but no rally followed him. Ricky Vanasco handled the third, issuing a walk but punching out a pair of hitters.Vanasco gave up a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth, but punched out two more swinging and then Tomas Nido challenged a ball call to get his pitcher a third strikeout in the inning. Impressive outing from Ricky Vanasco, but still some control issues. The stuff is strong.
Clark walked again in the fifth, but was also stranded again. Lefty Konnor Pilkington pitched around a two-out double in the bottom half. The Hens got two-out singles from Julks and Nido, and then a walk from Gage Workman, but Clark grounded out to end the top of the sixth.
In the bottom half, Pilkington got into trouble, loading the bases with a pair of walks after a leadoff double from the Pigs’ Felix Reyes. Brenan Hanifee got two outs without a run, as Workman took a grounder at third and cut down the runner at home plate. And then Hanifee walked in a run anyway to tie the game 1-1 before getting out of the inning.
A leadoff double from Wenceel Pérez was squandered in the top of the seventh. Tanner Rainey took over in the bottom half and was a mess, leaving Matt Seelinger to take over with a run in and runners on first and second. Seelinger walked Carter Kieboom to load the bases, and then followed up with a wild pitch and a pair of hits that made it 5-1 Pigs.
The rest of the game the Hens just couldn’t string anything together. Pérez stayed hot with a solo hot in the ninth to make it 5-2, extending his late spring hot streak, but overall the Hens bullpen was pretty sloppy in this one.
Pérez: 2-5, R, RBI, 2B, HR
Julks: 2-3, RBI, BB
Clark: 0-3, 2 BB, SB
Vanasco: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Next Game: It’s a 4:35 p.m. ET start in Lehigh Valley on Saturday.
Toledo Mud Hens Roster
Prior to the game, the finalized Mud Hens roster was released. There weren’t too many surprises. Right now it’s a four-man rotation with Keider Montero, Ty Madden, Bryan Sammons, and Lael Lockhart Jr. Prospect Jake Miller and Sawyer Gipson-Long should be taking spots within a few weeks, but on Opening Day they went with a Sean Guenther-led bullpen game.
Toledo will host ten members of the Tigers’ 40-Man Roster: RHP Brenan Hanifee, RHP Ty Madden, LHP Jake Miller, RHP Keider Montero, LHP Drew Sommers, C/1B Eduardo Valencia, INF Jace Jung, INF Hao-Yu Lee, UT Trei Cruz and OF Wenceel Perez.
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