Toledo ally falls short in 8-7 walk-off loss to Lehigh Valley

Allentown, PA-The Toledo Mud Hens battled back-and-forth with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on Wednesday, September 3, at Coca-Cola Park, but ultimately fell short in walk-off fashion, 8-7. First pitch was thrown at 6:45 p.m.

The Mud Hens wasted no time striking first in the opening frame. Parker Meadows crossed the plate on a Jace Jung sacrifice fly to give Toledo an early 1-0 edge.

Lehigh Valley responded quickly in the bottom half, as Otto Kemp launched a two-run homer and Gabriel Rincones Jr. followed with a double to push the Iron Pigs in front, 2-1.

After Lehigh Valley added traffic in the second with singles from Óscar Mercado and Johan Rojas, Toledo tallied another base knock in the third when Tomás Nido lined a single. The Iron Pigs answered with more offense, as Kemp singled and Rincones Jr. delivered a two-run blast to extend the lead to 4-1. Payton Henry also added a base hit in the inning.

The Mud Hens came back in the fourth. Akil Baddoo launched a leadoff solo shot to trim the deficit to 4-2, followed by a Jung double and Eduardo Valencia single to keep the pressure on. Still, the Iron Pigs plated another run in the bottom half when a Rincones Jr. groundout brought home Justin Crawford, pushing the score to 5-2.

Toledo stayed resilient in the fifth. With two outs, Meadows reached on a pitcher’s fielding miscue, setting up an RBI single from Baddoo to cut it to 5-3.

The bats truly came alive in the sixth. Trei Cruz singled to open the frame and Gage Workman followed with a two-run homer to tie the ballgame 5-5. Nido ripped a double, scoring on a Meadows RBI single to give the Mud Hens the lead once again. Just one batter later, Lee doubled, and Meadows crossed the plate on a Baddoo sacrifice fly. By the end of the inning, Toledo had stormed ahead 7-5.

Lehigh Valley answered in the bottom half, as Rodolfo Castro went deep with a solo homer, trimming the Mud Hens’ lead to 7-6. Crawford added a single, but a 9-3 double play by Toledo’s defense ended the threat.

In the seventh, the Iron Pigs evened things up once again. Christian Arroyo and Donovan Walton both singled, with Arroyo later scoring on a Mercado groundout to make it 7-7.

The game remained deadlocked until the ninth. Toledo had a chance when Baddoo singled, then showcased his speed by swiping both second and third base, but a double play spoiled the rally.

In the bottom half, the Iron Pigs loaded the bases and Henry delivered the final blow, singling home the winning run for the 8-7 walk-off.

Troy Watson got the start for Toledo, working 4.0 innings with five earned runs allowed, two walks, and three strikeouts. The bullpen pieced it together with strong relief appearances from Codi Heuer, Chase Lee, Matt Seelinger, Tyler Mattison, and Wilkel Hernandez. Mattison was charged with the loss.

The Toledo Mud Hens will look to bounce back in game three of the series against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on Thursday, September 4, at Coca-Cola Park. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m.

Notables:

• Akil Baddoo (3-4, HR, R, 3 RBI)
• Parker Meadows (1-4, 3 R, RBI, BB)
• Gage Workman (1-4, HR, R 2 RBI)