Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

The Mud Hens pursuit of their third straight Governor’s Cup came to an abrupt end as they were swept by the Durham Bulls 3-0.  Aquilino Lopez gave up three ninth inning runs in his second inning of work in a 5-2 loss.  Eulogio De La Cruz had a mixed start.  He gave up just two runs on two hits with eight strikeouts but he also walked seven in 5 2/3 innings.

Andres Torres belted a solo homerun in the first inning.  David Espinosa went two for three with a triple, a walk and a run.

The Mud Hens lost their final regular season to the Clippers 4-3 and it was a late inning meltdown that saw Columbus score two in the eighth and two in the ninth.  Chris Lampert, the player to be named later in the Mike Maroth trade, threw six shutout innings in which he struck out ten.  Then Aquilino Lopez gave up two unearned runs in the top of the ninth as the Clippers completed their comeback.

Chris Shelton belted a two run homer, his fourteenth of the season.  Michael Hollimon had his best game since he joined the Mud Hens and he went two for four with a triple and a run.

Aquilino Lopez gave up two runs in the top of the eleventh inning as the Toledo lost to Louisville 4-2 in eleven innings.  It’s too bad because a pretty good start went to waste.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in seven solid frames.

Mike Hessman drove in a pair of runs to bring his International League total to 100 on the season.  Jason Perry doubled and scored a run.

Henry Mateo singled home David Espinosa in the bottom of the tenth inning to win it for the Mud Hens.  Jack Hannahan finished the game with two RBIs and Brent Clevlen continued his hot hitting with a three for five game with a solo homerun and a double.

Aquilino Lopez picked up the win with a shutout tenth and he improved to 3-1 on the season.  Ron Chiavacci struck out four and gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his start.

Kevin Hooper singled home David Espinosa in the bottom of the ninth to win it for the Mud Hens, but it was slugger Mike Hessman who once again stole the shot.  He went three for four with a double, a homerun and three RBIs.  The homerun was his 26th and he now has 84 RBIs in 84 games.

Virgil Vasquez had a nice start but he didn’t get the decision.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits with six strikeouts in 6 1/3 inings.  Aquilino Lopez picked up the win and he struck out three in 1 1/3 shutout innings.

Things looked grim for the Mud Hens when Aquilino Lopzez gave up a go ahead run to Indianpolis in the top of the eleventh.  Fortunately, The Hens rallied in the bottom half off the inning and Mike Hessman drove belted a walk off two run single after loading the bases to win it 7-6.  Jack Hannahan had a great game and he went two for four with two homeruns and three RBIs while Timo Perez went three for five with a run.

Lopez picked up the win despite giving up that eleventh inning run.  Jonathan Connolly had a nice start and he gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in five innings.

Aquillino Lopez gave up a run in the bottom of the tenth and he took the loss in a tight ten inning game between Ottawa and the Hens.  A pretty good start by Ron Chivacci went to waste.  He gave up three runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in eight solid innings.

Jack Hannahan had a great day at the plate in the 4-3 loss.  He went three for three with a double and a two run homer.  Chris Shelton went two for four with a double, an RBI and a run.

The Mud Hens got just enough offense to top the Durham Bulls 5-4.  Ryan Rayburn led the way with a two run homer and Ramon Santiago doubled twice, scored a run and drove in one.

Ron Chiavacci had a tough time in his start.  He gave up four runs on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.  Vic Darensbourg picked up the win and Aquilino Lopez picked up his third save of the season.

The Mud Hens played two today, at least sort of because yesterdays game was suspended after four innings.  Yorman Bazardo hopefully got back on track with a decent start and he gave up two runs on four hits with three strikeouts in four innings (he pitched yesterday).  Jeremy Johnson picked up the win with three solid innings in which he gave up a single run and struck out four and Aquillino Lopez got the final batter out for his second save of the season.  Jack Hannahan went two for four with a double, a run and two RBIs.  Ryan Rayburn drove in two runs and Chris Shelton had two hits and two runs.

The second game didn’t go as well as the Bulls shut out the Hens on five hits.  Five different Mud Hens singled in a pretty poor hitting game.  Just as bad, Zach Miner was shelled and he dropped to 0-2.  He gave up seven runs on seven hits and three walks in just 1 1/3 innings and he’s pitching himself out of a chance to replace the struggling Chad Durbin up with the Tigers.