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.

David Espinosa was the hitting star in the Mud Hens 5-2 win over Columbus.  He went three for four with a triple, three RBIs and a run.  Andres Torres went two for four with a solo homerun.

Eddie Bonine shined in his Triple A debut.  He gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts in eight innings.

Matt O’Brien made the most of his Triple A debut and pitched the Hens to a 6-2 win over Louisville.  He gave up just a single run on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts in six solid frames.

David Espinosa was the hitting star in the win.  He went two for four with a double, a homerun and three RBIs.

Brent Clevelen singled home Henry Mateo in the bottom of the tenth inning to win it for the Hens.  It was Clevelen’s second hit of the game and David Espinosa also had two hits and he drove in a run.

A pretty good start by Dennis Tankersley almost went to waste.  He gave up one run on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.  Jeremy Johnson picked up the win with a shutout tenth inning.

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.

The Mud Hens poured on the offense in their 12-3 blowout win over the Syracuse Chiefs.  Chris Shelton went two for four with a homerun and two runs.  David Espinosa tripled and he drove in three runs while Mike Hessman went three for three with a double and three runs.

Ron Chiavacci improved to 6-4 with a nice start.  He gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings of work.

David Espinosa had four hits and two RBIs in the Mud Hens 5-2 win over the Chiefs.  Chris Maples also had a nice game and he went two for three with one RBI and one run.

Jordan Tata had a nice start but he didn’t pick up the decision.  He gave up two runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts.  Preston Larrison picked up the win with 2 1/3 shutout innings.

Ron Chiavacci improved to 4-4 on the season with one of his best starts of the season.  He gave up just three hits and three walks with two strikeouts in six shutout innings.

David Espinosa went one for three with three RBIs and a run.  Ryan Rayburn singled twice, drew a walk and scored two runs.

Just about everybody was a hitting star in the Mud Hens 15-3 blowout win but David Espinosa was a notch above the rest.  He went four for six with a homerun, four RBIs and four runs.  Timo Perez also had a nice game and he went four for six with a double, an RBI and three runs.

Yorman Bazardo had a nice start.  He improved to 4-3 on the season with a complete game.  He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Seven of the eight runs in the Mud Hens 8-6 over the Yankees came via the longball.  Ryan Rayburn went yard with his tenth of the season and Mike Hessman hit his 15th.   Both of those were two run shots.  Then David Espinosa hit a three run shot that proved to be the game winner.  All three homers came against a tough Yankees pitcher in Chase Wright.

Dennis Tankersley picked up the win although he used just about all of the runs the Hens gave him.  He gave up six runs on nine hits and one walk with one strikeout in 5 1/3 innings.  The win pushed his record to 5-3 on the season.

Toledo still trails first place Indianapolis by three games in the western division of the International League.  Louisville is also hot on their tails in what’s turning out to be a race that any of the four teams have a chance at winning.  The Hens do lead the Wild Card race by a half game so they may have that to fall back on.

Ron Chiavacci had a nice start in the Hens 8-1 win over the Clippers.  He gave up just a single run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in seven solid innings.  The win improved Chiavacci’s record to 2-4 on the season.

Ryan Rayburn tripled, drove in two and scored a run.  David Espinosa went two for five with two doubles, an RBI and two runs.

Christopher Maples singled home David Espinosa in the bottom of the eleventh to win it for the Mud Hens.  Maples finished two for five with a triple, two RBIs and a run.  Espinosa finished with two runs.

Yorman Bazardo was roughed up in the Mud Hens win but the pen and hitters picked him up.  He gave up four runs in five innings and Jeremy Johnson picked up the win with a shutout eleventh.

The Mud Hens came back from a 7-0 deficit to beat Louisville and they had some late inning heroics to get it done.  Mike Hessman drove home Ryan Rayburn in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra frames while David Espinosa scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the tenth to win it.  Dane Sardinha had a nice day at the plate and he went two for five with a double and three RBIs.

Virgil Vasquez was hit hard in the early parts of this game and he gave up seven runs in five innings.  You see this happen sometime.  A pitcher will tear it up in the minors, struggle in the majors and then when he gets sent back down, he struggles some more.  Hopefully Vasquez can get back on track in his next start.

Vic Darensbourg got it done in relief and he picked up the win.  He gave up just two hits and a walk with three strikeouts in three innings.

The Mud Hens won 8-1 and it was Dennis Tankersley who got it done on the mound.  He gave up one run on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in seven innings of work.  Preston Larrison threw two shutout frames to close out the game. 

Timo Perez finished the game three for five with a homerun and three RBIs.  David Espinosa only picked up one hit but his grand slam was a big one. 

I’m a huge Virgil Vazquez fan but man did he take it on the chin tonight.  He gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.  He did redeem himself a bit with eight strikeouts but it doesn’t quite make for all of those runs.  Ron Chiavacci was also knocked around for four runs and he only threw a 1 and 1/3 innings.

To make it worse, the Hens managed just two hits.  Chris Shelton was the only player to reach base twice with a hit and a walk while David Espinosa had the other hit and he drove in a run.

The Mud Hens lost a tough one in the season opener to the Louisville Bats tonight in a 5-4 ten inning game.  Zach Miner struck out five and gave up two runs in four innings while Tim Byrdak had a particularly good relief outing.  He struck out four in 2 1/3 perfect innings.  Preston Larrison gave up two runs in his one inning of work.

Ryan Rayburn led the way at the plate.  He went two for three with a homerun, two runs and two RBIs.  David Espinosa also had a good game.  He tripled and drove in two runs.