2008 Toledo Mud Hens Season Tracker

Article published Sunday, August 31, 2008
Johnson turns in another solid start for Mud Hens
By JARROD ULREY
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE

COLUMBUS - Mud Hens pitcher Jeremy Johnson made a solid return to the rotation Aug. 24 when he gave up just one run on five hits in five innings.

His performance last night in a 7-1 victory in Cooper Stadium was even better.

After being on the disabled list from May 30 to July 7 with a right elbow strain, Johnson pitched in long relief for most of the last two months.

An efficient effort - 84 pitches over seven innings - helped Johnson limit Columbus to four hits and one unearned run last night as he improved to 5-3.

The Hens, already assured of finishing second in the IL West behind Louisville, improved to 74-68.

"I wanted to finish strong," Johnson said. "I was just basically getting ahead of guys and my change-up was pretty good. Out of the bullpen, I was the long guy so I'd pitched 70 pitches out of the bullpen numerous times."

The Clippers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Luke Montz singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an error by Michael Hollimon.

Johnson allowed only one other baserunner until the sixth when Roger Bernadina singled and Montz walked before Leonard Davis grounded out to end the threat. Johnson walked Larry Broadway to lead off the seventh and gave up a single to Frank Diaz but retired the next three hitters.

Johnson kept it close until the Mud Hens finally put together a big inning in the sixth against starter Craig Stammen.

Freddy Guzman and Timo Perez reached on back-to-back singles with one out. After Mike Hessman struck out, Brent Clevlen delivered a game-tying single to left. Erick Almonte, who took over at shortstop in the fifth when Hollimon was forced to leave with soreness in his left shoulder, then slammed a three-run homer to left-center to make it 4-1.

The Mud Hens tacked on three runs in the ninth as Max St-
Pierre doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly, and Clevlen drove in two runs. Wil Rhymes and Perez singled and Hessman walked to set up the rally.

Perez went 4-for-5, Clevlen was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Guzman was 2-for-4 to lead the Mud Hens.

"[Johnson] threw very well for us," manager Larry Parrish said. "At one point, he'd only thrown 55 pitches and it was in the sixth inning.

"Their guy threw well.

"Clevlen likes to hit in this
ballpark. Timo's been hot."

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Article published Monday, September 1, 2008
Clippers rally to defeat Mud Hens
By JARROD ULREY
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE

COLUMBUS — Giving up the long ball has been among the biggest downfalls for Mud Hens starting pitcher Yorman Bazardo this season.

Last night at Cooper Stadium, Bazardo gave up a home run to Leonard Davis to lead off the sixth and left with Toledo trailing by one run.

Four batters and a two-run home run by Kory Casto off reliever Matt Rusch later, and the Mud Hens spent the rest of the night trying to battle back from a game they eventually lost 7-5.

Bazardo (4-13), who has gone winless in each of his last eight starts, gave up six earned runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.

'Davis hit a fastball that wasn't up. I don't know where it was in relation to the middle of the plate,' Hens manager Larry Parrish said. 'Casto's was on a change-up. It was up.'

The long-ball fest by Columbus in the sixth helped bail out starter Andrew Kown (3-0), who gave up eight hits and four earned runs in six innings.

The Mud Hens took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when leadoff-hitter Wil Rhymes singled, Freddy Guzman followed with an RBI-double and Timo Perez singled in Guzman.

Toledo made it 3-0 in the third when Perez doubled to left and scored on a double by Mike Hessman, but Columbus cut it to 3-1 in the third when Roger Bernadina tripled and Frank Diaz singled him in.

The Clippers then took the lead for good in the fourth by scoring three runs including an RBI-double by Davis.

Toledo tied it at 4 in the sixth when Hessman doubled and scored on a single by Jeff Frazier, but Columbus responded in the bottom of the inning. Davis led off with a home run to right-center and Bernadina reached on a ground-rule double to knock Bazardo from the game.

After Rusch got Diaz to fly out, Casto's shot off Rusch went off the foul pole in right field to give Columbus a 7-4 lead. It was the only hit Rusch allowed.
The Mud Hens made it 7-5 in the seventh when Rhymes tripled and scored on a groundout by Guzman, but Zech Zenicola pitched a scoreless eighth and Ryan Wagner retired the side in the ninth to pick up his first save.

NOTES:
The regular-season finale — and final game at Cooper Stadium — will feature Virgil Vasquez (11-12, 5.10) against Tyler Clippard (6-12, 4.70) at 6:25 tonight. The Clippers move into Huntington Park in downtown Columbus next season after spending the last 31 years at Cooper Stadium. ... The Mud Hens are 32-34 in Columbus since 2000.

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Article published Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Mud Hens finish year with victory
Vasquez shuts out Clippers on 5 hits before 16,770 at Cooper Stadium finale
By JARROD ULREY
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE

COLUMBUS - It wasn't an obvious formula for a pitcher's duel when the Mud Hens sent out Virgil Vasquez to the mound to face the Columbus Clippers' Tyler Clippard for last night's season finale.

Both pitchers entered with ERAs around 5.00, but the first six innings were filled with strikeouts and little offensive opportunity for either team.

Toledo finally seized its best chance in the seventh in the midst of a scoreless tie when it put together three runs on four hits and spoiled Columbus' final game in Cooper Stadium before 16,770 with a 3-0 victory.

The win represented retribution of sorts for Toledo, which lost to the Clippers 13-12 in the final game at Skeldon Stadium in 2001. The Clippers move into Huntington Park in downtown Columbus next year.

The Mud Hens finished second in the International League's West Division at 75-69 as Vasquez tossed a complete game to earn his 12th victory.

Columbus suffered its third consecutive losing season, ending up 69-73.

"I've played a lot of games here, and I've got a lot of good memories here," said shortstop Erick Almonte, who played for Columbus from 2001-03 as a member of the Yankees' organization. "I've seen Clippard before, and he just made some pitches and got ahead in the count. We were lucky to get a couple runs off of him."

The Mud Hens overcame a season-high 10 strikeouts from Clippard, who had gone winless in his last eight starts but gave up just two hits over the first six innings.

In the seventh, Mike Hessman opened with a double and scored the game's first run on a double by Dusty Ryan.

Almonte then slammed one to right-center that went into the stands for a ground-rule double. Kody Kirkland singled to center to drive in Almonte for the final run.

The Mud Hens loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth against reliever Jim Ed Warden, but all three runners were left stranded.

Vasquez outdueled Clippard, giving up just five hits and one walk.

It was a positive finish to an up-and-down season for the 26-year-old right-hander, who tossed a four-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over Norfolk on Aug. 11 but gave up four or more runs in each of his next three starts.

The other pitchers on the staff joked with Vasquez the day before his start that it was his job to make it a "no bullpen" night.

He certainly delivered.

"It was the last game of the season, and everyone was ready to go," Vasquez said. "My catcher [Max St-Pierre] called a great game, and I just kept attacking them. It was a good way to end the season. It was a great atmosphere. You feed off the crowd even though they're against you."

Through the first five innings, the only hits Toledo mustered were a double by Almonte in the second and a single by Kirkland in the third.

Toledo left Almonte stranded at second, and Kirkland was thrown out trying to steal.

Before the game, the Clippers brought out dozens of people who have been associated with Cooper Stadium since it opened in 1932 and even saluted Mud Hens Blaine Neal and Hessman for their participation on the U.S. Olympic team.

"[Vasquez] threw well tonight, and it was a night when everybody was free-swinging," manager Larry Parrish said. "He threw strikes and mixed it up. Both guys threw well, and there were a lot of strikeouts.

"I enjoyed [the ceremony] before the game. There were a bunch of guys I hadn't seen for a while. I got hits off a bunch of those guys they introduced."

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