Welcome to Coop Scoops coverage of the Mud Hens' doubleheader against Indianapolis coming to you live from Fifth Third Field. I'll share thoughts, stats, and anything of interest from the game (newest posts are at the top, so refresh frequently).
11:02 p.m. -- An update on Indianapolis starter Jose Ascanio, who was hit on the head by a line drive off the bat of Scott Sizemore in the first inning of the second game. Indy manager Dean Treanor said Ascanio was hit on the temple by the line drive, and was hit hard enough that you could see the stitches of the ball where it struck his head. Treanor said Ascanio never lost consciousness and was talking on the mound -- "He wanted to stay in the game," Treanor said. Instead he left the game and was taken to a hospital for observation.
10:45 p.m. -- "Charlie Furbush was just dominating," Toledo manager Phil Nevin said. "The base hit and the error were the only two baserunners they had, and neither of those balls were hit hard. He had four pitches that he was throwing for strikes, and he had an electric fastball. And his breaking ball was really good."
10:07 p.m. -- Heading down to the clubhouse ... I'll try to sneak a quote on here later. Talk to you again soon!
10:04 p.m. -- Hens retired in order in the bottom of the seventh. Indianapolis wins 3-1. Don't be fooled by Toledo's 2-for-9 mark with runners in scoring position. The Hens started out 2-for-2 in that category and got only one run out of it, then were 0-for-7 the rest of the way.
9:42 p.m. -- The Mud Hens are starting to run out of time to get back into this 3-1 second game, and the blame has to go to the offense. In the first the Hens had the makings of a big inning, but only scored once. In both the fourth and fifth Indianapolis reliever Chris Leroux walked the first batter (in the fifth he walked the first two), but all three runners were stranded. We moved to the seventh with Indianapolis in front 3-1.
9:20 p.m. -- Remember how I said, at doubleheader's start, that it wasn't very cold and there wasn't much wind at Fifth Third Field? Right now the temperature sits at 44 degrees, and trust me when I tell you it feels MUCH colder.
9:12 p.m. -- By the way, that 73 on a breaker early probably wasn't a misread. The Hoffman pitch that Wimberly singled to right came in at 74.
9:09 p.m. -- Hoffman has found some trouble in the top of the fifth of this 1-1 second game. He gave up a single to Marte and a double to deep left-center by Dusty Brown on a ball that just missed being a home run. Hoffman struck out Brian Friday and got a 2-2 count on the next hitter, Corey Wimberly, by pumping a couple of fastballs by him. But Hoffman then threw a breaking ball to Wimberly, who slapped it into right for an RBI single. Pet peeve: If you're blowing away a hitter with fasballs, don't speed up his bat by throwing a breaking ball. Often that strategy backfires for the pitcher.
9:02 p.m. -- Mud Hens LHP Matt Hoffman has been sitting at 90-94 mph with his fastball and anywhere from 73 to 79 with his curve (I believe the 73 was a misread by the radar gun).
8:42 p.m. -- As we move into the bottom of the third inning of a 1-1 second game, let's take a good look at the two bullpens -- after all, this game will soon be in their hands. With Tony Watson on in relief, Indianapolis still has two pitchers who haven't pitched since Monday is RHP Chris Leroux and LHP Dan Meyer (Leroux is warming up in the bullpen as I write this). For the Hens, LHP Matt Hoffman is coming in to relieve Oxspring, while RHPs Robbie Weinhardt and Brendan Wise have not pitched since last Friday and RHP Zach Simons has not pitched since Sunday. Simons covered two innings in Columbus, so hopefully he can repeat that if necessary tonight. It's something worth watching ...
8:25 p.m. -- Mud Hens starter Chris Oxspring has been sitting at 88-91 mph with his fastball and has used a change-up that generally has ranged between 85-86 mph. Not a lot of differential there, obviously. He also has thrown 30 pitches through the first two innings, which isn't good when you consider he had a six-pitch first.
8:16 p.m. -- A switch in the Indianapolis lineup ... Andrew Lambo hit fifth behind Hague, and Andy Marte batted sixth. In the original lineup it was Marte hitting fifth and Lambo sixth.
8:02 p.m. -- Short and scary outing for Indy starter Jose Ascanio. Toledo's Andy Dirks lined the first pitch of the game off the base of the wall in straight-away center for a triple; Scott Sizemore took a pitch for a ball, then lined the next pitch off Ascanio's head for an infield single. Tony Watson comes on to pitch for Indianapolis.
7:50 p.m. -- As the Hens return to the first to start the second game, I again invite everyone to pass along things they would like to see on this blog. Is there something you want to know? Something I should pass along or watch for? Click on the "comment" button on the bottom of this blog, send me an e-mail to jwagner@theblade.com or use Twitter by mentioning me ... @jwagnerblade. Love to hear from you!
7:46 p.m. -- Game two lineup for the Mud Hens ... Dirks in CF, Sizemore at 2B, Perez at DH, Strieby at 1B, Thomas in RF, Worth at 3B, Iorg at SS, Timpner in LF and Murrian at C. The starter for the Hens is RHP Chris Oxspring.
7:42 p.m. -- Game two lineup for Indianapolis ... d'Arnaud at 2B, Ciriaco at SS, Presley at CF, Hague at 1B, Marte at DH, Lambo at RF, Brown at C, Friday at 3B and Wimberly at LF. Starter for Indy is Jose Ascanio, who is on a rehab assignment from Pittsburgh. Ascanio will throw just one inning, so this is truly a bullpen game for the Tribe.
7:33 p.m. -- While Furbush was shutting down the Indians, the Mud Hen offense finished with nine hits in seven innings. Every member of the starting lineup had one hit; the biggest blows were a two-run double by Ryan Strieby in the three-run first, and a two-out, two-run single by Clete Thomas in the third.
7:28 p.m. -- I was watching the pitch speed for Furbush in the fifth, and he remained in the 90-93 range with his fastball and in the 81-83 mph range with his slider. Good command throughout, too: he threw just 77 pitches, 56 for strikes (72.7 percent).
7:18 p.m. -- Game one ends with a flourish as Charlie Furbush strikes out Andy Marte to end the game. Furbush finishes with a one-hitter in the Hens' 6-0 victory over Indianapolis. Furbush gave up only a single to Jason Jaramillo to lead off the third, and the only other baserunner came when Danny Worth misplayed Corey Wimberly's grounder to third for an error. Furbush did not walk a batter and struck out nine; he threw just 77 pitches, 56 for strikes.
6:55 p.m. -- Mud Hens manager Phil Nevin is no dummy. When 6-6, 245-pound Ryan Strieby came to the plate, he took a few steps out of the third-base coaches' box. Actually, a LOT of steps. He ended up just a couple of steps away from the home plate of the Hens' bullpen. If any line drives flew off Strieby's bat, Nevin was going to give himself every chance to move out of the way.
6:36 p.m. -- Good to see Max St-Pierre back and in uniform for the Hens. He's one of the good guys in the game. He admitted to me yesterday that the time away from the game to start the season meant he would need a little time to sharpen his skills, but he put together a nice eight-pitch at-bat together against Lincoln in the fourth; St-Pierre worked the count full, then lined a single to left-center that pushed Danny Worth, who was running on the pitch, to third.
6:18 p.m. -- While Indy starter Brad Lincoln is throwing hard, that's all he is doing. The breaking ball has either been out of the strike zone or hanging over the middle of the plate. Clete Thomas lined a hanging breaking ball to center for a two-run single in the third that made the score 5-0 Hens at the end of three.
5:50 p.m. -- Indianapolis starter Brad Lincoln sat at 94-95 mph from the windup and 90-92 mph from the stretch. His breaking ball -- it looks like a slider -- sits in the 83-84 range. He didn't throw much besides fastballs in the first inning, though, and that might be one reason the Hens pummeled him for three runs.
5:40 p.m. -- Charlie Furbush retired the Indians without incident in the first. His fastball topped out at 93 mph, most of the rest sitting between 87-89 mph. He threw one curve, and it sat at 76 mph. Gotta love those eight-pitch innings!
5:32 p.m. -- By the way, as we get ready for the start here, I invite everyone to pass along things they would like to see on this blog. Is there something you want to know? Something I should pass along or watch for? Click on the "comment" button on the bottom of this blog, send me an e-mail to jwagner@theblade.com or use Twitter by mentioning me ... @jwagnerblade. Love to hear from you!
5:22 p.m. -- A heads up to fans wanting to watch the Hens ... tonight would be the night. At this point in time it's not too cold, there's some sun to keep people warm, and the wind isn't oppressive. Best of all, there is bonus baseball: doubleheader at the Hen Dome! We'll get it started shortly ...
5:10 p.m. -- You may notice that SS Cale Iorg is not in the starting lineup. Manager Phil Nevin said that Iorg had a minor procedure on his foot today, and that it would not cause any long-term problems. In fact, Nevin said Iorg probably will be in the starting lineup for the second game.
5:01 p.m. -- Starting lineup for today's first game for the Mud Hens ... Andy Dirks at CF, Scott Sizemore at 2B, Timo Perez at LF, Scott Thorman at DH, Ryan Strieby at 1B, Clete Thomas at RF, Danny Worth at 3B, Argenis Diaz at SS, and Max St-Pierre at C. The starting pitcher is LHP Charlie Furbush.
4:52 p.m. -- Starting lineup for today's first game, first for Indianapolis ... Chase d'Arnaud at 2B, Pedro Ciriaco at SS, Alex Presley at CF, Matt Hague at 1B, Andy Marte at DH, Andrew Lambo at RF, Jason Jaramillo at C, Josh Harrison at 3B, and Corey Wimberly at LF. The starting pitcher is RHP Brad Lincoln.
4:45 p.m. -- Gonzalez is here, by the way, and Hens manager Phil Nevin told me before the game that Gonzalez is available to pitch in today's doubleheader if needed.
4:41 p.m. -- If you haven't heard, the Mud Hens already have added RHP Enrique Gonzalez to the roster. Gonzales made the Tigers' opening day roster and allowed seven earned runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings before he was sent to Toledo Wednesday to make room for RHP Ryan Perry on the Detroit roster. To make room for Gonzalez on the roster, the Hens sent LHP Ramon Garcia to Double-A Erie. In two appearances with the Hens, Garcia allowed eight hits and six runs in four innings.