PROBABLE PITCHERS
Tuesday, July 26, 7 p.m. – LHP Brian Matusz (0-3, 4.73 ERA) vs. RHP Brayan Villarreal (2-5, 4.68 ERA)
Wednesday, July 27, 7 p.m. – RHP Mitch Atkins (2-4, 3.38 ERA) vs. LHP Andy Oliver (6-7, 4.71 ERA)
Thursday, July 28, 7 p.m. – RHP Steve Johnson (0-4, 6.31 ERA) vs. RHP Thad Weber (5-7, 5.54 ERA)
Friday, July 29, 7 p.m. – RHP Rick VandenHurk (6-12, 4.71 ERA) vs. LHP Fu-Te Ni (5-1, 3.18 ERA)
TWITTER POST: MudHens begin 8-game homestand w/ 4 vs. Norfolk (teams Hens swept last week) Tuesday thru Friday at 5/3 Field starting at 7 p.m.
TIDES POOLS: Norfolk has been the Triple-A affiliate of Baltimore since the 2007 season. … Their manager is Gary Allenson, who is in his fifth season in that position. … The Tides enter this series having won their last two official games (their contest at Gwinnett Monday was suspended by rain), but had lost the five previous contests (including a four-game sweep by the Mud Hens July 18-21). … Norfolk enters this series with a 38-64 record, good for fourth place in the IL’s South Division. The Tides, who are tied with Rochester for the worst record in the league, trail first-place Durham by 20 games. They are 11 full games in back of third-place Charlotte. … Offensively, the Tides rank 13th in the 14-team IL with a .251 team batting average. Norfolk has scored 430 runs in 102 games (4.22 runs per game) and are tied for 11th in the league in that category. … 2B Ryan Adams leads the players on the current roster with a .285 batting average. … 1B Brandon Snyder and DH Rhyne Hughes are tied for the team lead (among active players) with 11 home runs each; Snyder has 48 RBI while Hughes has 47. … OF Matt Angle has hit .278 and has a team-best 52 runs scores along with 22 stolen bases, which is tied for fourth in the IL . … Norfolk ranks 10th in the IL with a 4.36 team ERA (Toledo is eighth with a 4.17 ERA). The Tides are next-to-last in runs allowed with 498 (4.88 runs per game). … RHP Mitch Atkins leads the active pitchers with a 3.38 ERA, while Rick VanderHurk has a team-high six wins and a team-best 67 strikeouts. … RHP Mark Worrell leads the team with 12 saves but isn’t on the current roster; no pitcher on the active roster has more than one.
HEN HIGHLIGHTS: Last year the Mud Hens finished with a 3-5 record against the Tides, including a 2-2 mark at Fifth Third Field. … Toledo entered this season with a 26-22 record against the Tides at Fifth Third Field. The Mud Hens began this season 48-48 versus Norfolk since Fifth Third Field opened in 2002; the last time Toledo posted winning record against the Tides was a 5-3 record in 2008. … The Hens swept four games at Harbor Park July 18-21. In that series the Hens hit .296 against the Tides this season and has a 2.00 ERA against Norfolk. … Individually, SS Argenis Diaz hit .400 against the Tides with five runs scored, while OF Timo Perez also batted .400 against Norfolk. … On the mound, the Mud Hens bullpen was spectacular against the Tides as it covered 12.2 innings and gave up just 13 hits and five walks – and not a single run. … As a team, the Tides have hit.271 against the Hens so far this year. Among those who have had success against Toledo are 1B-DH Jake Fox, who batted .444 with a homer and five RBIs; OF Kyle Hudson, who hit .389 with three runs scored; and OF Robbie Widlansky, who batted .385 in four games. … On the mound, the Tides have a 7.25 ERA against the Hens. … The only pitchers who had success against Toledo were relievers Cole McCurry and Jose Diaz, each of whom didn’t allow a run in 2.2 innings.
NEWS WORTH NOTING: 3B Brandon Inge is expected to join the Mud Hens today. Inge was designated for assignment when the Tigers traded for Wilson Betemit last week and officially cleared waivers today. The Mud Hens will need to make a roster move to accommodate Inge. ... The parent Tigers took LHP Brad Thomas off the Hens' temporary inactive list. Thomas instead was placed on Detroit's 60-day disabled list. … The Hens have posted a 15-7 record in July after going just 7-22 in June, the worst record in the IL. … Tides LHP Clay Rapada pitched for the Mud Hens from 2007-09. ... One of the Tides' coaches is Brad Komminsk, a former Mud Hens coach and a native of nearby Lima.
TOP PROSPECTS: 2B Ryan Adams began this season as Baltimore's eighth-ranked prospect, according to Baseball America. … Adams is the only top-10 Orioles prospect on the Tides' roster.
RADIO & TELEVISION: All four games will be broadcast live on WCWA, 1230-AM. All four games will be broadcast live on BCSN.
PROMOTIONS
Thursday, July 28, 7 p.m. – Ronald McDonald will meet fans on the concourse, and it also will be Red Cross Awareness Night.
Friday, July 29, 7 p.m. – It will be "Komen for the Cure" Night, and there will be a Girl Scout sleepover and post-game fireworks.
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