TWITTER POST: Hens lost 3-of-4 in Buffalo, split pair at home vs. Louisville; this week play Bats twice on road, then come home for 4 v Buffalo, 2 v Indy
THREE THINGS I THINK: 1. The Argenis Diaz Experiment at shortstop obviously is over. Diaz went 11-for-23 at the plate in his first five days as the everyday shortstop (.478) but then went 15-for-86 (.174). And eight errors in 29 games cemented the decision to give Audy Ciriaco a shot at short. 2. The Hens’ early season struggles at home have been forgotten. All it took was a 14-7 home record since the start of July. Unfortunately, the 12-29 record that preceded it eventually will result in the team's worst home record since moving to Fifth Third Field in 2002. 3. Brayan Villarreal looks sharper. Since his return from the disabled list Aug. 12, the right-hander has allowed just five hits and three walks in 5.1 scoreless innings. Before going on the DL, Villarreal had a 5.13 ERA and had allowed 50 hits and 24 walks in 52.2 innings.
WHO’S HOT: OF Timo Perez has hit .346 in his last eight games with four RBIs. … C Omir Santos has batted .455 in his last four games with three RBIs and three runs scored. … In his first three appearances with the Hens, LHP David Purcey has allowed five hits and one walk in four scoreless innings.
WHO’S NOT: IF Danny Worth has hit just .042 in his last seven games and is hitless in his last 10 at-bats. … 1B Ryan Strieby has batted just .080 in his last seven contests and is hitless in his last 12 at-bats. … OF Jeff Salazar has hit just .185 in his last 10 games. … In four August starts LHP Andy Oliver is 1-3 with a 6.33 ERA, having allowed 31 hits and 12 walks in 21.1 innings. … In his last three appearances RHP Enrique Gonzalez has allowed five hits and five earned runs in 3.2 innings. Gonzalez has collected one save and two losses in those three games.
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Mud Hens play a brief series at Louisville Monday-Tuesday, Aug. 22-23, before returning home for six straight games. Toledo hosts Buffalo in a four-game series Wednesday-Saturday, Aug. 24-27 before Indianapolis visits Fifth Third Field Sunday-Monday, Aug. 28-29.
NEWS WORTH NOTING: Toledo has nearly reached official elimination from the Governors' Cup race. The Hens are seventh in the Wild Card race, 12 games behind the leading team, which is either Pawtucket or Lehigh Valley (the other is the leader of the North Division). Toledo’s “tragic” number to be eliminated by Pawtucket is two, and the “tragic” number against Lehigh Valley is three. … The Mud Hens trail Columbus in the West Division race by 19 games with just 14 on schedule, meaning Toledo cannot win the West. . … Toledo’s chances of catching the teams tied for second in the IL West are slim, too. The Hens trail Indianapolis and Louisville (tied for second) by six games with 14 left, giving Toledo a “tragic” number of nine.
LAST WEEK’S TRANSACTIONS: Aug. 15-2B Will Rhymes is promoted to Detroit; SS Cale Iorg is promoted to Toledo from Double-A Erie. Aug. 16-2B Will Rhymes is optioned to Toledo; SS Cale Iorg is demoted to Erie; C Omir Santos is activated from the disabled list; C Jeff Kunkel is demoted to Hi-A Lakeland; LHP Ramon Garcia is promoted from Erie; LHP Fu-Te Ni is placed on the temporary inactive list. Aug. 17-RHP Chance Ruffin is traded to Seattle by Detroit (to complete the Doug Fister trade); LHP Ramon Garcia is demoted to Erie; LHP Adam Wilk is placed on the disabled list. Aug. 18-LHP Fu-Te Ni is reinstated from the temporary inactive list; RHP Robbie Weinhardt is promoted from Erie; LHP Shawn Teufel is promoted from Lakeland. Aug. 20-LHP Shawn Teufel is demoted to Lakeland; RHP Trevor Feeney is promoted from Lakeland; 3B Brandon Inge is promoted to Detroit; OF Andy Dirks is optioned to Toledo; OF Clete Thomas is placed on the disabled list; SS Audy Ciriaco is promoted from Double-A Erie.
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