Welcome to Coop Scoop coverage of the 2012 season! The Hens are at Fifth Third Field looking to make it three in a row against Buffalo. The game starts at 6 p.m., so I’ll get the LIVE blog started right now. The newest posts are at the bottom, so refresh frequently. Here we go!
5:00 p.m. – Grinding out a lot of copy today, so please be patient. Lineups in a moment, followed by a note or two. Let’s get started, shall we?
5:05 p.m. -- The Mud Hens lineup for manager Phil Nevin ... Leading off and playing CF is Justin Henry, followed by Ryan Raburn at 2B, Brad Eldred at 1B, Ryan Strieby at DH, Eric Patterson in LF, Ben Guez in RF, Bryan Holaday at C, Audy Ciriaco at 3B, Argenis Diaz at SS and LHP Adam Wilk as the starting pitcher. Buffalo lineup is next ...
5:10 p.m. -- The Buffalo lineup of manager Wally Backman ... Leading off and serving as the DH is Corey Wimberly, followed by Fred Lewis in LF, Valentino Pascucci in RF, Matt Tuiasosopo at 3B, Rob Johnson at C, Lucas May at 1B, Brad Emaus at 2B, Oswaldo Navarro at SS, Raul Reyes at CF and RHP Matt Harvey as the starting pitcher.
5:16p.m. -- OK, a few notes ... The Mud Hens officially lost OF Matt Young to Detroit. Toledo will play one man short Sunday. Currently the Mud Hens have OF Jeff Frazier on the Temporary Inactive list, where he has been since Friday. Players on the T.I. can't come off until three days have passes, so Frazier won't be available until Monday. Nothing is certain, obviously, but it makes sense to add Frazier to the roster to replace Young once that is possible.
5:23 p.m. -- One note for Buffalo ... the Bisons lost 1B Josh Satin, who was called up by the New York Mets before the game. The Bisons are missing a few of their regulars, and have kind of a patchwork outfield. But they obviously are a good team ... and fans the next few days will get to see just how good. One of New York's top pitching prospects, RHP Matt Harvey, will start for Buffalo tonight, and another top prospect, Jenrry Mejia, is scheduled to start Monday against RHP Jacob Turner. That one will be a scout's dream.
5:31 p.m. -- OK, about to take part in the Mud Hens' pre-game show on TV. Here are a few links to check on while I'm away from the computer ... Click here to read the game story from Saturday's win over Buffalo, which included a game-winning home run by Brent Dlugach. Click here to view a photo gallery from Saturday's game featuring photos from The Blade's Amy Voigt. Click here to read the in-game blog from Saturday's game. Click here to read a story I wrote about the Mud Hens making plans to provide a restaurant-style food service to the area next to the press box at the suite level.
5:37 p.m. -- While I'm passing along links, here's one from a few blogs items I generated Saturday. Click here to read the in-game blog, and click here to read some post-game note. Off to do some TV, talk to you in a few minutes!
5:54 p.m. -- Back from TV ... getting ready for the game. I'll give you a scouting report on Adam Wilk and Buffalo's Matt Harvey once things get rolling. Talk to you then!
6:08 p.m. -- Mud Hens starter Adam Wilk gave up a ground-rule double to Fred Lewis in the first but pitched around the hit. Wilk threw 16 pitches in the first inning, nine of which were strikes. His fastball sat mainly at 87 mph and touched 89 once, with the curveball sitting at 75 mph and the change-up sitting at 82-83 mph. Toledo comes to bat in the bottom of the first inning of a scoreless game.
6:21 p.m. -- Toledo got a walk and a single (by Ryan Raburn) to start the bottom of the first inning against Buffalo starter Matt Harvey. But with two on and no one out, Harvey proceeded to strike out Brad Eldred, Ryan Strieby and Eric Patterson (Patterson did make Harvey labor through 10 pitches to record the strikeout). Harvey threw 24 pitches in the first inning, 15 of which were strikes. Harvey's fastball sat at 94-95 mph and twice touched 96 mph. His breaking ball -- which is nasty, by the way -- sat at 82-83 mph, and he also had good movement on a change-up that sat at 85-86 mph. No score, end of the first.
6:41 p.m. -- Buffalo's Matt Harvey has labored at times in the first two innings, but he also has kept the Mud Hens off the board. After striking out three in a row to end the first, Harvey sandwiched a pair of walks around an error to load the bases with one out. But Harvey got Justin Henry to hit into a double play to end the threat. Here's the good news for the Mud Hens: They are getting base runners against Harvey, who is one of the Mets' top pitching prospects. Also, Harvey has thrown 47 pitches just to get through the first two innings, so his stay won't be long. Still, there is no score as we head to the third.
6:54 p.m. -- Mud Hens trying to take advantage of a miscue by the Bisons in the bottom of the third. Ryan Raburn worked Harvey for an eight-pitch walk, and Brad Eldred looped a single to center -- Raburn raced to third, and when Buffalo's Raul Reyes muffed the ball, Eldred took second. Toledo needs to take advantage of these opportunities before Harvey puts everything together.
7:04 p.m. -- No such luck for the Hens. Ryan Strieby was called out on strikes (strike two was not in the strike zone, but still ...) and Eric Patterson struck out swinging before Ben Guez grounded out. Good news for the Hens? Matt Harvey has thrown 73 pitches through the first three innings, only 44 of which were strikes. Bad news for the Hens? Toledo is 0-for-7 when batting with runners in scoring position with five strikeouts and one double play. No score as we head to the fourth.
7:19 p.m. -- For the fourth consecutive inning the Mud Hens get the leadoff man on base. For the third time in four innings Toledo put the first two runners on base. And for the fourth straight inning the Hens fail to score. Yes, Harvey is tough ... but the Mud Hens have really struggled when batting with runners in scoring position. How badly? Toledo is 0-for-8 in such situations with five strikeouts and two rally-killing double plays. No score as we head to the fifth.
7:26 p.m. -- While we've been focused on Toledo facing Matt Harvey, Hens starter Adam Wilk has settled in nicely. After allowing a double in the first, Wilk certainly held the Bisons in check. He gave up a one-out single to Lucas May and has since set down the next 11 Buffalo batters in a row. Even more impressive? Wilk has thrown just 58 pitches through the first five innings and has given up just two hits and no walks with three strikeouts so far. No score as we head to the sixth.
7:41 p.m. -- Adam Wilk makes a mistake in the sixth, and it costs him dearly. Buffalo loads the bases on a single, an outfield error by Eric Patterson and an intentional walk. Wilk struck out Fred Lewis to get one out, then intentional walked Valentino Pascucci to face Matt Tuiasosopo. Problem: Tuiasosopo hammered the first pitch he saw, a hanging curveball, over the fence in left-center for a grand slam. Toledo comes to bat in the bottom of the sixth trailing 4-0.
8:26 p.m. -- OK, sorry I was out of the game for a while there ... had to work on a story that will be in tomorrow's paper. Back to the Mud Hens, who got a two-run single by Ryan Raburn in the bottom of the sixth make the deficit 4-2. Mud Hens are batting in the bottom of the eighth, still trailing 4-2.
8:33 p.m. -- Well, Raburn had a chance to be the hero in the eighth when he came up with a runner on and two outs, but he didn't do much with a 3-1 pitch and popped out to end the inning. We head to the ninth inning with Buffalo still in front 4-2.
8:39 p.m. -- Buffalo's Brad Emaus lines a no-doubt home run in the top of the ninth to give Buffalo a 5-2 lead entering the bottom of the ninth.
8:51 p.m. -- Ryan Strieby lines a home run off the left-field scoreboard in the ninth, but that isn't enough as the Hens fall to Buffalo 5-3. Heading to the clubhouse, so I'm closing the blog. Thanks for following along tonight!
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