Welcome to Coop Scoop coverage of the 2012 season! The Hens are at Fifth Third Field to continue their four-game series against Charlotte. Tonight’s game starts at 7 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!
6:00 p.m. – Well, I am running WAY behind, but I'll get rolling here as quickly as possibly. Lineups first, then notes …
6:05 p.m. -- The Mud Hens lineup for manager Phil Nevin ... Leading off and playing CF is Austin Jackson, followed by Justin Henry at 2B, Ben Guez in RF, Brad Eldred at DH, Rob Brantly at C, Ryan Strieby at 1B, Eric Patterson in LF, Argenis Diaz at SS, Audy Ciriaco at 3B and LHP Andy Oliver as the starting pitcher. Charlotte lineup is next ...
6:10 p.m. -- The Charlotte lineup of manager Joel Skinner ... Leading off and playing CF is Greg Golson, followed by Tyler Kuhn in LF, Brent Morel at 3B, Dan Johnson at 1B, Chris Gimenez at dh, Josh Phegley at C, Drew Garcia at 2B, Ozzie Martinez at SS, Justin Greene in RF and RHP Terry Doyle as the starting pitcher.
6:16 p.m. -- First, the obvious: Austin Jackson is here on a rehab assignment. Jackson is leading off and playing centerfield. He will get at least three at-bats, according to manager Phil Nevin. If Jackson says he wants more than three at-bats, he will get them, Nevin said. Jackson is scheduled to play the entire game Friday in the final game in this series.
6:24 p.m. -- An update on Ryan Raburn, who is not in the lineup for the second consecutive game. Nevin said that Raburn stll is experiencing problems with his tight hamstring, and remains day-to-day. But Nevin also said Raburn probably won't be in the lineup Friday, either.
6:29 p.m. -- An update on the Mud Hens roster. Today the Mud Hens added LHP Austin Wood to the active roster. Wood will fill the opening that was created when Jose Ortega was promoted to Detroit Tuesday. Wood spent time with the Mud Hens earlier in the season and was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in 10 games. His problem here was walks: he walked 10 in 12 innings. With Double-A Erie Wood was 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in seven games, striking out nine and walking three in 8.2 innings.
6:37 p.m. -- Good news on LHP Matt Hoffman, who left Wednesday's game after feeling discomfort in his forearm. He told Nevin he feels better today. He probably won't pitch in today's game, but he should be available against soon.
6:45 p.m. -- A few links as we close in on first pitch .. Click here to read Wednesday's game story, which includes a few comments from new catcher Rob Brantly. And click here to view a photo gallery from Wednesday's game, courtesy of Lori King.
6:55 p.m. -- Here are a few links from the blog ... click here to read Wednesday's in-game blog. Click here to read the notes before Wednesday's game, which included several moves the Tigers made before the contest. Talk to you when Andy Oliver is done with the first.
7:07 p.m. -- Hens stater Andy Oliver retired the Knights in order in the top of the first, using just 12 pitches -- eight of which were strikes -- to get the three outs, one of them on a strikeout. Oliver's fastball sat at 93-94 mph (three at 93, three at 94, one at 95, one at 96) while his slider sat at 85-87 mph (two at 85, one at 86, one at 87). No score as the Hens come to bat in the bottom of the first.
7:15 p.m. -- Charlotte starter Terry Doyle retired the Mud Hens in order in the first inning, striking out Austin Jackson to start the inning. Doyle threw 13 pitches, eight of which were strikes, in the inning. He's not a hard-thrower, maxing out at 89-91 on the fastball (three at 89, one at 90, two at 91) but throwing a good curveball that sat at 77-80 mph (one at 77, one at 78, on at 79, one at 80) and a change-up that sits at 82-84 mph (one at each of those three speeds). There is no score as we head to the second.
7:27 p.m. -- Oliver already has three strikeouts in the first two innings and has thrown strikes with 19 of his first 26 pitches. Oliver has gotten a few swings and misses on high pitches, but he still should get credit for the strikes: He had gotten ahead of hitters and set them up to swing at pitches that might be out of the strike zone. He has looked very strong so far ... no score as we head to the third.
7:38 p.m. -- So far the Mud Hens have had only one baserunner in the first three innings: Brad Eldred, who led off the second by drawing a walk. But Eldred was running on a pitch to Ryan Strieby, who lifted a fly ball to right. Eldred didn't find the ball in time, though, and slid into second base; before he could put it in reverse and get to first, he was doubled off. No score as we head to the fourth.
7:50 p.m. -- Andy Oliver makes a mistake with a change-up high in the strike zone, and he paid for it dearly. Oliver was facing Charlotte's Drew Garcia with two on and two out in the third. He missed with his first pitch, a fastball, then left the change up high over the middle of the plate. Garcia hit a high fly down the left-field line that stayed fair and cleared the fence for his first home run of the season. The Knights now lead 3-0 as the Mud Hens come to bat in the bottom of the fourth.
8:01 p.m. -- At some point, this lack of offense becomes mental as much as physical. And it may be starting to become mental tonight ... The Mud Hens don't have a hit through the first four innings, although they got another walk in the fourth (to Ben Guez). Toledo hasn't even pushed a runner to second base so far, so the Hens may need something to snap them out of this funk. Charlotte leads 3-0 as we head to the fifth.
8:20 p.m. -- Racing With the Stars will be brief ... Jim Flealand led from wire-to-wire, sprinting to an easy victory. For a moment I thought Jamie Farmadillo would need assistance to finish, but he did. Back to baseball ...
8:37 p.m. -- Austin Jackson strikes out on three pitches in the sixth. He is 0-for-3 in the game with a pair of strikeouts. He didn't look great in the third at-bat, taking a curveball and a fastball from Terry Doyle for strikes before fanning on the breaking ball. Jackson has made one putout in the game, and it came on the first batter of the contest. Jackson had to pirouette to make the catch, but he made it. As we head to the seventh, it's still Charlotte 3, Mud Hens 0.
8:48 p.m. -- Hens batter Ben Guez led off the seventh by being hit by a pitch, but Rob Brantly hit into a double play to end the inning. Toledo still has no hits through seven innings, and they are staring down the barrel of a no-hitter. The last time the Mud Hens have been no-hit was way back in 1977, when Richmond's Mickey Mahler no-hit the Hens on June 1, 1977. Still 3-0 Charlotte as we head to the eighth.
8:59 p.m. -- A little Charlotte history ... Doyle is bidding to become just the second pitcher in Knights' Triple-A history to throw a nine-inning no-hitter. The first pitcher to turn the trick for Charlotte was Tetsu Yofu, who no-hit Durham on Aug. 1, 2004. Yofu struck out 10 and walked two. Hens come to bat in the eighth, still trailing 3-0.
9:06 p.m. -- Charlotte's Terry Doyle retired the Mud Hens in order in the eighth inning, striking out the last two Toledo batters he faced. Through eight innings he has struck nine and walked three with one hit batsman. For those of you wondering ... in his last start before tonight he carried a no-hitter into the eighth. We go to the ninth with Toledo trailing the Knights 3-0.
9:22 p.m. -- Heading down to field level for the bottom of the ninth ...
9:31 p.m. -- Well, that didn't take long ... Audy Ciriaco led off the ninth by doubling down the left-field line to break up Doyle's no-hitter.
9:38 p.m. -- The Mud Hens manage a run in the bottom of the ninth, but Charlotte had scored three times in the top of the ninth to claim a 6-1 win. On to the clubhouse ... thanks for following along!
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