6:00 p.m. – The Mud Hens lineup for manager Phil Nevin. ... Leading off and playing CF is Justin Henry, followed by Ryan Raburn at 2B, Don Kelly at 3B, John Lindsey at DH, Danny Dorn at 1B, Ben Guez in RF, Danny Worth at 2B, Bryan Holaday at C, Argenis Diaz at SS and LHP Duane Below as the starting pitcher. Indianapolis lineup is next ...
6:06 p.m. – The Indianapolis lineup of manager Dean Treanor ... Leading off and playing SS is Brock Holt, followed by Anderson Hernandez at 2B, Alex Presley in CF, Matt Hague at 1B, Dallas McPherson at DH, Brandon Boggs in RF, Yamaico Navarro at 3B, Tony Sanchez at C, Jeff Larish in LF and RHP Phil Irwin as the starting pitcher.
6:13 p.m. -- A few notes and such, but FIRST ... Congrats to Allie Clifton on her new gig with the television broadcasts of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Click here to read the details.
6:19 p.m. -- The International League announced its post-season All-Star team today, and there were no Mud Hens on the rolls. Mauro Gomez of Pawtucket was the league MVP, while Tyler Cloyd of Lehigh Valley was the most valuable pitcher. Dave Miley of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was the manager of the year, and Ernesto Mejia was the league's rookie of the year. By position it was Mejia at first base, Cord Phelps of Columbus at second, Jose Iglesias of Pawtucket at shortstop and Carlos Rivera of Syracuse at third. The three outfielders were Starling Marte of Indianapolis, Corey Brown of Syracuse and Leslie Anderson of Durham. Ryan Lavarnway was voted as the catcher, Cloyd was the starting pitcher, Tim Wood of Indianapolis was the relief pitcher, Gomez was the DH and Dan Johnson of Charlotte was the "utility" player.
6:25 p.m. -- For those of you wondering (and yes, a few of you said you wondered) ... My vote was pretty similar to the final ballot. I had Johnson at third base (there wasn't a "utility" position on the ballot), and I had Justin Henry as my third outfielder instead of Anderson. As for the MVP position ... I left it blank in honor of Brad Eldred, who did not play enough games to quality. Otherwise, I was on the money.
6:32 p.m. -- While I'm thinking of it (and while the game starts), congrats to Toledo's Justin Henry on being named the International League's batter of the week. Click here to read the details.
6:42 p.m. -- Rough beginning for Mud Hens starter Duane Below, who allowed four singles to the first four hitters he faced (which resulted in two runs) before getting out of the first inning. Below threw 22 pitches, 15 for strikes, with the fastball sitting at 90-92 mph, the curveball sat at 78-79 mph, and the change-up sat at 83-86 mph. The Mud Hens come up to bat in the bottom of the first inning trailing 2-0.
6:52 p.m. -- I promise to put together a post-game scouting report on Duane Below and any other relievers of interest following the game. If you missed it, click here for a scouting report on Casey Crosby, Daniel Schlereth, Luis Marte and Zach Miner Sunday. Click here for a scouting report on Andy Oliver, Luke Putkonen, Al Alburquerque and Bruce Rondon.
7:02 p.m. -- Duane Below struggles again with command in the second inning and it costs him another run. Below gave up a single and then back-to-back walks to start the frame, then gave up the run with a double play. After that he gave up another walk before getting a strikeout to end the inning. Below already has thrown 54 pitches, and only 30 were strikes. He did throw 75 pitches in his second start, but he will not last long at this pace. Toledo now trails 3-0 as the Hens come to bat in the second.
7:19 p.m. -- The Mud Hens load the bases in the second inning but do not score as Argenis Diaz takes a called third strike to end the threat. Toledo got a double from Danny Dorn and a pair of walks to load the bases but didn't take advantage. Indianapolis starter Phil Irwin does seem to have a "plus" curveball, so this won't be an easy night for Mud Hens hitters. We head to the third and the Indians still lead 3-0.
7:45 p.m. -- Duane Below survived the next two innings but had only one clean inning ... that was the third, when he struck out two of the three batters he faced. Below has given up six hits and four walks in his five innings of work while striking out three. Below threw 87 pitches, 52 of which were strikes, and that number got better as the game went on. Jose Ortega is warming up in the bullpen, so I assume Below is done. Mud Hens come to bat in the bottom of the fourth, trailing 3-0.
8:01 p.m. -- Jose Ortega is impressive in the fifth inning, striking out the first two batters he faced, then giving up a bloop single before getting an inning-ending groundout. Ortega featured a fastball that sat at 97-98 (two at 94, one at 95, one at 96, six at 97, three at 98). He also had good command of both the fastball and the slider, throwing strikes with 15 of the 19 pitches he threw. He will return for the sixth, so we'll see how he faces there ... and yes, I'll include him in the post-game analysis.
8:09 p.m. -- Racing With the Stars update ... Jamie Farmadillo got off to a good start but Jim Flealand started pestering him. Behind shortstop Farmadillo hit the ground and Flealand tripped over him, and that was the opening Kitty Holmes needed as she raced to the front and never surrendered the lead. Back to baseball ...
8:15 p.m. -- Jose Ortega follows up an impressive fifth with an equally impressive sixth, retiring the Indians in order. Ortega threw strikes -- 21 of his 28 pitches were strikes -- and that helped him finish with just one hit allowed in two scoreless frames, not to mention very few good swings. Daniel Schlereth begins to warm up in the bullpen, so Ortega's day seems to be finished. Mud Hens come to bat in the bottom of the sixth, still trailing 3-0.
8:35 p.m. -- Daniel Schlereth pitches in a bit of bad luck in the seventh and suffers a run for it. He gave up a bloop single behind second base, a line single to center and a bloop single to center that produced a run. He struck out one and then walked walk and was replaced after having thrown 20 pitches, 15 of which were strikes. His fastball sat at 90-91 mph, with the curve at 78 mph. He got a bit of a break when, with the bases loaded and just one out, Indy's Dallas McPherson was thrown out at second trying to advance on a sacrifice fly. McPherson was tagged out before Anderson Hernandez scored, so the second run did not count. Mud Hens come to bat in the bottom of the seventh, now trailing 4-0.
8:55 p.m. -- Mud Hens aren't able to take advantage of an error, and we head to the ninth with Indianapolis leading 4-0.
9:14 p.m. -- Indianapolis tacks on a ninth-inning run against Hens reliever Matt Hoffman, who gave up three hits and got bailed out by a double-play, Toledo's fourth of the night. Think about this: Indy leads just 5-0 despite 14 hits and six walks by six Hens pitchers. Four double plays certainly helped, the Indians hit just 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and the Tribe stranded 11 on base.
9:22 p.m. -- The Mud Hens are retired in order in the ninth and suffer a 5-0 loss to Indianapolis, the fifth time Toledo was shut out this season (the FOURTH time this month). Heading to the clubhouse -- thanks for following along!
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