The Toledo Mud Hens are licking their wounds after a tough 6-3 loss to the Columbus Clippers on Sunday, dropping the week series 5-1. It was a brutal Sunday start from Carl Edwards Jr., who just couldn’t find his rhythm early, and the offense struggled to back him up. This team has to find a way to rally, or this season is going to feel like a real slog.
Mud Hens’ Roller Coaster Ride: From Rough Start to Silver Linings
Edwards Jr. wasn’t sharp at all, giving up five earned runs in his five innings of work. That pushes his ERA to a staggering 9.25 through seven starts with the Mud Hens. Let’s be real, those numbers are just all-around bad, and it’s tough to see him sticking with Detroit much longer, especially after the Mets DFA’d him earlier this year. The second inning was a nightmare, with five straight batters reaching base. It felt like Toledo just left him out there to take the beating. But, credit where it’s due, he buckled down after that chaos, recovering with a double play and retiring an impressive 12 of the next 14 batters he faced. That’s a huge silver lining, showing he’s got some fight left.
Unfortunately, the Mud Hens’ bats couldn’t get much going behind him, scoring only one run until the eighth inning. Gage Workman tried to spark something, leading off the third with his 11th solo home run of the season. That’s a fantastic individual effort! But despite having runners on in each of the first five innings, no one else could capitalize. They finally put some more runs on the board late, with Jace Jung scoring on a Brett Callahan ground out in the eighth, and Cal Stevenson crossing the plate in the ninth on a Workman single. Max Anderson stepped up to the plate as the tying run, but he got a little under it, ending the game. Troy Watson also did his part in the bottom of the eighth, working around a one-out walk.
Erie’s Explosive Inning Steals the Series
Meanwhile, over in Double-A, the Erie SeaWolves put together a much better Sunday, taking their series against the Akron RubberDucks 4-2 with a 6-4 win. A huge five-run fourth inning was all Erie really needed to seal that victory. Max Alba had a decent enough start, retiring the first six batters in order before giving up a solo homer in the third. He was pulled in the fourth, but Johan Simon got the last out to stop the bleeding. Then, the offense absolutely fired up! Andrew Jenkins kicked things off with a double, followed by back-to-back singles from E.J. Exposito and Andrew Sojka, with Sojka’s hit tying the game. And then, Stephen Hrustich stepped up and crushed a three-run homer to left. His first Double-A home run? What a moment to do it! That blew the game wide open and secured the series.
Next up, the Toledo Mud Hens head home to face the Omaha Storm Chasers, with the series starting Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Can the Mud Hens regroup and show some more of that fight, or will the struggles continue? It’s time for this team to dig deep.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bless You Boys.
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