Mud Hens pound Yankees

TOLEDO, Ohio – Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 10-2 loss to the Mud Hens Tuesday night was one of those games a team would rather just forget.

Four Yankee pitchers allowed 17 hits and surrendered six runs in the fifth inning alone. The offense managed two hits and didn’t even advance a runner past second until the ninth, when Ben Broussard cranked a two-out, two-run homer to avoid the shutout.

“I’d rather forget about that inning,” Miley said. “Every ball they hit found a hole. I’ll take responsibility, because I make out the lineup and I bring in the pitchers.

“But I’ve seen too many like this. It’s hard to set it aside. We’re not playing good baseball right now, so it’s something that’s got to get turned around.”

After three scoreless innings, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre fell behind 2-0 when Brent Clevlen and Michael Hollimon stroked back-to-back doubles for one run and Brandon Inge added a two-out RBI single.

But after Yankees starter Ian Kennedy left following the fourth, the roof caved in. Steven Jackson got only one out while surrendering four hits and four runs, and Heath Phillips gave up three hits, a walk and two more runs before getting two outs.

The damage assessment for the fifth: Toledo sent 11 batters to the plate and collected seven hits and six runs to put the game out of reach. And things could have been worse: the Mud Hens stranded at least one baserunner in all eight innings they hit and finished with 13 left on base for the game.

“It’s always good to beat a good team like Scranton – they’re near the top of their division,” Hollimon said. “Early in the game we were a little too anxious to push some runs home.

“But you have to give some credit to (Ian) Kennedy. He did a good job of mixing pitches and putting them in spots where we couldn’t do anything with them.”

Meanwhile the Yankees did little with Mud Hens starter Zach Miner, who made his first start in more than a year. He allowed just two hits and a walk in four shutout innings, and relievers Ian Ostlund and Jeremy Johnson each added two scoreless frames.

“Our pitching set the tone early,” Mud Hens manager Larry Parrish said. “It was four innings (for Miner), but it was four innings without any runs [allowed].

“Then Ian Ostlund came in with two solid innings, and by them we had scored a lot of runs.”

NOTES: Yankees catcher Chris Stewart allowed Toledo’s Max Leon to reach base on catcher’s interference for the second time in three days. … All 10 Toledo hitters finished with at least one hit, while Hollimon led the way with three.

LOOKING AHEAD

Next Game: SWB Yankees vs. Toledo Mud Hens, 7 p.m., Fifth Third Field, Toledo, Ohio

Probable starters: Kei Igawa (LHP, 8-4, 3.82 ERA) vs. Virgil Vasquez (RHP, 6-8, 4.56 ERA)