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Louisville center fielder Phil Ervin steals second base as Toledo second baseman Omar Infante waits for the throw during the fourth inning of Friday’s game.
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Mud Hens defeat rain, Bats on Moya’s single

BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH

Mud Hens defeat rain, Bats on Moya’s single

Bases-loaded hit makes difference

If you heard someone singing, “Rain, rain, go away,” on Friday, chances are good you were listening to Mud Hens manager Mike Rojas.

Rain washed out Toledo’s game at Indianapolis on Thursday morning, and it delayed the start of Friday’s game at Fifth Third Field between the Mud Hens and Louisville.

The game went into extra innings before Steven Moya’s bases-loaded RBI single gave the Hens a 4-3 victory against Louisville in 10 innings.

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IN PICTURES: Mud Hens 4, Louisville 3

While losing a game can be a headache — it has to be played at some point on the schedule, and can cause problems with pitching — the Mud Hens manager said losing the chance to work on the field can cause bigger problems.

“Any time you get a chance to work on the field, you do it,” Rojas said. “In April and May, you don’t know how the weather is going to be.

“And if you don’t spend enough time working on the field, you get rusty. You don’t get your work in, and you get out of your routine.”

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Losing the time to work with players becomes a bigger deal when you consider Triple-A baseball and the rest of the minor leagues are focused on player development more than wins and losses.

“Guys that are struggling, you want to get them on the field whether it’s early hitting, working on [covering] bunt plays or pitchers fielding practice,” Rojas said. “You work on fundamentals on the field, and that’s where you need to be when you’re working on development.”

The start of Friday’s game was delayed one hour, 26 minutes, by the rain that soaked northwest Ohio, but once play began the Mud Hens jumped in front with a disputed run.

With two outs, Efren Navarro drilled a line drive to right that was ruled a home run. But replays showed the ball bounced off the padding of the right-field fence, then snuck under the fence.

Toledo starter Buck Farmer put together a strong start, but the one inning where he struggled was the third.

Sebastian Elizalde and Chad Wallach singled, and a wild pitch pushed the runners to second and third with no one out. 

A groundout by Hernan Iribarren brought home Elizalde, and a two-out single by Tony Renda brought home Wallach.

Zach Walters then doubled into the right-center gap to bring home Renda.

But the Mud Hens started inching their way back into the game, starting with a home run by Alex Presley to lead off the sixth.

In the seventh, Toledo tied the game when James Loney drew a leadoff walk and pinch-runner David Lough scored on a double to left-center by Omar Infante.

Infante, who had two hits earlier in the game and now has hits in six consecutive at-bats, left the game after his double.

The game remained tied until the Mud Hens game-winning rally in the 10th. 

Presley, who had three hits in the contest, got things rolling with a single, then took second on a sacrifice by JaCoby Jones.

Louisville intentionally walked Navarro, and John Hicks beat out a slow roller down the third-base line for a single that loaded the bases.

Moya came on to pinch-hit for Lough and promptly lined a single to right through the drawn-in infield to score Presley with the game-winning run.

NOTES: Rojas was ejected from the game for arguing a play at first base in the ninth inning. ... Jones was 1-for-4 in his continued rehab assignment with the Hens, collecting a single in the eighth. ... Before the game, Double-A Erie announced left-handed Anthony Vasquez would join the Mud Hens. He is expected to join the team today and enter the rotation Tuesday. … To make room for Vasquez on the roster, Toledo sent right-hander A.J. Ladwig to the SeaWolves.

Contact John Wagner at: jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481 or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.

First Published May 6, 2017, 4:54 a.m.

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Louisville center fielder Phil Ervin steals second base as Toledo second baseman Omar Infante waits for the throw during the fourth inning of Friday’s game.  (BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)
Toledo’s Efren Navarro watches the flight of his home run in the first inning during the Mud Hens’ victory over Louisville.  (BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)
BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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