Friday, June 8, 2007

6/8/07 Chiefs Avoid Sweep in Toledo

It seems like once a series the Chiefs drop down and make a stunning comeback. Well, this series was no exception. Syracuse overcame a 5-1 defecit to beat Toledo 6-5 and avoid being swept by the Mud Hens. They did so with a lot of help by the long ball. Three homers by the Chiefs (28-31) accounted for 4 of the 6 runs, including 2 shots in the 6th inning to put them back within 1 of the hometown Hens (34-28). They then used a 2 run double by John Hattig in the 7th to take the lead and hold on. The Mud Hens opened up the scoring in the 3rd inning scoring 3 on Henry Mateo's 1 out triple. Mateo scored on the play as Adams missed the cutoff throw. The Chiefs cut the lead to 2 when John-Ford Griffin popped his 10th of the year and 3rd in his last 6 games. Toledo made it 5-1 with Mike Hessman's 18th homer of the year after a walk put Timo Perez on. However, Syracuse's bullpen made sure that no more runs would be given up, as they go four innings giving up no runs. Homers by Chad Mottola and Mike Vento cut the lead to 5-4 before Hattig's game winning hit. Victor Zambrano had another shaky outing for the Chiefs, as he continues to rehab in the minors, looking no where near ready to jump back into Toronto's rotation. His five runs given up keep his ERA above 7 in AAA, while he also walked 5 men, only striking out 4. Toledo pitcher Ramon Colon picked up the loss (0-1), while Jamie Vermilyea notched the win (1-1).

Notes: Earlier in the day, Toronto recalled catcher Gregg Zaun from his rehab assignment, while sending back pitcher Brian Wolfe to Syracuse. The Chiefs head to Columbus for a 5 game series tomorrow. They will make up Monday's rainout Saturday with a doubleheader.

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