Mud Hens collapse in sixth, fall 14-1 to Red Wings

Toledo’s night held up until the sixth, then it came apart in one inning that changed everything. Max Anderson’s solo homer had the Mud Hens ahead 1-0, but Rochester answered with an 11-run outburst that sent 17 batters to the plate and turned a manageable game into a blowout at ESL Ballpark.

Harry Ford drove the damage for Rochester with a home run, a double and three RBI, part of a lineup that kept coming from every spot. All nine Red Wings hitters scored at least once, and five Rochester players finished with multi-hit games as the club improved to 45-27 and moved one step closer to a playoff berth. The sixth inning was the decisive break, but the pressure never really stopped after that.

Toledo’s only run came in the fourth on Anderson’s homer, and that lead was the Hens’ last real foothold in the game. Rochester stretched the margin further later, including Yohandy Morales’ 445-foot homer off a position player in the eighth, a final reminder of how far the evening had tilted by then. Toledo used six pitchers and one position player just to get through the night.

The box score reflected the rest of the scene: 10,199 fans, a 2 hour and 45 minute game time, first pitch at 6:48 p.m., and clear 73-degree weather with a 13 mph wind blowing out to right field. Those conditions did not excuse Toledo’s collapse, but they framed the way Rochester kept turning contact into pressure once the sixth inning started to open up.

The result also closed out a volatile six-game set in which Toledo had already beaten Rochester 2-1 in the opener on June 16 and 10-6 on June 18 before dropping this one in ugly fashion. The Mud Hens then won the finale 9-6 on June 21 to split the series, but the June 20 game stood out as the one that exposed how quickly a road start can unravel when one inning gets away. Rochester found the big swing; Toledo spent the rest of the night trying to contain the damage.