The Memphis Redbirds wouldn’t be denied on Saturday night, rallying back from an early deficit to win 7-4 at the Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A affiliate, Detroit Tigers) on a sunny Saturday night in late June.
For the third straight night, the power bats for Toledo (24-22) surged them in front early. A triple from Derek Hill and a double from Renato Nuñez plated a run in the first, while a two-run home run by Aderlīn Rodriguez to dead-center field in the fourth made it a 3-0 game. Rodriguez has now hit five of his 10 home runs this season against Memphis.
Locke St. John was brilliant in a brief starting role for the Mud Hens, tossing four scoreless innings with just three hits allowed, no walks and six strikeouts. The normal reliever was making just his third start out of 13 total appearances this season. Two of his three starts this season have come against Memphis.
The Redbirds (18-29) began their comeback with a lone run in the fifth via a Kramer Robertson solo home run. It was Kramer’s first hit of the series.
The true onslaught came in the sixth, when Memphis scored five times on three timely hits: a two-run triple from Conner Capel, an RBI single from Robertson, and a two-run home run from Rayder Ascanio.
The two teams traded runs the rest of the game. Rodriguez drove in another run with an RBI double in the sixth, while the ‘Birds got a crucial insurance run in the top of ninth by way of a Matt Szczur RBI double.
The Redbirds bullpen locked the game down late. Roel Ramirez pitched scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth, and Connor Jones earned the save with a clean ninth. The former Virginia Cavalier struck out the final two batters of the ballgame, clinching the victory for Memphis in style.
