Durham Uses The Long Ball To Knock Hens Out Of Playoffs, Win Series 3-0

The Durham Bulls ended the Toledo Mud Hens 2007 season on Friday night, slugging three home runs of Hens pitching, including two in the ninth to score three runs and break a 2-2 tie for a 5-2 victory. Durham swept the best of five series from Toledo by a 3-0 count. The Bulls will now advance to the Governor’s Cup Championship Series, facing the winner of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Richmond.

In Game 3, a pair of right-handers faced off; Eulogio De La Cruz for the Hens, and former Met, Dodger and Devil Ray Jae Seo for Durham. For De La Cruz it was only his second start of the season for the Hens, though he did start for Toledo in the 2006 playoffs on the way to a second straight Governor’s Cup Championship.

For the third consecutive night, the Mud Hens took a 1-0 lead in their first at bat. The speedy Andres Torres led off the game, and drilled a fly ball to the right-center gap which barely missed clearing the fence. When it caromed off the top of the wall, centerfielder Jason Pridie couldn’t catch up to the bounce allowing Torres to round third and come all the way home for the first inside the park homerun in Fifth Third Field history.

For the third consecutive night, the Mud Hens lost their 1-0 lead in Durham’s next at bat. After retiring the first four batters, De La Cruz served up a belt-high fastball to Tampa Bay top prospect Evan Longoria, who drilled it over the left field wall for a game-tying homer in the top of the second.

With the game still tied 1-1 with two out in the bottom of the fourth, the game was delayed due to rain at 8:04 p.m. The rain quickly passed though, and thanks to the superb and quick work of the Mud Hens grounds crew, the game was re-started at 8:30, a delay of approximately 26 minutes.

In their first at-bat after the delay, Durham pulled in front. De La Cruz walked Michel Hernandez to begin the fifth, who moved to second on an Elliot Johnson sacrifice bunt. With two away, leadoff man Jon Weber delivered the clutch run-scoring single back up the middle, for a 2-1 Bulls lead heading to the sixth.

De La Cruz would last two outs into the sixth, allowing just two earned runs on two hits. Not too many Durham batters made contact, as despite striking out eight, De La Cruz walked seven Bulls before leaving the game with two runners on base. Righty Jeremy Johnson entered and escaped the jam, the Hens still trailing 2-1.

The Mud Hens would tie things up in an exciting seventh. David Espinosa led off with a triple to right field, and with one out Chris Maples pinch hit for Max Leon in the eighth spot in the order. It proved to be a savvy move by manager Mike Rojas, as Maples smacked a double down the right field line to easily score Espinosa from third and send the game to the eighth tied at 2 apiece. With no one out in the eighth, the skies opened up once again in Downtown Toledo. The game was delayed at 9:39 p.m., and resumed at 10:40 p.m., delay of one hour and a minute.

Seo went seven strong innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. The South Korea native walked two, and struck out seven.

The Bulls ended the Mud Hens season in the ninth, in the same fashion they’ve used to win all series long. Jon Weber smashed a solo homer to lead off the inning, a moon shot to “The Roost” in right field. Three batters later after two Acquilino Lopez strikeouts and a single by Chris Richard, Evan Longoria struck yet again, destroying a 1-1 Lopez offering off the video board in left field, extending the Durham lead to 5-2. For the Bulls it was their third home run of the game, and the tenth in the three games after socking six dingers in the opener. The team that led the IL in home runs in 2007 certainly didn’t shy away from their strength to begin the postseason.

With Shawn Camp pitching in the ninth for the third straight night, he set the Hens down in order with a strikeout to finish off the game and series. Lopez took the loss with Seo the victor, and Camp’s first save of the playoffs.

Congratulations to the Durham Bulls on their 2007 IL South Division Championship, and for advancing to the International League Championship Series. They will play the winner of the Richmond-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre series, currently led by Richmond 2-1 after their 6-4 win on Friday.

More importantly, congratulations to our Mud Hens for their third consecutive IL West Division Championship and another thrilling run to the playoffs. It may not have ended with a third straight Governor’s Cup Championship ring, but it made for another terrific and unforgettable season in Downtown Toledo. Proof of that was in another attendance record falling, as nearly 600,000 fans packed Fifth Third Field in 2007. Thanks guys for a great summer!

Next: See you at Fifth Third Field for the 2008 season opener on April 3rd against the Durham Bulls!