Bats' Rally Falls Short In 7-5 Loss To Stripers
The Louisville Bats were defeated 7-5 in a back-and-forth affair against the Gwinnett Stripers on Friday evening at Louisville Slugger Field. Louisville sent 34-year-old southpaw Kent Emanuel to the mound for his third start since returning to affiliated baseball. Emanuel struck out the first two Gwinnett batters before allowing a
The Louisville Bats were defeated 7-5 in a back-and-forth affair against the Gwinnett Stripers on Friday evening at Louisville Slugger Field.
Louisville sent 34-year-old southpaw Kent Emanuel to the mound for his third start since returning to affiliated baseball. Emanuel struck out the first two Gwinnett batters before allowing a double in a scoreless first inning.
Opposed by Atlanta Braves rehabbing starter Reynaldo Lopez, the Bats recorded a hit of their own on a broken-bat single by Jay Allen II in the first, but Lopez otherwise worked a clean initial frame.
Emanuel got himself into trouble in the second, walking consecutive batters. Former-Bat Chuckie Robinson made him pay with a RBI single to open the scoring, and Luke Williams scored another on a run-scoring fly out, giving the Stripers an early 2-0 advantage.
Will Benson doubled with two outs in the bottom of the second, but the Bats could not chip away at the deficit.
After loading the bases, the Stripers added another tally in the third on a run-scoring walk. Emanuel ended the inning with a ground out to avoid further trouble, stranding three base runners.
The Bats responded by loading the bases in the home half, with Juan Brito scoring the first two Louisville runs on a two-RBI single. Michael Chavis followed with his 71st RBI of the season on a single to tie the score at three runs apiece.
Following a perfect inning from Emanuel in the fourth, P.J. Higgins led off the Bats’ side of the inning with his eighth double of the season. Dominic Pitelli notched a single to move the go-ahead run to third, and Carlos Jorge recorded his 10th Triple-A RBI on a ground out, providing the Bats a short-lived 4-3 lead.
A leadoff double from Brett Wisely in the top of the fifth lingered until, with two outs, Robinson homered for the first time as a Striper to reestablish Gwinnett’s lead at 5-4.
Chavis recorded his second single of the game the following half-inning, but a groundball double play off the bat of Leo Balcazar wiped away the potential tying run.
Kevin Abel entered in relief for the Bats to begin the sixth. He quickly worked into trouble, allowing back-to-back singles to open the inning.
With one out and runners at the corners, the Stripers set the runner on first in motion. As the ball rolled away from the Bats’ covering defender, the lead runner broke toward home but was tagged out, saving a run. A strikeout allowed Abel to escape unscathed.
Benson recorded his second hit of the night on a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth, setting up the tying run. A sequence of a wild pitch and fielding error moved the base runner to third, allowing Jorge to drive in his second run of the night on a ground out, tying the game once more at 5-5.
After a series of defensive switches from the Bats, Abel worked a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh.
Looking to regain the lead, Louisville loaded the bases after two walks and a second fielding error by the Stripers defense. A fly out from Higgins kept the game tied into the eighth.
Graham Ashcraft pitched a seamless eighth as part of a rehab assignment for the Reds, striking out two and fielding a ground out for good measure.
Anthony Misiewicz (L, 2-3) made his 42nd appearance of the season in the ninth. After surrendering a walk, a hard-hit comebacker struck the Bats reliever, allowing a second base runner to reach and moving the lead runner to third. Misiewicz exited the game following the play.
Zach Maxwell took over on the mound, allowing the go-ahead run to score on a sacrifice fly from Lizandro Espinoza, before DaShawn Keirsey Jr. doubled home another run, giving Gwinnett a 7-5 lead into the last of the ninth.
The Bats got the tying and winning runs on base in the ninth after Chavis singled, Balcazar doubled, and Benson walked to load the bases. With one out, Higgins grounded into a game-ending double play.
Louisville’s offense received a series of impressive performances. Chavis went 3-for-5 with a RBI, Benson reached base four times, and Jorge provided a two-RBI, two-stolen-base effort. Ultimately, 12 Bats base runners were stranded in a tight contest.
The Bats (57-71, 18-37 2nd half) continue their penultimate homestand against the Stripers (66-63, 28-27 2nd half) on Saturday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. at Louisville Slugger Field. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for Sports Talk 790AM.