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Louisville Bats

Bats' Rally Falls Short, Lose 6-5

July 24, 2013 - International League (IL1)
Louisville Bats News Release


SYRACUSE, NY-The first seven innings featured a pitching duel, where runs were a premium. However, Louisville (52-53) and Syracuse (44-58) combined to score eight runs in their last at bats. The Bats trailed 6-1 entering the ninth inning, but brought the go-ahead run to the plate in a thrilling rally attempt that fell just short.

Louisville was looking to get their record over .500 for the first time since being 24-23 on May 23. The Bats have now lost six straight games when reaching .500. Chad Reineke (8-8, 3.50) who is 4-4 in his last eight starts entering the game, was brilliant once again tonight, even though he was given the loss. Reineke was opposed by Tanner Roark (8-3, 3.42), who matched Reineke pitch-for-pitch for six great innings of his own.

The Bats were retired in order in the first inning. In the home half, Eury Perez led off with a homerun to deep leftfield, his seventh of the season. The solo shot from Perez was the 17th homerun allowed by Reineke on the season, which is the most in the International League.

Emmanuel Burriss led off the fourth with a blistering single up the middle, the first hit of the night for Louisville. However Jhonatan Solano threw out Burriss on an attempted steal of second base, the fifth time he has been caught stealing this season. The out at second would prove to be costly, as Mike Hessman later singled in the inning. With two outs in the inning, Felix Perez grounded out to first, halting the Bats' scoring threat.

Louisville evened the score in the fifth thanks to a clutch two-out double from Billy Hamilton. Nevin Ashley drew a walk and Jason Donald followed with a single to give the Bats runners on first and second with one out. Reineke failed to get the bunt down after three attempts, striking out for the second out of the inning. With two strikes in the count, Hamilton doubled down the right field line, scoring Ashley. The double was Hamilton's 13th this season, and 31st RBI.

The Chiefs regained the lead in the home half of the fifth. Zach Walters led off with a single. Walters went on to steal second on a strikeout, giving Syracuse a runner in scoring position with two outs and the pitcher coming to the plate. The ideal situation backfired for the Bats as Roark doubled to right, his second hit of the game, giving the Chiefs a 2-1 lead. Denis Phipps appeared to lose the ball in the lights, and the split-second hesitation allowed the ball to sail over his head for the go-ahead run.

The Bats looked to answer in the sixth as Felix Perez belted a two-out double to right, his 19th. Phipps followed with a single to centerfield for the potential game-tying run; however Syracuse's Corey Brown came up throwing, and Perez was tagged out at the plate after over-sliding the plate. Phipps' single extended his current hitting streak to six games.

Ryan Mattheus began his rehab assignment for the Chiefs in the seventh inning, ending Roark's night. Mattheus walked Donald, which brought Josh Fellhauer in to pinch hit for Reineke. The Bats were unable to push any runs across, and Nick Christiani would come in to relieve Reineke.

The bad luck run in the fifth put Reineke in line for the loss. Reineke's final line was 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, BB, and 5 K's. Tuesday marked Reineke's eighth quality start of the season.

Syracuse blew the game open in the eighth, capping off a four-run inning, all of which came with two outs. Christiani retired the first two batters, but walked Danny Espinosa and allowed a single to Tyler Moore. Zach Duke came into relief and allowed a three-run homerun to Brown. Duke surrendered two more hits and a run, as Syracuse took a commanding 6-1 lead. The runs allowed by Duke were his first runs allowed this season.

Louisville looked to rally in their final at bat, and they did just that. Perez, Ashley and Donald singled in succession to score a run, cutting the deficit to 6-2. Kristopher Negron drew a pinch-hit walk, loading the bases for Hamilton, representing the tying run. Hamilton doubled down the leftfield line, scoring two runs. Hamilton went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Burriss grounded out to short, scoring a run and cutting the score to 6-5. With the tying run standing 90 feet away, Henry Rodriguez grounded out to end the game.

The Bats' rally fell just short, snapping their four-game winning streak. Louisville was looking for their 19th come-from-behind win this season, and nearly obtained it. The Bats bullpen, which has been a strength this season, faltered in Tuesday's loss. Christiani and Duke combined to throw: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, BB, 3 K's.

The series with Syracuse is now even at one win apiece, and the Bats are now 4-2 after the All-star Break. Louisville has not won a series in Syracuse since 1989. Game three of the four-game series will be played Wednesday at 7 p.m. Louisville will send Chad Rogers (2-2, 6.04) to the mound, and the Chiefs will counter with right-hander Caleb Clay (3-2, 2.29).

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