Balanced Performance Powers Bats to 8-1 Victory

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Balanced Performance Powers Bats to 8-1 Victory

June 18, 2025 - International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release


LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - As Chase Burns took the bump for the Louisville Bats in his Louisville Slugger Field debut against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Louisville put together an all-around stellar game. Burns stifled the RailRiders while the Bats utilized their power at the plate, gliding to an 8-1 win.

Right out of the gate, the Cincinnati Reds' top prospect, Burns, brought the heat and put on a show. Burns wasted no time showing why he's the No. 11 prospect in all of baseball, getting the first man he faced to whiff on a 100.1 mph fastball. Two batters later, he froze the hitter on another heater to retire the side.

T.J. Rumfield led off the second with a double, and while Burns didn't surrender another base knock in the frame, a groundout and sacrifice fly brought him home, putting Scranton/WB on the board first. In the opening two innings the Bats stranded all three runners who reached, but they promptly showed what they're capable of with the bases empty.

Jeimer Candelario knotted the game, 1-1, with a deep blast to right in the fourth, and one inning later Louisville tacked on two more solo shots. Rece Hinds and Ryan Vilade, making his debut with the Bats, went back-to-back off RailRiders starter Erick Leal (L, 1-7), giving Burns a 3-1 lead to work with.

When he returned in the top of the fifth, Burns made sure to maintain that lead with a 1-2-3 inning. Fanning back-to-back RailRiders to end the frame, Burns sat down his 12th-straight batter.

Following that strong stretch, Scranton/WB tested Burns in the sixth. The RailRiders kicked off the frame with a pair of hits, putting runners on the corners. Nevertheless, Burns (W, 1-0) navigated around it, with the help of Will Banfield to gun down Ismael Munguia trying to swipe second, to get out of the inning unscathed. Returning for the seventh, Burns commanded the zone, sitting Scranton/WB in order and finishing his outing with his seventh strike out.

Burns finished by allowing one earned run on three hits with seven strikeouts to earn his first Triple-A victory and his seventh overall in the 2025 season.

On the offensive side, the Bats woke up after two quiet innings at the plate, unleashing a two-out scoring barrage. Walks by Levi Jordan and Blake Dunn set the scene, and Candelario doubled Jordan in. Francisco Urbaez found the gap in center to drive in a pair, passing the baton to Edwin Ríos. Ríos, in turn, gave Louisville its third-straight extra base hit and fourth homer of the day to extend the Bats' lead, 8-1, with a rocket to straightaway center.

After Burn exited, Louisville's relievers kept it rolling. Joe La Sorsa struck out the side, and Zach Maxwell finished the job with a scoreless ninth.

Candelario went 2-for-4 with a double, home run, and two RBI in the win. Urbaez recorded two hits and two RBI as the Bats evened the series.

The Bats (30-41) continue their series with the RailRiders (36-32) on Thursday evening, looking to build on their strong performance on both sides of the ball. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET with Nick Curran on the call for Sports Talk 790.

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