IL1 Louisville Bats

Bats Crush Mud Hens in 13-4 Win

Published on July 29, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Louisville Bats News Release


TOLEDO, Ohio - The Louisville Bats (44-63) cruised to their season-high fourth straight victory Monday night against the Toledo Mud Hens (47-60), winning by a 13-4 score at Fifth Third Field. The win guarantees the Bats a winning month of July.

It was a tremendous all-around performance from the Bats, with starter Vladimir Gutierrez (3-9, 6.79) tossing a quality start in the win. He went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned), walking one and striking out three on 100 pitches and 68 strikes. He was given plenty of run support, with the Bats' offense scoring a run in each of the first two frames before exploding for a five-run third.

One night removed from hitting a leadoff home run in Sunday's win, Louisville leadoff hitter Narciso Crook singled and stole second base to begin Monday's contest, scoring on a Christian Colon RBI groundout. Crook finished the night 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, runs scored and runs batted in, while Colon recorded his 30th double for Louisville this season.

Blake Trahan homered in the second inning, his fourth home run of the month, tying an overall season-high set with the Daytona Tortugas back in 2016. Trahan was one of five Bats with multi-hit games tonight, joining Crook, Brian O'Grady, Aristides Aquino and Mitch Nay.

Catcher Chadwick Tromp contributed the bulk of the damage in the early innings, smacking a grand slam in the top of the third to break the game open early. His bases loaded shot was the second for Louisville this season, joining Josh VanMeter, who hit a grand slam on April 29, also against the Mud Hens. Tromp has now homered five times for the Bats in just eight games.

The Bats led 7-0 early, with Toledo attempting to creep back into the game. The Hens made it a 7-4 deficit with a quartet of one-run innings, even bringing the potential tying and leading runs up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning. With reliever Alex Powers on the mound, Louisville's defensive prowess emerged on back-to-back plays.

Aristides Aquino caught a relatively deep fly ball with the bases loaded and nobody out, with Toledo's Ronny Rodriguez deciding to test Aquino's strong arm by attempting to tag up from third. Rodriguez was easily nailed by Aquino's perfect strike to the plate, leaving the Mud Hens down three runs with two outs rather than down two with just one out. The very next play, shortstop Blake Trahan made a dazzling play on a groundball for a force out, keeping the Hens' offense at bay.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Bats got all of the insurance runs they would need and then some, tying a team-high with six runs in the frame. Louisville brought 11 hitters to the plate and mustered up five hits, manufacturing the six runs without the aid of the long ball.

Joel Kuhnel shut the door in the bottom of the ninth with a much less stressful frame than the eighth, recording a 1-2-3 inning in the 13-4 victory. The win improves Louisville's record in 25 July games to 14-11, securing the club's first winning calendar month of the season with two games to play.

Tomorrow, the Bats will look to sweep the two-game series with right-hander Tejay Antone (2-5, 5.55) on the mound. Toledo will start Major League rehabber Spencer Turnbull, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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International League Stories from July 29, 2019


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