IL1 Louisville Bats

Game Notes: Louisville Bats (1-3) at Columbus Clippers (3-1)

Published on April 8, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Louisville Bats News Release


Game 5, Away 5

Louisville Bats (1-3) at Columbus Clippers (3-1)

6:05 PM | Monday, April 8, 2019 | Huntington Park

LISTEN: Nick Curran, 790 KRD; iHeartRadio.com; iHeart app

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Louisville Bats and Columbus Clippers open up a three-game series at Huntington Park on Monday. Right-hander Jose Lopez is set to start and become the 25th player to suit up for Louisville in a game this season, as the Bats look to win their second straight. Lopez led all Bats pitchers in games started (26) and innings pitched (141.0) during the 2018 season.

AGAINST COLUMBUS: The Bats and Clippers meet for the first of 7 series this season, and the very first of 24 scheduled matchups between the clubs in 2019. Last season, Louisville went 9-15 (.375) against the Clip Show in 24 games, 4-10 at home and 5-5 at Huntington Park. In the all-time series, Columbus holds a one-game advantage with a 206-205 record in 411 total matchups dating back to 1988.

A GAME OF FIRSTS: Not only did the Bats win their first game of the season on Sunday by an 8-4 score, but they also hit their first home run of 2019 when first baseman Brian O'Grady sailed one over the right field fence in the top of the second at Fifth Third Field to give the Bats a 1-0 lead.

Homerless No More: The Bats had gone homerless in the first 3 games of a season for the first time since 2008, when Jay Bruce ended the drought in Louisville's fifth game of that season. Aristides Aquino and Nick Longhi both added home runs of their own in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively, each tallying their first career homers at the Triple-A level.

Speaking of Triple-A Firsts...: Catcher Chris Okey nabbed his first career Triple-A hit (a double) in his third career game with the Bats, finishing the day 2-for-4. Right-handed starting pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez, who was making his Triple-A debut, got the victory with 5.1 innings of two-run ball, securing the Bats' first win of the season in his first-ever start with the Bats.

First Home Run Opponent Date (Game)

2019: Brian O'Grady, Solo Toledo 4/7 (4th)

2018: Rosell Herrera, 2-run Toledo 4/7 (2nd)

2017: Sebastian Elizalde, Solo Columbus 4/6 (1st)

2016: Kyle Waldrop, Solo Columbus 4/13 G1 (3rd)

2015: Steve Selsky, 2-run Toledo 4/10 (2nd)

WIN IN TRIPLE-A DEBUT: Gutierrez went 5.1 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 4 hits, walking one and striking out 3 on 82 pitches (57 strikes) in his first-ever game with the Bats. He became the first Louisville starting pitcher to record a win in his Triple-A debut since current Bat, right-hander Keury Mella did it on September 5, 2016 in the final game of the season vs. Indianapolis.

BREAK ON THROUGH: The Bats grabbed their first win of 2019 behind a stellar offensive performance that included 15 hits and each of their 9 batters recording at least one hit. O'Grady led the way with a 3-for-5 performance, with Aquino, Okey, Christian Colon and Josh VanMeter contributing two-hit games. Last season, Louisville recorded 15+ hits as a team on 9 occasions, going 8-1 in those games. Their season-high was 20 hits on June 9 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and before yesterday, the last time LOU had 15 or more in a game was August 27, 2018 (16) in a 14-2 win at Indianapolis.

RISIN' TO THE TOP: Coming off the heels of their terrific offensive performance on Sunday, Louisville's team batting average shot up 51 points from .206 to .257, as well as their OPS up 126 points from .600 to .726. While obviously early in the season, LOU went from ranked 11th to 5th in batting average, and 13th to 9th in OPS overnight.

ONIONS!: The Virginia Cavaliers and Texas Tech Red Raiders meet in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship tonight. According to Baseball-Reference, the last Cavalier to suit up for Louisville was LHP Kyle Crockett (2018) and the last Red Raider was RHP Travis Smith (1998 RiverBats). The last time the Bats had a player the same season that their school won the NCAA Tournament was Rob Wooten (North Carolina, 2017).

Check out the Louisville Bats Statistics

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International League Stories from April 8, 2019


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