IL1 Louisville Bats

Louisville Bats Notes: July 7

Published on July 7, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Louisville Bats News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME: The Louisville Bats will rebrand as the "Louisville Mashers" for the second Cheers to Bourbon Night at Louisville Slugger Field this season. Right-hander Jose Lopez looks to throw his second quality start in a row in the Bats' penultimate contest before the Triple-A All-Star Break.

SPOILED LEAD IN OPENER: Louisville dropped the opening game of a three-game series with Toledo by a 3-2 score Friday night. The Bats led 2-0 on a Phillip Ervin two-run home run in the third inning and kept the lead with a strong starting pitching performance from left-hander Justin Nicolino . Toledo stormed back in the seventh inning with a three-run frame on two home runs, spoiling the Bats' lead and handing them their 19th come-from-behind loss this season.

AGAINST TOLEDO: Louisville and Toledo meet for the sixth of eight series this season, and the third of four at Louisville Slugger Field. During their last matchup, a four-game series at Fifth Third Field from June 28-July 1, the Bats dropped the first couple before winning the final 2 games. For the overall season series, TOL has outscored LOU 84-74 across 17 matchups, outhomering them 25-11. It's the third time in the last 4 seasons that the Bats and Mud Hens will meet in the final series before the All-Star Break.

P.E. IN JULY IS SCORCHING: Outfielder Phillip Ervin went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run last night, accounting for both of Louisville's runs in the ballgame. It was his fourth home run of the season, and he's now homered in back-to-back games for the first time since August 16-17 last season with the Reds in 2 games at Wrigley Field against the Cubs. Ervin is batting .364 (8-for-22) in 6 July games with 3 runs, one double, one triple and 2 home runs, with 6 RBI and 3 walks.

BRANDON'S BACK: Brandon Dixon went 2-for-4 with a double last night in his first game back with Louisville since being optioned on July 4. He provided Louisville's lone multi-hit game of the night in his first Bats game since May 21, the day before he had his contract purchased by Cincinnati and made his Major League debut. Despite his lengthy absence from the Triple-A roster, Dixon's 13 doubles are still third-most on the team.

50 FOR .500: Last night was the Bats' 50th game of the season facing a team with a record above the .500 mark, accounting for 60% of the team's games. LOU is now 20-30 (.400) against above-.500 clubs and 14-19 (.424) against teams .500 or worse.

PINPOINT ACCURACY: Left-hander Justin Nicolino went 5.0 scoreless innings in his start last night, giving up just 2 hits, walking none and striking out two on 53 pitches (43 strikes). His 81% strikes made for the highest strike percentage for any Bats starting pitcher this season. LHP Cody Reed tossed 4.0 innings in relief of Nicolino, giving up 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 2 homers, walking one and striking out 4 on 74 pitches (49 strikes).

WELL-VERSED IN SCORING FIRST: The Bats fell to 23-18 when scoring first in a game this season, with their .561 winning percentage in those games ranking last in the International League. Last season, Louisville finished last in that category with a 38-27 (.585) record.

THE EQUALIZER: Louisville and Toledo both totaled 6 hits in last night's game, the second game in a row that Louisville and its opponent (LOU and IND each had 8 hits on July 5) recorded the same number of hits. It's become a trend when the Bats and Mud Hens face each other, totaling the same number of hits in 4 straight games against each other from June 15-17 and June 28.

Check out the Louisville Bats Statistics

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International League Stories from July 7, 2018


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