O'Grady Clubs 3 Home Runs in 7-3 Bats Win
May 19, 2019 - International League (IL1)
Louisville Bats News Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Louisville Bats (18-25) put on an offensive show in their win over the Buffalo Bisons (16-23) in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Sahlen Field, hitting five home runs and totaling 16 hits. The 7-3 win for Louisville avoided tying its season-long losing streak, snapping a string of four straight losses.
The Bisons were the first to get on the scoreboard, scoring a pair on a Socrates Brito RBI double and a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. single, both off Louisville starting pitcher Lucas Sims (3-0, 3.27) in the first inning. Sims was lights out after the shaky first inning, finishing his day with 6.0 innings pitched, allowing just the two runs on six hits, walking none and striking out five on 93 pitches, 60 strikes. He extended his league-leading strikeout total to 63 on the season, while the Bats' offense went to work.
Louisville attacked Buffalo pitching with the long ball, hitting five home runs for just the second time this season. Brian O'Grady got the party started, lining a solo shot into center field for his seventh home run of the season. Christian Colon followed with a solo homer of his own in the fifth, tying the game up at 2-2. The Sahlen Field series finale got fun for the Bats in the sixth inning, when O'Grady gave Louisville a 3-2 lead with his second homer of the game, his first multi-homer effort since the home opener against Gwinnett, and the eighth multi-homer effort for the Bats as a team this year, their most since 2010.
O'Grady was not done, however, as he stepped up to the plate in the top of the eighth hoping to make history. The powerful first baseman etched his name in the Louisville books, sending a fly ball over the left field fence for his third home run of the game, becoming just the seventh player in Louisville franchise history to hit three in a game, and the first since his teammate Josh VanMeter did it on April 29 against the Toledo Mud Hens.
Aristides Aquino's magnificent day was not to be outdone by the sensational O'Grady performance, with Aquino following him with a solo homer of his own, going back-to-back to give Louisville a 7-2 lead in the eighth. In his second game back from the injured list, Aquino reached base all five times, going 4-for-4 with the home run and a walk.
The league's strikeout king, Sims, threw a quality start, but it was the Louisville bullpen that filled up the strikeout column in the box score, with relievers Ian Krol and Jimmy Herget striking out all six batters they faced, Krol with four and Herget with two.
The Bats avoided a series sweep with the 7-3 win over the Bisons and also a five-game losing streak, which would have tied their season high. They return to Louisville Slugger Field for a seven-game homestand starting Tuesday, for a pair of divisional series with the Indianapolis Indians and Toledo Mud Hens.
International League Stories from May 19, 2019
- Believe in Magic: Hens Home May 28 - June 2 - Toledo Mud Hens
- Wings Hit Four Homers to Snap Losing Streak Sunday - Rochester Red Wings
- Long Ball Hurts Bulls in Loss - Durham Bulls
- Tides Top Tribe in Series Finale, 8-4 - Indianapolis Indians
- Knights get series win over IronPigs - Lehigh Valley IronPigs
- Knights Top Pigs 6-4 to Finish Homestand - Charlotte Knights
- Tebow Hits First Triple-A Home Run, But Mets Lose to Clippers, 8-2 - Syracuse Mets
- Bats Win 7-3 over Bisons Behind Power of O'Grady - Buffalo Bisons
- Stripers' Winning Streak Snapped with 5-4 Loss in Pawtucket - Gwinnett Stripers
- Hens Beat RailRiders and Rain on Sunday - Toledo Mud Hens
- O'Grady Clubs 3 Home Runs in 7-3 Bats Win - Louisville Bats
- Toledo Edges RailRiders as Rain Shortens Game - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- Holt Homers as PawSox Salvage Series Finale - Pawtucket Red Sox
- A Mixing Pot in the Tribe Clubhouse - Indianapolis Indians
- Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (22-17) vs. Norfolk Tides (19-21) - Indianapolis Indians
- Game Notes: Louisville Bats (17-25) at Buffalo Bisons (16-22) - Louisville Bats
- Bisons Game Notes - Buffalo vs. Louisville (1:05 p.m.) - Buffalo Bisons
- Richard Impresses as Bisons Top Bats, 4-3 - Buffalo Bisons
- SWB Game Notes - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
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