12-6 defeat concludes Bats road trip

ROCHESTER, NY - An early offensive flurry from the Rochester Red Wings was too much for the Louisville Bats to overcome on Sunday afternoon, with the Red Wings capturing a 12-6 victory over Louisville at Frontier Field in Rochester.

Closing out a nine-day, eight-game road trip, the Bats fell behind 8-0 in the second inning and were kept at arm's length for the rest of the game, concluding the trip with a 2-6 mark after dropping three of four in Rochester. With the loss, Louisville fell to five games under .500 for the first time in 2014.

Rochester got to Bats starter Chad Reineke (L, 0-3) early and often, batting around in a six-run first inning that saw the Wings put up three runs before Louisville could record an out. The onslaught started after the first two batters of the game singled, followed by a Chris Parmelee three-run homer. Louisville was finally able to escape the inning after allowing six runs, seven hits, and committing an error.

In the second, Parmelee again went deep again, this time a two-run job to right to put the Red Wings up 8-0. Parmelee, who had three hits on the day, also went deep in the Red Wings' Friday night victory over Louisville. Reineke didn't survive the second inning, as Nick Schmidt came in to stop the bleeding with two on and two out. His day ended after just one-and-a-third innings, giving up 11 hits and eight earned runs.

Mike Costanzo tried to provide a spark for the Bats in the fourth when he turned on a 1-2 pitch, sending a two-run home run over the wall in right. For Costanzo, who had been mired in a 1-for-28 slump, it was his third big fly of the season and Louisville's first in 13 games. Sunday was Costanzo's fifth multi-hit game this year.

After Rochester put up four more runs to stretch their lead to ten, Louisville chased top pitching prospect Alex Meyer in the fifth with Felix Perez's two-run double. Perez, who had a pair of doubles, also helped the Bats plate a run in the seventh with an RBI groundout, tying his season-high with 3 RBI on the day. 

Meyer's final line was four-and-two-thirds innings, giving up five hits and four earned runs while walking three and striking out five. Edgar Ibarra (W, 2-0) earned the victory after throwing two-and-a-third innings of middle relief.

Louisville got another run in the ninth when Ruben Gotay lifted a solo home run to right. With the big fly, Gotay pushed his team-leading total to six. He also leads the team in RBI (18) and hits (30). Chad Rogers and Adam Russell mitigated the damage late, combining to provide three innings of scoreless relief.

Louisville will try to get back on the winning track when they start an eight-game home stand at Louisville Slugger Field on Monday night at 6:35PM against the Norfolk Tides. LHP Jeff Francis (3-3, 2.72) will be on the mound for the Bats, facing fellow lefty T.J. McFarland (0-1, 3.44) of Norfolk.