Bats fall behind early, lose to Durham 12-2

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville Bats found themselves in an 8-0 hole before they could get out of the second inning as they ultimately lost to the Durham Bulls by a score of 12-2 on Father's Day at Louisville Slugger Field.

Right-handed pitcher Brett Marshall (0-2, 16.20) suffered the loss after pitching only one and one-third innings. He allowed seven runs on three hits with five walks and one hit batsman. In three rehab starts with Louisville, Marshall has now walked 13 batters in five innings pitched.

All-in-all, four Louisville pitchers combined to walk 10 Durham batters, matching a season high set twice on April 28 at Buffalo and June 6 at Lehigh Valley.

Opposite Marshall, Durham right-hander Alex Colome (3-0, 0.68), the Tampa Bay Rays' fifth-rated prospect according to Baseball America, earned his third consecutive win. He pitched six innings and allowed one run on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Colome's lone run came on third baseman Chris Nelson's solo home run in the fourth inning.

First baseman Thomas Neal followed Nelson's long ball with one of his own in the eighth. The two home runs were the first surrendered by a Durham pitcher in eight games.

Offensively, Louisville was led by catcher Tucker Barnhart's 4-for-4 night. It was the third time a Louisville batter recorded four hits in the same game this season and the first time Barnhart had done so since he recorded five hits on June 21, 2012 with Bakersfield.

Third baseman and former Louisville Bat Ray Olmedo, who went 2-for-5 with three runs batted in on the night, led the Bulls offensively. Olmedo is now 7-for-14 in four games played against his former team this season. Additionally, first baseman Vince Belnome went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one run batted in. Belnome is 9-for-20 in five games against Louisville this season.

Sunday's loss was the first time Louisville surrendered double-digit runs since losing 19-3 in game one of a double header on May 31 at Columbus.

Louisville (35-36) and Durham (43-29) will meet for the second of four games tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. Left-hander David Holmberg (0-4, 9.41) will make the start for Louisville and face fellow left-hander Enny Romero (3-7, 5.71).