BATS LOOK TO AVOID SWEEP: The Louisville Bats and Lehigh Valley IronPigs square off in what will be the final game of a four-game set at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennslyvania. Lehigh Valley has been superb offensively in the series, hitting .351 (39-for-111) through the first three games of the
BATS LOOK TO AVOID SWEEP: The Louisville Bats and Lehigh Valley IronPigs square off in what will be the final game of a four-game set at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennslyvania. Lehigh Valley has been superb offensively in the series, hitting .351 (39-for-111) through the first three games of the series. Dating back to last season, the Pigs have defeated the Bats in seven straight at Coca-Cola Park, outscoring Louisville 29-12 in three games this season, and 68-20 in the seven games between this season and last season.
SHOULD WE LET THEM SCORE FIRST?: The Bats took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning of last night's ballgame on a Steve "Stone Cold" Selsky home run and Domingo Tapia 's two-run double. Just like the previous two nights, the Bats could not hold onto their lead. For the third straight night and the fifth time already in 2018, Louisville lost a game in which they scored first. Its .167 winning percentage (1-5) in games when scoring first ranks last in the International League, also ranking last in that category for the 2017 season, going 38-27 (.585) when scoring first.
MR. BRIGHTSIDE: While the Bats haven't held onto leads like they would have liked to, LOU still has a number of offensive forces in their lineup who have contributed night in and night out:
• Rosell Herrera went 3-for-5 last night with a double and triple, now leading the IL with 7 extra-base hits on the year. His triple was the first by a Bat this season, and he became the first LOU hitter to double and triple in the same game since Adam Brett Walker did it August 19, 2017 vs. Rochester. Starting in all 3 outfield spots and also third base, Herrera not only leads the IL in XBH, but also total bases (24), while ranking second in slugging (.706) and fourth in hits (12).
• Nick Senzel hit his first career Triple-A home run last night in his ninth game as a Louisville Bat. The #7 rated prospect in all of baseball (Baseball America) is batting .231 (9-for-39) with 4 runs, 2 doubles and 1 RBI to go along with 2 walks, 11 strikeouts and 1 stolen base in his Triple-A career.
• Blake Trahan has started at shortstop in all 9 games for the Bats to start the season, joining Senzel as the only Bats to play in every game so far. Trahan has been intentionally walked on back-to-back nights, leading the league with 2 intentional passes. He's reached base a combined 6 times in his last 2 games.
SCHEBLER REHABBING WITH LOUISVILLE: Outfielder Scott Schebler begins a rehab assignment with Class AAA Louisville today, the second player on rehab with the Bats this season (LHP Brandon Finnegan . The outfielder, who came over in a trade from the Dodgers that involved Todd Frazier being shipped to the White Sox, hit .311 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI in 75 games for the Louisville Bats in 2016, including hitting for the cycle on July 26, 2016, LOU's first cycle since Chris Dickerson did it exactly nine years before on July 26, 2007. Schebler spent 3 games rehabbing with the Bats in 2017.
PUTTING THE 'W' IN SOUTHPAW: Left-hander Justin Nicolino won in his last start, tossing 5.0 innings of one-run ball in a 7-1 win over the Columbus Clippers on April 10. If Nicolino wins Sunday, he will become the first Bats left-hander to win back-to-back starts since Amir Garrett was credited with victories in back-to-back starts on July 4 and 18, 2016.
SENZEL, RIGHT ON PACE: Nick Senzel hit his first home run as a Louisville Bat on Saturday night in his 41st plate appearance with the club. With Double-A Pensacola last season, he homered for the first time for the Blue Wahoos in his 42nd plate appearance with the Southern League club. Senzel would hit .340 with 10 HR in 57 games for PNS last season.
