Bats Lose Heartbreaker To Redbirds 10-6
The Louisville Bats dropped game two to the Memphis Redbirds, losing 10-6 after allowing five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning at AutoZone Park on Wednesday night. In the bottom of the ninth, Zach Maxwell (L, 0-1) came on to close the game with the Bats leading 6-5.
The Louisville Bats dropped game two to the Memphis Redbirds, losing 10-6 after allowing five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning at AutoZone Park on Wednesday night.
In the bottom of the ninth, Zach Maxwell (L, 0-1) came on to close the game with the Bats leading 6-5. He failed to record an out as the Redbirds tied the game on a double, two walks, and an RBI single from Cesar Prieto. With the bases loaded, and still nobody out, Matt Lloyd connected on a walk-off grand slam to give the Redbirds the victory.
Leading up to the ninth, the Redbirds were able to do damage in the first inning, just like they did on Tuesday. Michael Siani hit a leadoff home run to kick things off. Cesar Prieto hit an RBI single late in the inning, and Bryan Torres drew a walk with the bases loaded, which gave the Redbirds a 3-0 advantage after first. Bats starter Albert Abreu was relieved during the inning by former Redbird Brandon Komar after getting just two outs, the second straight day a Louisville starter couldn’t get out of the first.
The Bats answered quickly with a run of their own in the top of the second. Ivan Johnson drew a leadoff walk and stole second. He moved to third on an errant throw by Memphis catcher Jimmy Crooks. Francisco Urbaez got a base hit, scoring Johnson. Louisville had runners on second and third, and Tyler Stephenson hit a fly ball to center that was a couple of feet away from being three-run homer, but it stayed inside the yard for a fly out, with Memphis holding the 3-1 lead.
Memphis scored another run in the second from another Siani leadoff hit, and Jose Fermin knocked a double that scored Siani, making it 4-1 after two. They took a 4-1 lead into the third. Siani’s big day continued as he hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and made the score 5-1 in favor of Memphis after three.
In the top of the fourth the Bats offense came alive during a two-out rally. After back-to-back walks from Jacob Hurtubise and Stephenson, Will Benson drilled a single up the middle to score Hurtubise. Then, Rece Hinds hit a line drivee to the left-center field wall that scored Stephenson and Benson, and Hinds ended up on third with a triple, his first of the season to cut the Memphis lead to 5-4.
In the fifth, Louisville picked up right where they left off with more offense. Johnson drew a walk and Urbaez got hit by a pitch, so the Bats had the first two batters of the inning get on base. Levi Jordan tied the game as his ground ball was misplayed for an error and Hurtubise got the Bats the lead with a sacrifice fly. After being down 5-1, the Bats scored five straight runs and led 6-5 after five frames.
After the Redbirds got off to a hot start, they cooled off as the game progressed. Starting in the fourth inning, the Bats relief trio of Komar, Sam Benschoter, and Sam Moll retired 10 Redbirds in a row. Alan Busenitz allowed a hit in the eighth but threw a scoreless frame to keep the lead heading to the ninth, where Maxwell’s blown save proved costly.
Urbaez ended the day going 2-4 with an RBI. Hinds went 1-5 with two RBI while Benson and Jordan each finished with an RBI on one hit. The Bats scored six for the second night in a row but lost both games. In his Bats debut, Komar pitched 3.1 innings against his former team, allowing two runs while striking out a pair.
The Bats (14-14) will meet the Redbirds (17-10) on Thursday afternoon for game three of the six-game set. First pitch will be at 12:05 p.m. ET. Nick Curran will be on the call for Talk Radio 1080.
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