Bats Break No-No Late, Fizzle in 7th
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two baseball games and a hot dog eating contest came down to the wire as the Louisville Bats were halted in a game-tying rally on a ranging play up the middle in Game 1 and overtaken in on a four-run outburst in the final inning of Game
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two baseball games and a hot dog eating contest came down to the wire as the Louisville Bats were halted in a game-tying rally on a ranging play up the middle in Game 1 and overtaken in on a four-run outburst in the final inning of Game 2 during a doubleheader sweep by the Memphis Redbirds Wednesday afternoon at Louisville Slugger Field.
The 2021 Bats Hot Dog Eating Contest was also settled late, as online contest selection Brett Bohn defeated Dwight Witten of iHeartMedia in a sudden death “Hot Dog Off” between games of the double header.
Bats Game 1 starter Riley O’Brien scattered four hits with six strikeouts over 5.0 scoreless innings. He allowed only one hit for extra bases – a double to Lars Nootbaar – and now owns a 2.25 ERA with 20 strikeouts in four starts during the month of July.
In extras, Memphis’ automatic runner scored during a close play at first base that ultimately spelled the difference in the Redbirds’ 1-0 win.
Louisville native Austin Warner started at Louisville Slugger Field for the first time of his pro career for Memphis in Game 2 of the twin-bill. He paced a near-no-hit game with his 3.0 shutout innings and departed with four strikeouts and a no-decision,
Alejo Lopez broke up the no-hit bid on a double in the bottom of the sixth and Jose Barrero extended his hit streak seven straight games with a two-run bomb later in the inning to give the Bats a 3-1 lead.
Memphis plated four in the top of the seventh, making the most of a miscue at shortstop that potentially could have been converted into a double play to end the game.
Chris Okey doubled home De Leon in the bottom of the seventh before Connor Jones shut the door for his fifth save.