SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Louisville Bats (38-55) dominated the Syracuse Chiefs (40-56) in the series opener tonight at NBT Bank Stadium, winning by an 11-1 score. The win gives Louisville its third straight victory, its longest winning streak since late June.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Louisville Bats (38-55) dominated the Syracuse Chiefs (40-56) in the series opener tonight at NBT Bank Stadium, winning by an 11-1 score. The win gives Louisville its third straight victory, its longest winning streak since late June.
Mason Williams led off the game with a triple, and scored on a Blake Trahan single during the very next at-bat to give the Bats a 1-0 lead and set the tone early. Louisville added a couple more runs on a two-run triple by Josh VanMeter, one of three triples by the Bats in the first two innings of the game, with Gabriel Guerrero adding one of his own in the second.
The Bats scored three runs in the first, three runs in the second and four runs in the third to jump out to a 10-0 lead. Williams, Trahan and Brandon Dixon all recorded three-hit games out of the top three spots in Louisville's batting order. Trahan crossed the plate four times in the win, tying a season-high for the Bats this season.
Left-handed starter Cody Reed was cruising through his start before leaving the game after being struck with a line drive in the bottom of the fourth. Reed went 3.2 innings, giving up no runs on four hits, walking one and striking out seven on 57 pitches, 34 strikes.
Right-hander Jesús Reyes got the win in his Triple-A debut, coming in to relieve Reed by going 1.1 innings. Domingo Tapia, Brandon Finnegan and Tanner Rainey also pitched out of the bullpen for Louisville in the 11-1 win.
On Friday, the Bats and Chiefs are back at it for game two of the four-game series with left-hander Justin Nicolino (3-5, 4.78) on the mound for Louisville, with right-hander Jefry Rodriguez (0-1, 6.30) set to pitch for Syracuse. Game two starts at 7:05 p.m.
