Bats Walked Off By Redbirds In Finale 4-3

The Louisville Bats split the series with the Memphis Redbirds after another extra-inning thriller that resulted in a 4-3 Memphis walk-off walk Sunday afternoon at AutoZone Park.

With the score tied 3-3, the Bats would not be able to score in the ninth, and with new pitcher Jared Lyons (L, 0-1) in, the Redbirds would walk the bases loaded with nobody out. Pat Kelly made a move Bats fans have seen before, bringing in a fifth infielder to man the middle of the field. This move paid off yet again, as Louisville worked out of the game unscathed, getting two outs in a row at the plate, then fielding a grounder at second to head into extra innings.

Extras saw shades of the inning before, as the Bats would go down without a run, and Memphis would once again load the bases with nobody out. This time, the Redbirds would capitalize, and Leo Bernal drew the game-winning walk on four pitches to secure a 4-3 win.

The game began better than it ended for Louisville.

After a Francisco Urbaez single, Hector Rodriguez turned up the heat in the fourth inning with a 404-foot blast. Rodriguez’s 11^th homer put the Bats up 2-0 going into the second half of the ballgame.

Louisville starter Julian Garcia exited the game in the home half of the fourth after a very strong but short outing, not allowing a hit in 3.0 innings while striking out three. Only one batter reached base on an error.

Nate Peterson came into the game in his stead, where the Redbirds notched their first run of the game after a leadoff double by Joshua Baez led to him scoring on a ground out.

Memphis used the same small ball philosophy to tie the game up in the fifth inning, as it would be another infield grounder that led to the Redbirds scoring yet again.

After back-to-back singles in the sixth, Michael Toglia continued his outstanding hitting in the series with his 14^th double of the year, giving the lead back to Louisville 3-2 going into the later parts of the game.

Jose Franco relieved Peterson in the sixth and kept the Redbirds quiet until Nathan Church took him deep to tie the game with two outs in the eighth.

From there, the Redbirds would hold on and prevail to split the series.

Louisville’s offense went quiet after the sixth inning, but Urbaez and Rodriguez secured multi-hit performances in the loss. Hancel Rincon (W, 1-4) got tacked with the win after keeping the Bats at bay during the late stages of the contest.

The Bats (33-29) and return home to take on the Iowa Cubs (25-36) on Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. EST at Louisville Slugger Field. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call on Sports Talk 790.