Louisville Bats Notes: 5-15-19

Game 38/39, Away 18/19
Louisville Bats (16-21) at Syracuse Mets (21-15)
G1: RHP Keury Mella (1-3, 5.77) vs. RHP Casey Coleman (0-2, 3.29)
G2: RHP Jackson Stephens (3-0, 3.18) vs. TBA
4:05 PM / TBD | Wednesday, May 15, 2019 | NBT Bank Stadium
LISTEN: Nick Curran, 790 KRD; iHeartRadio.com; iHeart app

DOUBLEHEADER: Louisville and Syracuse meet in a doubleheader on Wednesday, after the scheduled series opener was postponed due to unsafe field conditions from extended rain. For the Bats, it's their first official doubleheader of the season, previously playing parts of 2 games this past Sunday when they finished out a suspended game before playing their originally scheduled game against the Charlotte Knights.
- Today marks the Bats' first doubleheader since July 24 last season against Buffalo, with both games played at Louisville Slugger Field and LOU acting as the "road" team in Game 2. Today is the first LOU doubleheader on the road since May 20, 2018 at Norfolk, with LOU being swept against the Tides and sweeping the Bisons on 7/24.
AGAINST SYRACUSE: The Bats met the Mets for the first time last week, with Syracuse taking 2 of 3 after Louisville won the series opener at Louisville Slugger Field. This series marks the first and only trip to Syracuse for the Bats this season, and their first ever against the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. Last season at NBT Bank Stadium against the Syracuse Chiefs, then affiliate of the Washington Nationals, the Bats swept the series in 4 games from July 19-22, their first 4-game series sweep on the road since 2013 against Norfolk.
OUT OF DIVISION ROAD TRIP: Louisville's impending road trip against the Syracuse Mets and Buffalo Bisons marks the team's first out-of-division road trip in 2019, playing all 17 road games thus far at IL West Division rival ballparks Columbus, Indianapolis and Toledo. It's the first time LOU did not play an out-of-division road game in April since 2015, and May 15 is the latest they will meet an out-of-division team on the road for the first time in Bats history.
THESE ARE THE DAYS IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS: On Tuesday, Louisville had its first game postponed/canceled due to rain since June 10 last season, when the team's series finale at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was canceled due to rain. The Bats played in 115 games from 2018-19 between a postponement/cancellation, the first time they've made it 100+ games between a postponement/cancellation since they played in 102 games between them from June 1, 2012 - April 15, 2013.
WALK-OFF WALK: The Bats won their first home series of the season on Sunday, defeating the Charlotte Knights by a 5-4 score in 10 innings. Louisville secured the win with a bases loaded walk by Stuart Turner, the Bats' second walk-off win of the season after Brian O'Grady's single on April 27 vs. Norfolk. Turner became the first Bat to draw a walk-off base on balls since at least the 2012 season.
YOU AND ME BEEN FINDING EACH OTHER FOR SO LONGHI: Nick Longhi has been on a tear for the Bats recently, raising his batting average from .235 to .298 in 4 games. He also tallied 3 hits in 3 straight games, becoming the first Bat to do that since Yonder Alonso from June 30-July 2, 2010. His 4 straight multi-hit games make him the first Bat with that accomplishment since Josh VanMeter from August 19-23, 2018.
SIMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE: Bats starting pitcher Lucas Sims tossed his third quality start of the season on Sunday, striking out 9 and increasing his league-lead to 58 strikeouts. The righty also leads the league in strikeouts-per-nine innings pitched with a 13.64 clip, over 2 strikeouts better than second-place's 11.25.
ONE RUN FUN: The Bats have played in a game decided by one run in their last 2 games and 3 of their last 4, the first time either of those have occurred this season. Louisville owns a 6-6 record in one-run games this season, and last played in back-to-back one-run games before this most recent 2-game streak on August 17-18, 2018 at Charlotte. With a one-run game in Game 1 today, LOU would play in 3 straight for the first time since August 4-7 last season.