Louisville Bats Notes: 5-16-19

Game 40, Away 20
Louisville Bats (17-22) at Syracuse Mets (22-16)
RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (1-3, 7.84) vs. LHP Héctor Santiago (2-1, 3.75)
6:35 PM | Thursday, May 16, 2019 | NBT Bank Stadium
LISTEN: Nick Curran, 790 KRD; iHeartRadio.com; iHeart app

RUBBER MATCH: Louisville and Syracuse meet in the series finale on Thursday night after splitting Wednesday's doubleheader, which took place after Tuesday night's game was postponed due to unsafe field conditions. Louisville goes for its second consecutive series win, and its fifth overall on the season, with all but one coming on the road. Tonight, right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez looks to build off his strong performance against Syracuse in his last outing, allowing just 2 runs in 6.0 innings in his first quality start of 2019.
AGAINST SYRACUSE: The Bats and Mets square off for the final time in the 2019 regular season, with Louisville looking to salvage a tie in the season series. Syracuse took 2 of 3 from the Bats at Louisville Slugger Field last week, and the Bats try to return the favor today after splitting yesterday's doubleheader. The Bats' current trip to Syracuse and Buffalo is their first out-of-division road trip in 2019, the latest into a season the Bats have played their first out-of-division road game in team history.
SHUTOUT, THEN SHUT OUT: Louisville earned its third shutout win of the season in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader, winning by a 2-0 score. Syracuse got revenge in game two, winning 5-0. It was the first time Louisville's been shut out this season, last failing to score in a game on Sept. 3 in the final game of 2018. Last night marked the first time that both games of a Louisville DH involved shutouts since April 14, 2015, when LOU won and lost 1-0 games, respectively, at home vs. Columbus.
TALE OF TWO HITTIES: The Mets recorded 3 hits in game one yesterday, tied for the fewest hits allowed by Louisville pitching this season. The Bats allowed their opponents to just 3 hits in a game previously in back-to-back games on April 9-10. In the latter game of the doubleheader, Louisville recorded just 2 hits as an offense, tied for the fewest they've collected in a game, occurring 3 times this season and last on April 21 before Wednesday.
GAME #40: After Thursday, the Bats will have played their 40th game of the season, with 100 remaining in 2019. LOU comes in with a 17-22 record, owning a 13-27 record in both 2017 and 2018 after 40 games. Louisville also plays its 20th road game of the year, matching their 20 home games played so far. LOU is 7-13 at home and 10-9 on the road coming into play Thursday, one of 6 IL teams above .500 in away games.
IF I CAN MAKE IT THERE, I CAN MAKE IT ANYWHERE: The Bats put a streak on the line today, having either won or tied their last 4 series in the state of New York. Louisville last dropped a series against a New York-based team in 2017, dropping 2 of 3 against Rochester from April 28-30. Louisville also has either won or tied 4 straight road series at Syracuse, last losing a series on the road against them in 2014 (1-3).
I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS: Syracuse's Dilson Herrera hit a solo home run off Sal Romano in last night's second game. The former Bat and Red is the fifth former Louisville Bat to homer against the Bats this season, joining Brandon Dixon (TOL), Raffy Lopez (GWN), Zach Vincej (NOR) and Mason Williams, 2 (NOR).