Louisville Bats Notes: 7-14-19

Game 93, Home 48
Toledo Mud Hens (41-51) at Louisville Bats (35-57)
RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (2-7, 7.04) vs. LHP Tyler Alexander (3-9, 5.91)
2:00 PM | Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Louisville Slugger Field
LISTEN: Nick Curran & Jim Kelch, 790 KRD; iHeartRadio.com; iHeart app

SUNDAY FINALE: The Bats go for the series win in the finale of a four-game set against the Toledo Mud Hens, taking 2 of the first 3 contests in the series that began on Thursday following the All-Star break. Louisville will try to match its season-best 3-game win streak today for the fifth time in 2019, last rattling off 3 consecutive victories from July 2-4.
AGAINST TOLEDO: Louisville owns a 1-2-1 series record against Toledo through the clubs' first 4 series of the season, winning their only series against the Mud Hens by taking 2 of 3 from them at Fifth Third Field from April 29-May 1. LOU will attempt to win its first series against the Hens at Louisville Slugger Field since taking 2 of 3 against them from June 9-11, 2017.
OMG: O' MY GRADY: Center fielder Brian O'Grady had an historic night for Louisville on Saturday night, going 3-for-5 with a pair of three-run home runs and 8 RBI. The multi-homer game was his sixth of 2019, extending his own single-season franchise record, supplying the 19th individual multi-homer effort by a Bats player this season.
- The 8 RBI tie a Louisville franchise record for most in a game, done 3 times and twice this season. Mark Dougherty did it for the 1987 Redbirds on June 21 vs. Denver, while Josh VanMeter did it earlier this season, also against the Mud Hens like O'Grady, on April 29 at Toledo as part of a 3-homer game.
WWW AT HOME?: If the Bats win today, they will have won 3 straight games at Louisville Slugger Field for the first time all season. LOU has won back-to-back home games on 4 occasions this season (5/26-5/27; 6/29-6/30; 7/2-7/3; 7/12-7/13), but will try to rattle off 3+ consecutive home wins for the first time since winning 4 straight home games from August 23-September 2 last season vs. Toledo (8/23) and Indianapolis (8/24-8/25, 9/2).
LUCAS BEATS AROLDIS: Right-hander Lucas Sims struck out 5 Mud Hens in 5.0 innings of work, regaining the International League lead in strikeouts this season with 102. Although he got a no-decision, the Bats improved to 12-5 (.706) this season when Sims is on the mound.
- Since Louisville has been affiliated with the Reds (2000), Sims is the fastest ever to 100 strikeouts in a seasonby innings pitched. The right-hander notched his 100th strikeout for LOU at 78.1 innings pitched (IP) on the season, narrowly beating out the previous record-holder, LHP Aroldis Chapman, who notched his 100th strikeout of 2010 at 80.0 IP on June 27 in a 19-6 win vs. Charlotte.
GETTING IT DONES DESPITE RUNS: The Bats have won back-to-back games by 7-6 and 12-9 scores, respectively. Fifteen runs are the most combined runs Louisville's allowed in back-to-back wins since August 17-18, 2007, when LOU surrendered a combined 16 runs in back-to-back wins by 12-9 and 8-7 scores at Charlotte and Durham, respectively.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: The Reds defeated the Colorado Rockies by a 17-9 score last night, with both Louisville and its parent club Cincinnati scoring 12+ runs. It was the first time that happened on the same day since April 26 this season, when LOU lost 16-14 vs. Norfolk and the Reds won 12-1 at St. Louis.