Louisville Bats Notes: June 21

BATS LOOK TO WIN ANOTHER SERIES: Louisville and Durham meet for the 10th and final time this season, with right-hander José López starting the rubber match for the Bats. With a win, LOU would have back-to-back series wins for the first time all season, last winning back-to-back series from May 30 to June 4, 2017, when they swept Gwinnett in 3 games (5/30-6/1) and took two of three from Lehigh Valley (6/2-6/4), with both series coming at Louisville Slugger Field.

AGAINST DURHAM: The Bats and Bulls meet for the third and final time this season, and for the second time at Louisville Slugger Field. In nine matchups this season, the Bulls are 6-3, sweeping the Bats in three games at DBAP from May 15-17. Durham has outscored Louisville 43-31 so far this season. The two clubs are meeting 10+ times in the regular season for the first time since 2007, when the Bats went 4-8 against the Bulls.
WINNIN' IN THE RAIN: Louisville was victorious Wednesday night, defeating the Durham Bulls 9-6 in a game that was called due to rain in the eighth inning. The game itself took 2 hours and 36 minutes, with a combined 1 hour and 30 minutes in delays. It was the first rain-shortened Bats game since August 28, 2016 at Columbus (L 4-1 F/8), and the first at LSF since July 3, 2016 vs. Gwinnett, with LOU winning 2-1 after the game was called in the sixth.
WE'RE HALFWAY THERE: With the Bats' 68th game of the season tonight, they will have officially crossed the halfway point of their regular season. After three cancellations (two at Buffalo; one at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre), LOU is set to play a 137-game regular season schedule.
GRANDMETER: Left fielder Josh VanMeter clubbed a grand slam in Wednesday's 9-6 win, the first GS for a Bats player since Tony Cruz on May 3 this season at Norfolk. It was the first GS for a LOU hitter at home since Devin Mesoraco went yard with the bases loaded on July 17, 2017 vs. Syracuse in the first inning of an 11-8 loss to the Chiefs.
MULTI-RUN COMEBACK: The Bats fell down 4-2 after a four-run third inning by the Durham Bulls yesterday, before taking a 7-2 lead in the bottom of the inning. It was the Bats' 12th come-from-behind win this season, but their first win when trailing by multiple runs in a game.
FIRST MIGHT NOT BE THE WORST: The Bats improved to 16-15 when scoring first this season, the first time all season they have been above .500 when scoring first in a ballgame.
NICK TENZEL: Infielder Nick Senzel is tied for the International League lead in hits in June with 27, batting .380 in the month which ranks second among qualified hitters. He's had an excellent run since moving into the leadoff spot on June 9, batting .435 (20-for-46) with 8 runs, 5 doubles, one home run, 9 RBI and 2 stolen bases in 10 games batting leadoff. His 10-game hit streak is the first double-digit hit streak for a Bats player this season, while his batting average before the run started was .256, with his season average now sitting at .305, tied for 7th-best in the IL.
BATS ADD AUSTIN BRICE: On Tuesday the Cincinnati Reds optioned to Class AAA Louisville right-handed pitcher Austin Brice, who will become the 49th player to appear for the 2018 Bats when he makes his first appearance. Brice went 1-2 with a 3.80 ERA in 15 games out of the Bats' bullpen last season, and has gone 1-2 with a 6.04 ERA in 25 games out of the Reds' bullpen in 2018.
JVM! JVM! JVM!: Josh VanMeter hit his first career grand slam Wednesday night, catapulting the Bats to a 9-6 victory over the Bulls. VanMeter last recorded a 4-RBI game on May 23 at Indianapolis, accounting for half of the four 4-RBI games by Louisville batters this season. Mason Williams (5/1 vs. COL) and Tony Cruz (5/3 at NOR) own the other 4-RBI games.