Bats Offense Struggles In 3-1 Loss To Mud Hens
The Louisville Bats were defeated 3-1 by the Toledo Mud Hens in a two-hour and two-minute pitcher’s duel at Fifth Third Field on Wednesday evening. In a battle of southpaws, 34-year-old Kent Emanuel (L, 2-2) made his sixth appearance for the Bats, opposed by Toledo’s Jackson Wolf (W, 4-1). The
The Louisville Bats were defeated 3-1 by the Toledo Mud Hens in a two-hour and two-minute pitcher’s duel at Fifth Third Field on Wednesday evening.
In a battle of southpaws, 34-year-old Kent Emanuel (L, 2-2) made his sixth appearance for the Bats, opposed by Toledo’s Jackson Wolf (W, 4-1).
The Bats led off each of the first two innings with runners on base. Edwin Arroyo walked in the first, and Michael Chavis collected the game’s first hit in the second, but neither runner advanced further.
Emanuel retired the first seven batters he faced, striking out two, before walking the eighth Mud Hen of the game. Toledo followed with their first hit of the evening before Jace Jung went deep for a three-run homer, establishing a 3-0 lead.
Dominic Fletcher provided a spark in the fifth on a bloop single, representing the first Bats’ base runner in nine opportunities. P.J. Higgins moved the runner to third on a single, and Garrett Hampson drove in the run on a third straight base hit. Before the half-inning’s conclusion, Francisco Urbaez nearly gave the Bats the lead, but the fly out died at the warning track in left field.
Louisville loaded the bases in the sixth on a hit by Noelvi Marte, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. After Toledo’s starter departed in favor of reliever Nick Sandlin, Higgins could not deliver in a two-out opportunity, and the Bats continued to trail by two runs.
Emanuel rebounded nicely following the three-run third, retiring 10-of-11 Mud Hens to end his outing with six complete innings, four hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.
The Bats’ offense was retired 1-2-3 for the third and fourth time in the seventh and eighth, while Zach McCambley maintained the losing margin with two scoreless frames, striking out four batters and working around two isolated hits.
Down to their final three outs, the Bats got the leadoff batter on base with a Leo Balcazar walk. The tying run came to the plate three times, the final batter being pinch hitter Will Benson, each succumbing to the same result: three consecutive fly outs to end the game.
Louisville’s offense struggled to create offense all night, stranding eight base runners and going 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Four Bats went hitless, and the lone RBI came on Hampson’s single in the fifth.
The Bats (64-80, 25-46 2nd half) continue their final series of the season against the Toledo Mud Hens (71-73, 36-34 2nd half) on Thursday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Fifth Third Field. Nick Curran will be on the call for Sports Talk 790AM.