Chiefs drop Bats Tuesday afternoon
On Tuesday, the Bats endured a 6-2 loss to the Syracuse Chiefs at Louisville Slugger Field that ensures their worst May in 30 years. Their fewest amount of wins in May during that span had been 11 (1996 and 2006). The Bats are 8-20 with two games remaining this month.
Louisville (17-36) lost despite piling up 12 hits, two off its season high. Willie Harris had four hits, Joey Gathright added three and Kristopher Negron and Danny Dorn chipped in two apiece. Syracuse (24-28), which snapped a four-game losing streak, racked up 11 hits, with Mark Teahen, Brett Carroll and Jarrett Hoffpauir all tallying two.
Zach Duke (6-2) won for the fifth time in his last six starts despite yielding 10 hits in six innings. The Syracuse starting pitcher and former big leaguer gave up only one run while consistently escaping trouble. He was the winning hurler in the Chiefs' game that preceded their four-game losing stretch.
Jeff Francis (2-6) took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings. Francis hasn't won since April 27 despite pitching solidly. He has thrown five or more innings in every start and came into the game tied for second in the International League in innings pitched.
Josh Johnson opened the scoring against Francis in the third inning when he lined a two-run single to center field, and the Chiefs added another run in the fourth on the first of two Carlos Rivero sacrifice flies. Johnson pushed his hitting streak to a team-best eight games.
The Bats cut their deficit to 3-1 in the fifth when Negron stroked a two-out double into the left field corner and Gathright plated him by yanking a single to right. It was Negron's second straight multi-hit game and team-leading 11th of the season.
After Syracuse got the run back in the seventh on an RBI infield single by pinch hitter Jarrett Hoffpauir, Louisville had the chance for a big inning in the latter half but only managed one run. With no outs, Brian Peacock reached on an error against Chiefs reliever Josh Wilkie and Bill Rhinehart walked. Negron put a charge into a Wilkie pitch, but his deep shot to center was caught on the warning track.
Gathright chased Wilkie with his third hit, an RBI single through the right side that trimmed Louisville's hole to 4-2. Austin Bibens-Dirkx came on and extinguished the rally by striking out Neftali Soto and getting a fly out from Danny Dorn.
The Bats had another promising opportunity in the ninth after Syracuse tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth against Josh Judy to lead 6-2. Rhinehart and Negron both walked against Atahualpa Severino, however, Severino regrouped to record three straight outs as the Chiefs evened the series at one apiece.
Harris recorded Louisville's second four-hit game this season. Dioner Navarro had the other. Gathright is hitting .412 in five games with the Bats after Cincinnati purchased his contract from the Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish. Dorn has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games.
Bats manager David Bell was absent from the contest after serving the first of a two-game suspension following his ejection in Monday's game. Louisville hitting coach Ryan Jackson assumed Bell's duties. Jackson briefly argued a call in the eighth when Carroll stole third despite the appearance that Harris tagged him before he reached the bag.
The teams will play the third of the four-game series at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Louisville Slugger Field. The Chiefs' John Lannan (3-5, 6.12 ERA) is expected to duel with the Bats' Brett Tomko (0-5, 3.18) on the mound.