Bats Light Up Mud Hens In Dazzling 9-1 Win
The Louisville Bats secured back-to-back wins for the first time since the All-Star break with a dominant 9-1 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens at Louisville Slugger Field Friday night. In the early stages of the game, offense was dampened by stellar defense and pitching. Only one hit between the
The Louisville Bats secured back-to-back wins for the first time since the All-Star break with a dominant 9-1 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens at Louisville Slugger Field Friday night.
In the early stages of the game, offense was dampened by stellar defense and pitching. Only one hit between the two teams came through the first three innings, with Bats starter Ben Wereski (W, 1-1) and Mud Hens starter Austin Gomber showing no signs of cooling off.
Gomber was pulled after 3.2 innings of no-hit baseball in favor of Brant Hurter (L, 1-1). That move burned the Mud Hens, as Michael Chavis scorched a double through the third base side, and newcomer Jay Allen II notched his first Triple-A RBI with his own double, giving Louisville a 2-0 lead after four.
First AAA double and RBI for @JayAllen_1! pic.twitter.com/t3PkexwsTn
— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) August 15, 2026
The fifth saw the Bats offense catch fire once again, plating three runs in some unique ways. First, a single roped by Edwin Arroyo to right field scored one, followed by a double steal that moved Arroyo to second and Francisco Urbaez coming home on the throw to second. Finally, Juan Brito lined a single to left, making the lead 5-0.
Wereski continued his dominance, retiring 12 in a row before seeing another Toledo player on base. That baserunner came from a miscommunication in the outfield that led to a ball dropping in center. Toledo’s man eventually came around to score, cutting into the lead and making it 5-1.
That inning would be Wereski’s last, where he silenced the Mud Hens for 6.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits. He struck out five while walking only one in a quality start.
The Bats continued their hot streak of scoring in the contest, loading the bases for Urbaez, who smacked a two-run double in the gap. Arroyo looped a single in to score the remaining two on base, and the lead grew to 9-1 in the sixth.
Louisville had a familiar face with them for this game, as Reds rehab reliever Tony Santillan made an appearance in the seventh, where he tossed a clean inning. The outing was Santillan's first for the Bats since closing out Pat Kelly’s 2,000th managerial victory on July 11, 2024.
Zach McCambley came in and made quick work of Toledo in the eighth and ninth, leading to a Louisville victory, 9-1. Wereski picked up his first Bats win and his first Triple-A win overall.
Seven Bats notched a hit in the game, with five of them having multi-hit performances. The win marks the first back-to-back victory for Louisville since 7/7-7/9 against Omaha this year, and their first back-to-back wins against Toledo since 4/18-4/19 of this year.
The Bats (53-63, 14-29 2nd half) look to continue their hot streak against the Mud Hens (55-62, 21-22 2nd half) Saturday night. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. EST at Louisville Slugger Field. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call on Sports Talk 790.