Bats fall to Mud Hens, 8-4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville Bats (12-20) dropped the middle game of a three-game series to the Toledo Mud Hens (22-12) by an 8-4 score Saturday night at Louisville Slugger Field in front of a crowd of 8,929. The crowd was the second-largest for the Bats this season, behind only the record 14,658 fans on "Thunder at Slugger" Day set on April 21.

Right-hander Zach Neal (2-1, 5.94) went 3.2 innings, giving up five earned runs on eight hits while walking none and striking out one. He surrendered three home runs that were hit by Toledo batters Jason Krizan, Christin Stewart and Kenny Wilson, which gave the Mud Hens an insurmountable 8-0 lead after five innings.
Despite being doubled in the run column, the Bats out-hit the Hens 13-10, with Tyler Goeddel, Dilson Herrera, Steve Selsky and Gabriel Guerrero all chipping in two-hit games.
Louisville's bullpen did its job for the most part, combining for 5.1 innings of three-run ball, but zero earned runs. Right-handers Domingo Tapia and Evan Mitchell and left-hander Kyle Crockett were the relievers for Louisville, with Mitchell tossing a season-high 3.0 innings.
The Bats and Mud Hens are back at it tomorrow for the rubber match of a three-game series, with right-hander José López (0-3, 5.17) going for Louisville and right-hander Drew VerHagen (0-0, 0.00) set to pitch for Toledo, with first pitch at 2:00 p.m.