Phipps homers again, but Bats fall hard
Diaz unloaded a grand slam in a five-run first, David Huff pitched masterfully and the Bats suffered a 10-1 loss Monday at Louisville Slugger Field despite another home run by Denis Phipps.
Phipps homered in his last two plate appearances Sunday and made it three round-trippers in a row when he lined a two-out pitch by Huff into the right-field seats his first time up.
It was about the only blemish in an otherwise brilliant outing for Huff (6-6), who tossed eight innings of two-hit ball. The 27-year-old left-hander, who hadn't won in his five previous starts, retired 18 straight Louisville hitters spanning the third through the eighth inning.
Unfortunately, Louisville (50-81) had already dug a big hole by the time Phipps launched his seventh homer in August and 14th of the year, and it only got worse in Columbus' double-fueled fourth.
After suffering consecutive one-run losses to the Bats, the Clippers (67-63) got off quickly against Louisville starter Chad Reineke. Cord Phelps led off with a double and Vinny Rottino lined a single inches out of the reach of leaping second baseman Chris Valaika. With one out, Matt LaPorta lifted a sacrifice fly and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Diaz, who cleared them with a towering grand slam to the patio deck's rooftop in right.
It was a redemptive blow for Diaz, who was thrown out easily by Phipps trying to go from first-to-third on a single in the eighth inning on Sunday for the third out. The Clippers had rallied back to within 9-8 after trailing 9-4.
Columbus duplicated its five-run first three innings later. Luke Carlin and Aaron Cunningham both doubled off Reineke, and Rottino and Russ Canzier collected two-baggers off Travis Webb, with each ripping the first pitch they saw from the Bats' reliever.
Extra-base hits told the tale for Columbus' offense. The Clippers had eight hits through four innings and only one was a single. They had six doubles in addition to Diaz's grand slam, including two by Rottino.
Phipps continued his assault on Columbus pitching. He nearly made it four straight homers in the fifth, but his long drive to left landed a few feet from the foul pole. He eventually struck out swinging. Through three games against the Clippers, Phipps is 8-for-11 with four homers and nine RBI. His 14 homers ties Neftali Soto for the team lead.
Reineke (5-9) allowed a season-high eight earned runs in a season-low 3.0 innings. In his previous four starts, the 31-year-old right-hander surrendered just four earned runs in 25.1 innings. He went four starts without serving up a home run before Diaz went deep in the opening inning for his second homer in six games with the Clippers.
The eight innings matched a season high for Huff, and the two hits set a new standard. Soto singled in the second but was erased on a double play before Phipps homered. After Corky Miller walked leading off the third inning, Huff didn't allow another base runner before departing after the eighth.
Cody Puckett stopped the string of outs in the ninth with a leadoff double against Clippers reliever Tyler Sturdevant.
Four Bats pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts, two off their season high. Of Columbus' 11 hits, three game from Rottino and Diaz and Carlin added two apiece.
Louisville dropped to 5-2 against Columbus at Louisville Slugger Field and 7-8 overall. The Bats won the first two games of the series against the Clippers and are seeking their first series victory since July 24-27 when they took three of four from visiting Buffalo.
Columbus is second in the IL West and entered 3.5 games back of Pawtucket in the wild-card standings. The Clippers had lost six of eight before Monday's win.
Louisville and Columbus will play the series finale at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Louisville Slugger Field. The Clippers' T.J. McFarland (6-6, 4.75 ERA) and the Bats' Tim Gustafson (4-5, 5.07 ERA) are expected to start on the mound.