Kevin Barker Blasted his Third Career Louisville Grand Slam
The first inning was huge for the Bats after Mud Hens starting pitcher Eddie Bonine walked three of the first four batters he faced. With the bases loaded, Kevin Barker blasted a grand slam, the third in his Louisville career, to put the Bats up 4-0.
Louisville tacked on two runs in the fourth as the Bats scored on three hits by Ryan Hanigan, Drew T. Anderson and Michael Griffin.
The Mud Hens scored in three straight innings (fourth, fifth and sixth) as Toledo chipped away at Louisville's lead to go ahead 7-6.
Bats starter Homer Bailey did not give up a hit to a Mud Hen until the third inning, but came unraveled as the game progressed. Bailey allowed five runs on six hits, three of them doubles, and walked five in five innings of work. He did not factor into the decision as Jim Brower (0-1, 3.09) blew the save and picked up his first loss of the season. Tyler Pelland pitched the final two innings and struck out five.
Anderson and Barker had the Bats' only extra-base hits and no one had a multi-hit game this afternoon. The Bats and Mud Hens face off again Friday night at 7:00 p.m. for the second game in their four-game series. RHP Tom Shearn (6-1, 4.14) is scheduled to start for Louisville and will face RHP Virgil Vasquez (2-4, 7.08) from Toledo.