Bats' Late Rally Falls Short In 6-4 Loss To I-Cubs
The Louisville Bats fell behind early and couldn't deliver the comeback against the Iowa Cubs, losing 6-4 and equalizing a six-game series on Friday night at Louisville Slugger Field. Davis Daniel (L, 5-5) made his 13th start for the Bats, opposed by an I-Cubs lineup that caused him trouble in
The Louisville Bats fell behind early and couldn't deliver the comeback against the Iowa Cubs, losing 6-4 and equalizing a six-game series on Friday night at Louisville Slugger Field.
Davis Daniel (L, 5-5) made his 13th start for the Bats, opposed by an I-Cubs lineup that caused him trouble in two prior outings this season. Despite three strikeouts in the first inning, the I-Cubs scored the game’s opening run when BJ Murray Jr. drove in a baserunner from first with an RBI triple.
The I-Cubs scratched across another run in the second after Daniel allowed back-to-back no-out singles, with the lead runner scoring on two infield sacrifices.
Following a historic feat of two straight 20-run performances, Louisville’s offense struggled to begin its night. Iowa’s starter, Will Sanders (W, 3-0), retired eight of the first nine hitters he faced, five via strikeout.
TJ Friedl got the Bats on the board with a solo home run in the third, his second Triple-A homer in eight games.
Command was an issue for Daniel, who walked three and hit two more Iowa batters. He exited with the bases loaded after walking home an unearned run to put the I-Cubs up 3-1. In 3.2 innings of work, Daniel delivered 97 pitches and allowed nine baserunners.
Bryce Hubbart entered in relief for his Triple-A debut and navigated the bases-loaded jam on three pitches. He subsequently escaped self-induced trouble in the fifth, after a leadoff single scampered to third on a stolen base and wild pitch. Hubbart recorded a strikeout and two pop-outs to keep the deficit at two.
The Bats offense struggled to solve Sanders, who struck out a season-high eight over five innings of three-hit ball. Following the Friedl home run, only one of the next eight Louisville batters reached base, an infield single by Michael Chavis in the fourth.
Iowa increased its lead with a three-run sixth, headlined by a two-RBI double by Jonathon Long and a run-scoring double by Murray Jr, his third RBI of the game.
Trailing 6-1 into the bottom of the eighth, the Bats attempted to mount a comeback. A one-out walk of Friedl followed by a Will Banfield single threatened with the middle of the lineup coming up. Michael Toglia drove in the first Louisville run since the third inning on an RBI single, and Chavis doubled home two more runs to close the gap.
Strong performances from Zach McCambley and Hunter Parks out of the bullpen kept the game close into the bottom of the ninth, but the Bats couldn’t flip the script, as they went down quietly in the final frame to lose the fourth of six contests in the series.
Louisville’s offense combined for 14 strikeouts and only six hits against a trio of I-Cubs pitchers. Chavis drove in two runs in a 2-for-3 performance, but four other Bats went hitless in the contest.
The Bats (35-31) continue their homestand against the Iowa Cubs (27-38) on Saturday evening at Louisville Slugger Field. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. ET. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for Sports Talk 790AM.