Bats Power Their Way To 6-0 Win In Memphis

The Louisville Bats deployed a perfect complement of dominant pitching and timely offense to defeat the Memphis Redbirds 6-0 at AutoZone Park on Friday night.

After the Bats went down 1-2-3 to begin the game, Julian Aguiar took the mound for his first Louisville start since April 8, returning from a stint on the injured list. He was effective early, striking out the first batter he saw and retiring the Memphis side in order.

In the second, Louisville’s offense matched its hit total from Thursday with a two-out single by Michael Chavis. The Redbirds also notched their first hit of the game with one out in the home half of the inning. Aguiar walked the next batter but worked around the runner in scoring position with back-to-back strikeouts to keep the game scoreless.

Five of the game’s next six batters hit the ball on the ground for outs, with the next baserunner reaching on an Ivan Johnson leadoff single in the fourth, extending his hit streak to eight games.

Aguiar remained in control through the fourth, despite allowing a no-out double that, at first, appeared to have snuck over the left field wall. With the game’s first run threatening, the Bats starter recorded three straight outs.

Four innings would be all for Aguiar in his return to the rotation. He struck out four, three on called third strikes, allowing two hits and one walk.

Sam Benschoter (W, 3-3) picked up where Aguiar left off, retiring the first seven batters he saw in relief.

The Bats broke through in the sixth, when Bruce Zimmermann (L, 4-3), who had been dealing a shutout on the Memphis mound, allowed a leadoff walk to Garrett Hampson. A heads-up play saw Hampson tag from first to second on a fly out to center field, before Johnson took advantage with a hard-hit double to the opposite field, pushing across the night’s first run.

Two batters later, Francisco Urbaez scored Johnson with an RBI base hit, chasing the Redbirds starter from the game. Unfazed by the change, Chavis recorded his third single in as many plate appearances to score the third Bats run of the inning, affording them the 3-0 advantage.

Benschoter remained on the mound through the seventh. Facing the potential tying run with two Redbirds on base, he recorded his fourth strikeout of the game to wipe away the threat and keep Memphis scoreless.

Dueling blasts from two Bats named Michael put the game out of reach in the eighth. Michael Toglia rocketed a solo shot 447 feet off the batter’s eye, followed shortly thereafter by a two-run homer by Chavis. It was Toglia’s 14^th home run of the season and Chavis’ 11^th.

Hunter Parks silenced an already quiet Redbirds offense with two innings of work and four strikeouts of his own to tie a bow on the victory.

Three Bats pitchers combined to record the team’s fourth shutout of the season, allowing only three hits in the process, and striking out twelve. Louisville’s offense was led by Chavis’ 4-for-4, 3 RBI performance, evening the series at two games apiece.

The Bats (32-28) continue the six-game set against the Redbirds (37-24) on Saturday evening. First pitch is set for 7:35 p.m. ET at AutoZone Park. Nick Curran will be on the call for Sports Talk 790 AM.