Starters Shine As Bats Fall To RailRiders 2-1

Following a scoreless battle between the two starting pitchers, the Louisville Bats bullpen couldn’t protect the slimmest of leads, ultimately falling 2-1 to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the opener of a six-game series on Tuesday night at PNC Field.

With the game scoreless in the top of the seventh, the RailRiders turned to Chasen Shreve (W, 2-1) out of the bullpen and he got two quick outs. The third wouldn’t come as easily, as Tony Kemp crushed a solo home run 359 feet over the right field fence for his seventh homer of the season and first with the Bats, breaking the scoreless deadlock before the stretch.

Pitching with a 1-0 advantage, the Bats turned to lefty Evan Kravetz from the bullpen. T.J. Rumfield greeted him with a single before Kravetz (L, 4-2) got the first two outs of the inning. Again, the reliever wouldn’t get the third out without damage. Kevin Smith connected on a two-run homer to left-center, propelling the home team in front 2-1 after seven.

Shreve and Phil Bickford (S, 5) combined on a clean eighth to hold the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lead. Zach Maxwell held the deficit at one with a scoreless bottom of the inning. In the ninth, the Bats got the tying run aboard with one out. Bickford ended the game by making Kemp ground into a double play, finishing the win and earning his fifth save of the year.

Both starters were in control from start to finish. Facing RailRiders starter Edgar Barclay, the Bats got two on in the top of the first on a single from rehabbing Reds catcher Luke Maile and a walk to Rece Hinds. However, Barclay struck out Edwin Rios and P.J. Higgins to end the inning.

Bats southpaw Justus Sheffield also worked around a couple baserunners in the first. A pair of one-out walks wouldn’t bite Sheffield, as he induced a double play from Rumfield to complete a clean frame.

The Bats looked to capitalize again in the fourth, as Rece Hinds’ fly ball hit off the wall in right-center just feet short of a home run. However, a strong relay from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre nailed Hinds at third base trying to stretch a double into a triple for the first out of the inning. A pair of two-out singles from Erik Gonzalez and Ivan Johnson got the Bats a runner in scoring position in the fifth. Barclay escaped by getting Jacob Hurtubise to line out to center.

Sheffield was in cruise control in the middle innings, retiring the RailRiders in order in the third and fourth. A double play ground ball from Kevin Smith erased a leadoff baserunner in the home fifth. Jasson Dominguez reached with a one-out walk in the sixth, stole second, and advanced to third on a ground out. With the go-ahead run just 90 feet away, Sheffield got through the jam unscathed by getting Oswald Peraza to ground out to second.

Both starters departed after six scoreless innings, but neither would factor in the decision. For Barclay, he allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out four. Pitching against the organization with which he made his MLB debut in 2018, Sheffield allowed just the one hit, walking three and striking out three.

The bullpen battle began in the seventh, and that would be where the tides turned in favor of the RailRiders, who held on to hand the Bats their eighth straight loss.

In his first rehab game with Louisville, Maile went 1-for-3 while Gonzalez was 2-for-3. The Bats suffered the loss despite outhitting the RailRiders 8-3.

The Bats (49-52, 11-16 second half) and RailRiders (57-45, 14-14 second half) will have a quick turnaround for the second game of their series on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. at PNC Field. Nick Curran will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.