Louisville Bats Notes: April 28

ONE WIN FROM .500: The Louisville Bats and Toledo Mud Hens meet Saturday night for the second game of a three-game series at Fifth Third Field. Coming off a 9-6 victory Friday night, the Bats look to win their fourth straight game and climb back to the .500 mark. With a win tonight, LOU would be .500 this late into a season for the first time since 2016, when they were 53-53 following a July 29 loss at Durham. Last season, the latest into the year that Louisville owned a .500 record or better was after 10 games when they were 5-5.

SEASON HIGH RUN TOTAL: The Bats scored 9 runs last night, their highest run output this season and most since August 20, 2017 vs. Rochester in a 13-6 win. They also matched their season-high in the hit column (15), previously recording 15 hits in their 8-2 win over Columbus on April 11 at Louisville Slugger Field.
 
SENZEL HAS BEST GAME OF SEASON: Top prospect Nick Senzel had the best game of his young Triple-A career Friday night, and one of the best offensive performances by a Bats player this season. The infielder went 3-for-4 with a home run, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored, registering season highs with his hit, RBI and run totals. Senzel has hit safely in 9 of his last 11 games, batting .318 (14-for-44) in that span.
MULTI-HIT MADNESS: The Bats had five hitters register at least 2 hits in last night's 9-6 win, their second most of the season. On April 11, the Bats had 6 hitters register at least 2 hits. In addition to Senzel's 3-hit performance, Mason Williams, Tyler Goeddel, D.J. Peterson and Brandon Dixon all notched 2-hit games as the Bats scored 3 runs in the first and 6 runs in the sixth inning to back Jackson Stephens ' winning effort in the series opener.
IN THE BIG INNING: The Bats scored 6 runs in the top of the sixth of last night's ballgame, doubling their previous high (3) of runs in an inning this season. The 6 runs are the most put together by a Louisville offense in a single inning since August 20, 2017 vs. Rochester, when the Bats scored 7 runs in the bottom of the fourth in a 13-6 win, with Brandon Dixon hitting his last of 3 home runs he hit that day.
ERVIN, QUACKENBUSH JOIN LOUISVILLE: The Cincinnati Reds optioned to Class AAA Louisville outfielder Phillip Ervin and right-handed pitcher Kevin Quackenbush to make room on the Major League roster for infielder Eugenio Suárez , who returned from a rehab assignment, and infielder/outfielder Rosell Herrera , who had his contract selected by Cincinnati, making his Major League debut (0-for-1) at Great American Ball Park on April 26 against the Atlanta Braves.
- Ervin appeared in 99 games with Louisville last season, making his Triple-A debut on April 6, 2017 vs. Columbus. He batted .256 with 7 home runs and 40 RBI for the Bats, including a 2 HR game on April 14 at COL. The outfielder made his MLB debut April 22, 2017 against the Cubs, and homered in back-to-back games at Wrigley Field, August 16-17 last season.
- Quackenbush joins the Bats after appearing in 10 games for Cincinnati this season. He was a regular in the San Diego Padres' bullpen for four seasons from 2014-17, appearing in 193 games with the Friars with a 4.38 ERA.
SCHOFIELD NAMED MANAGER: The Cincinnati Reds announced last Friday that Dick Schofield has been named interim manager for the Louisville Bats. Schofield, who was serving as Louisville's bench coach, replaces Pat Kelly , who managed the first 10 games of the 2018 season for Louisville, compiling a 4-6 record. Kelly was recently promoted to Major League bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds also announced Darren Bragg will take over Schofield's previous role as Louisville's bench coach. Bragg is in his 12th season in the organization and was in his 10th as outfield coordinator at the time of his transfer to Louisville.