Bats Snap Losing Streak With Shutout Victory
Following a devastating loss in the completion of Friday’s suspended game, a pair of Louisville Bats pitchers twirled a gem and got plenty of run support, defeating the Indianapolis Indians 6-0 in the sixth game of their seven-game series on Saturday night at Victory Field. The win snaps a 12-game
Following a devastating loss in the completion of Friday’s suspended game, a pair of Louisville Bats pitchers twirled a gem and got plenty of run support, defeating the Indianapolis Indians 6-0 in the sixth game of their seven-game series on Saturday night at Victory Field. The win snaps a 12-game losing streak for Louisville, tied for the longest losing streak in franchise history.
The long evening of baseball began with the resumption of Friday night’s game, with the score tied 5-5 as the 10th inning began. With automatic runner Jacob Hurtubise at third base and two outs, pinch-hitter Francisco Urbaez put the Bats in front with an RBI single to right. The Indian got the run right back on an RBI single from Joshua Palacios off Bats closer Zach Maxwell, sending the game to the 11th inning tied 6-6.
Tucker Barnhart began the 11th with a walk to put two on with one out. Ivan Johnson then worked a nine-pitch at-bat and crushed a double to the gap in left-center, bringing both runners home to give the Bats the lead again. Patrick Weigel (L, 0-2) was called for the save opportunity and struggled. An RBI single from Seth Beer quickly made it a one-run game. Weigel then induced a ground out and struck out Liover Peguero to keep the tying run at second with two outs. Weigel then had Jake Lamb down to the Indians’ last strike but the Indianapolis first baseman was able to tie the game with a double to center. Following an intentional walk, Malcom Nunez hit a soft single into shallow right field, brining Lamb home to give the Indians the come-from-behind win.
The loss extended the Bats’ losing streak to 12 games, tying a franchise record originally set from August 7-19, 2013. Johnson finished Friday night’s game by going 3-for-5 with four RBI, finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Hurtubise scored three runs and Barnhart scored twice.
In the regularly scheduled game, the Bats got on the board first. Leading off the top of the second, Edwin Rios laced Luis Cessa’s 1-1 offering into the right field corner for a leadoff double. Later in the frame, Barnhart lined a single to left, allowing Rios to scamper home for the first run of the ballgame.
Pitching with the lead, San Benschoter (W, 1-0) was strong in his first Triple-A start. Although he allowed a pair of hits with one out in the second, he struck out Palacios and got a ground out from Jason Delay to end the inning. He struck out Nick Yorke to strand the tying run on third in the third. A two-out walk did little to deter Benschoter in the fourth. Again, he left the tying run at third in the fifth, this time by striking out Billy Cook to end a scoreless start. Over five innings, he allowed just three hits, walked two, and struck out five to earn his first Triple-A win.
Grant Gavin was first out of the bullpen for the Bats in the sixth and struck out a pair in a one, two, three bottom of the sixth. An inning later, the Bats got the breakthrough they were looking for to add crucial run support. Erik Gonzalez got it started with a one-out bunt single down the first base line. With two outs, Blake Dunn kept the inning going with a single to right, as he and Gonzalez advanced to second and third on the throw from right field. Johnson delivered a key hit, lining a single to right to score both Gonzalez and Dunn, making it 3-0 Bats. Levi Jordan then delivered the crushing blow with a two-run homer to right, his ninth home run of the season, to increase the Louisville advantage to 5-0.
Gavin continued in relief and worked around traffic on the bases in both the seventh and eighth innings. Jordan tacked on one more run with an RBI double in the top of the ninth. In the bottom half, Gavin returned to the mound and set the Indians down one, two, three, finishing the win for the Bats’ fourth shutout of the season and earning his first save of the year in the process.
Benschoter and Gavin combined on the five-hit shutout, walking three while striking out eight to end the longest losing streak in Louisville franchise history. Offensively, the top four hitters in the Bats lineup combined to go 8-for-20 with five RBI in the win. Batting ninth, Trey Faltine went 1-for-4 in his Triple-A debut.
The Bats (58-72, 20-36 second half) and Indians (64-64, 31-24 second half) meet for the final time in the 2024 season on Sunday afternoon. First pitch at Victory Field is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. Nick Curran will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.