Bats fall to Mud Hens in series opener

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the opener of their last meeting of the 2018 season, the Louisville Bats (54-70) fell to the Toledo Mud Hens, 5-2 at Louisville Slugger Field on Tuesday night. Despite the loss, the Bats out-hit Toledo 11-5 and had seven runners left on base compared to Toledo's two.

Josh VanMeter opened up a strong night of hitting in the first with his 21^st double of the season. He was then pushed to third due to a sac bunt from shortstop, Blake Trahan. A full team effort scored the first run of the night when Brian O'Grady came to the plate and grounded out to get VanMeter home and put the Bats ahead 1-0.
While VanMeter continued to impress, grabbing a line drive out of the sky in the top of the second, Toledo responded with some runs of their own. Dawel Lugo started off with a line drive and proceeded to steal second as Krizan connected for a single down the right field line to push Lugo to third. Jarrod Saltalamacchia then came up with his own single to bring both runners home to steal the lead.
The third inning produced more offense from the Mud Hens. Christin Stewart connected for a two-run homer to add a buffer to the Toledo lead. However, despite the increasing deficit, VanMeter still had hits of his own up his sleeve. With C.J. McElroy at second base, VanMeter stepped up again with a single to make it 4-2.
Following two scoreless innings, the Mud Hens had more left in the tank in the sixth. Dawel Lugo crunched another Toledo homer to take a three-run lead and deny the chance of a Bats comeback. The Bats now have 27 losses this season after taking an early lead.  
Despite taking the loss, Lucas Sims (4-5, 2.99) was solid on the mound in his fifth start in Bats uniform since being traded from the Braves on July 30. He went seven innings, allowing five runs from five hits (three earned) while walking one and striking out seven on 105 pitches (74 strikes).
Both VanMeter and McElroy produced the offensive spark for Louisville tonight. VanMeter went 2-for-4, recording one run and one RBI for the night, while McElroy also went 2-for-4 and recorded a run. To end the night, Hernan Iribarren recorded his third three-hit game for the season with a base hit in the bottom of the ninth, going 3-for-4 in the loss.
The two teams will battle again for the second game of the series on Wednesday night. Right-hander, Justin Nicolino (5-6, 4.99) will go for his sixth win against Toledo lefty Tyler Alexander (3-6, 5.00). First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.