Bats Can't Keep Up In 9-4 Loss
The Louisville Bats fell 9-4 in the second game of the series against the Toledo Mud Hens on Wednesday night, tallying their third straight loss. Both Louisville starter Grant Gavin and Toledo starter Bryan Sammons faced the minimum through two frames, but the bats got going on both sides in
The Louisville Bats fell 9-4 in the second game of the series against the Toledo Mud Hens on Wednesday night, tallying their third straight loss.
Both Louisville starter Grant Gavin and Toledo starter Bryan Sammons faced the minimum through two frames, but the bats got going on both sides in the third. Hernán Pérez led the inning off with a solo shot, his 11th home run of the year and second consecutive game with one on his ledger, to put the Bats on the board first at 1-0.
In the bottom half, the Mud Hens found their stride against Gavin (L, 0-2). Justice Bigbie reached on an error and Stephen Scott followed with a double to set up Andrew Navigato with two on and no outs. Navigato came through, recording his own double to drive in both runners and put Toledo in front 2-1. Akil Baddoo was next in line, and he ripped the Mud Hens’ third straight double to drive in another run. Toledo wasn’t done yet, as Spencer Torkelson worked a walk and Jace Jung delivered a single to score Baddoo and increase their lead to 4-1.
Sammons (W, 6-5) bounced back in the fourth with a zero, and Pat Kelly called on Christian Roa to replace Gavin with the Mud Hens at the plate. After a Scott single and a wild pitch that allowed him to advance to second, Navigato singled to right field and Scott was sent home. Jacob Hurtubise gathered the batted ball in right and delivered a strike to P.J. Higgins at home plate, nabbing the runner to keep the 4-1 deficit intact.
Louisville went away quietly again in the top of the fifth, and the Mud Hens looked to extend their lead. The Mud Hens plated three more runs in the frame, continuing the doubles party with two more to bring their total to six as Toledo took a 7-1 lead into the sixth.
The Bats threatened against Mud Hens reliever Andrew Magno in the top half. T.J. Friedl was hit by a pitch and Blake Dunn singled, but Tony Kemp grounded into a fielder’s choice for the first out and Higgins followed by grounding into a double play to get Toledo out of the jam.
After John Murphy posted a zero in the bottom of the sixth, the Bats managed to cut the deficit in half in the seventh. Edwin Ríos earned a walk and Pérez and Hurtubise both singled to score Ríos. TJ Friedl then worked a walk, and the Mud Hens replaced Magno with Devin Sweet for the final two outs. Dunn greeted him with another single to score Pérez and Hurtubise and put Louisville within three at 7-4.
The Mud Hens responded quickly, as Torkelson singled and Dingler launched a two-run home run to give Toledo a comfortable lead once again at 9-4, which would be the final score as the Louisville offense failed to threaten the rest of the night.
Dunn recorded three hits and two RBI while Pérez had two hits and a home run to lead the way at the plate for Louisville.
Gavin could only complete three innings, allowing four runs and getting tabbed with the loss, and Roa, Murphy, and Casey Legumina combined for the final five frames and gave up five runs between the three.
The Bats (49-47, 11-11 second half) and Mud Hens (44-53, 9-14 second half) continue the series on Thursday night, with first pitch at Fifth Third Field scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET. Nick Curran will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.
MiLB podcast breaks down Spring Training storylines
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Leaf Peepers? Thunder Chickens?! Coming to the Minors this year
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Dodgers greats Newcombe and Campanella made history as Minors teammates
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
15 prospects primed for a bounceback season from injury
A lot of players will be getting a fresh start heading into the 2025 season. Prospects who missed significant time due to injury have had upwards of six months between regular-season games to return to health. Now they'll be looking to re-establish their value and maybe even reach new heights.
Check out the newest Minor League team logos for 2025
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Here are 18 prospects who also starred on the gridiron
The two-time defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs are set to meet the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and plenty of baseball prospects will be keeping a close eye. After all, many current Minor Leaguers played football at a high level before committing fully to the diamond. No, there aren't any
Did you know the Superdome was once home to a Minor League team?
On Sunday, one of the world’s most-watched sporting events will take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Believe it or not, decades before Super Bowl LIX came to town, the same building was home to a Minor League Baseball team for one season. The 1977 Triple-A New Orleans Pelicans
How a Black pitcher's brief PCL stint in 1916 generated a historic card
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2010. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
The Show Before the Show: Episode 489
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minors legend Jones still holds batting record
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2008. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers. Grover "Deacon" Jones spent more than a half-century in baseball, serving the game at almost every level and in
Hooks have a new look -- and more -- on the line for 20th season
In advance of a milestone season at Whataburger Field, the Corpus Christi Hooks are making a change. The Houston Astros' Double-A affiliate unveiled new logos and uniforms on Friday evening, marking the first time they have significantly altered their look since debuting in 2005. According to Hooks general manager Brady
Here's how Jackie Robinson fueled Montreal to a Minor League title in 1946
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
They're due! MiLB's longest active title droughts
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
These players could earn teams extra Draft picks in 2025
Since the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) was implemented under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, four players have earned their clubs extra Draft picks. The PPI rewards teams for promoting their best prospects to the big leagues at the start of the season, enabling them to earn a Draft pick if
Each team's best non-Top 100 prospect
There just isn't enough room to fit all the worthy talents on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list. We unveiled our latest rankings last Friday, and now we're going to spotlight the best prospect in each farm system who couldn't quite make the cut. We undertook the same exercise last
MiLB collaborates with Stand Up To Cancer
Minor League Baseball announced a new collaboration with Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C), an organization that funds the development of new and promising cancer treatments to help patients today. Founded in 2008, SU2C raises awareness and funds research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients.
These are the best tools on the new Top 100 Prospects list
Players featured on last year’s edition of the best tools among Top 100 prospects should look familiar to even casual baseball fans at this point. Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (best fastball, slider) took the Major Leagues by storm as the NL Rookie of the Year, thanks to his hard-throwing ways
Answering your Top 100 Prospects list questions
MLB Pipeline released its new Top 100 Prospects list on Friday, and it was met with a bevy of questions and comments about fans' favorite prospects. To help make sense of all the inquiries, Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo took to Reddit and responded to fan questions in a Top 100 Prospect-focused
Here are every organization's Top 100 prospects for 2025
MLB Pipeline’s 2025 Top 100 Prospects list went live on Friday night, led by the newest Dodger, right-hander Roki Sasaki, Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony and Twins outfielder Walker Jenkins. There’s a lot of offensive firepower throughout the list, beyond those two outfielders at the top, but while the bats
Check out MLB Pipeline's 2025 Top 100 Prospects list
He was one of the most sought-after talents this offseason, and he hadn’t even played stateside ball yet. Now, he can add another bullet point to his already lengthy baseball resume. Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki tops MLB Pipeline’s 2025 preseason ranking of the Top 100 prospects, followed by Red Sox
The Show Before the Show: Episode 488
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Get ready to cheer for ... the Bathtub Donkeys?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to The Baseball Traveler newsletter here.
These are MLB’s No. 1 prospects at each position
MLB Pipeline's 2025 rankings of the Top 10 prospects at each position are official and the 2025 Top 100 Prospects list will be revealed at 7 p.m. ET on Friday on MLB Network and MLB.com.