Louisville Bats Notes: August 29

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Louisville Bats and Columbus Clippers continue a three-game series at Huntington Park. Last night, the Bats lost a 7-6 heartbreaker, leading 6-2 in the fifth inning, before Columbus erupted for a 4-run bottom of the eighth in the series opener. Tonight, right-hander José López heads to the mound as the Bats look to bounce back after winning 4 of their last 5 prior to Tuesday's defeat.

AGAINST COLUMBUS: In 22 matchups so far this season, Columbus holds a 14-8 lead, finishing with a 10-4 record at Louisville Slugger Field this season. On the flipside, the clubs are an even 4-4 at Huntington Park, with 2 left to play in the series. Overall, COL has outscored LOU this season by a narrow 117-110 advantage. Each of the last 3 matchups between the teams have been one-run games, with Columbus coming out on top in all three.
TOP 3 ALL-TIME: On Tuesday night at Huntington Park, Louisville designated hitter Hernan Iribarren went 2-for-4, recording his 441st and 442nd career hits in a Louisville uniform, moving into sole possession of third place on the franchise hits list since Triple-A baseball came back to Louisville in 1982. Iribarren's leadoff single in the second inning moved him into a three-way tie for third place with Bill Lyons and Gene Roof. "Iri" moved past the former Louisville Redbirds on the franchise hits list with a double in the sixth inning, his second straight multi-hit game and fourth in his last 5 starts.

VANMETER'S HIT STREAK: Josh VanMeter went 2-for-5 with his 25th Louisville double and an RBI, extending his already season-best hitting streak to 9 games. During that stretch, he is batting .444 (16-for-36) with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs and 11 RBI since August 19. His 16 hits are second-most since then, and his 11 extra-base hits rank most in the IL, 4 more than the next-closest batter. VanMeter has raised his Louisville batting average 25 points, from .224 to .249 in that span.
THE NOTORIOUS B. O'G: Left fielder Brian O'Grady went 1-for-3 with his seventh home run for the Bats this season, also scoring twice and drawing a walk. He extended his hit streak to 6 games in the process. Since joining Louisville on July 21, O'Grady is batting .314 (38-for-121) with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers and 25 RBI in 36 games.
MY SON GABRIEL: Since O'Grady made his Triple-A debut with the Bats on July 21, only one player in the International League has more RBI than him: fellow Bats outfielder Gabriel Guerrero. He went 2-for-5 last night with his fourth triple of the season, scoring a run. Since July 21, he has driven in 28 runs.