Louisville Bats Notes: May 9

TODAY'S GAME: Louisville and Indianapolis meet for game three of a four-game series today with left-hander Justin Nicolino on the mound for the Bats. Louisville lost 5-2 Monday night after winning the series opener by a 3-1 score, snapping a season-worst 6-game losing streak. The Bats have dropped 7 of 8 games in the month of May, and 9 of their last 11 games overall.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Last season, the Bats went just 8-15 against the Indians, 4-7 in their home ballpark. The defending IL West Champions outscored Louisville 117-64 in the 23 contests. In an interesting International League scheduling quirk, Louisville and Indianapolis did not have their first scheduled game against each other until June 22, playing all 23 of their matchups from that point on.
TRANSACTIONS: The Cincinnati Reds and Louisville Bats made some roster moves Monday/Tuesday, including the release of RHP Ben Rowen and the activation of RHP Kevin Shackelford after being optioned to Louisville back on Monday. A summary of Louisville's other moves:
- Infielder and No. 7 rated prospect by Baseball America Nick Senzel was placed on the 7-day disabled list (vertigo) Tuesday, retroactive to May 6. Senzel (22g, .271/3/7 w/LOU) has not appeared in a game for the Bats since the series opener at Norfolk on May 3, where he left the game after just one plate appearance. Senzel had started 22 of the Bats' first 23 games this year.
- Catcher Tony Cruz (14g, .170/1/10 w/LOU) had his contract selected by Cincinnati on Tuesday, replacing C Devin Mesoraco , who was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for RHP Matt Harvey .
- Catcher Morgan Lofstrom was added to Louisville's roster on Tuesday but did not appear. He has played in 9 games with Class A Dayton this season.
- On Wednesday morning, catcher Garrett Boulware (#35) and infielder Josh VanMeter (#15) were added to Louisville's roster, with Lofstrom being removed. Boulware appeared in 5 games with Louisville last season, batting .143 (2-for-14). In 11 games with Class AA Pensacola this season, he's batting .200 (6-for-30). VanMeter will make his Triple-A debut in his first appearance with Louisville, batting .280 (26-for-93) with one home run and 14 RBI for Pensacola this season.
BATS IN THE MORNING: Louisville will play its third of seven scheduled morning games this season, and final one at Louisville Slugger Field in 2018. The Bats are 1-1 in morning games this season, with each of the past 2 morning games going into 10 innings. LOU won 2-1 against Charlotte on April 25, and lost 5-3 against Columbus on May 2. Last season, the Bats went 2-2 in games that started before noon, 1-1 at home and 1-1 at Toledo. In 2016, the Bats went 4-2 in morning games, 3-0 at Louisville Slugger Field.
DILSON GOES YARD: Second baseman Dilson Herrera went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in last night's loss, extending his hit streak to a modest 3 games while registering his first multi-hit game with Louisville this season and becoming the team's 10th different player to homer in 2018. Herrera's home run was his 10th in a Bats uniform, and his first since July 1, 2017 at Indianapolis off Tyler Glasnow .
DIXON IN TOP 5: Brandon Dixon registered yet another multi-hit game Tuesday night, going 2-for-4 and raising his batting average to .326 (29-for-89), 5th in the International League. In 24 games with a plate appearance this season, Dixon has reached base in 23 of 24, and hit safely in 20 of 24.
GUERRERO MAKES BATS DEBUT: Right fielder Gabby Guerrero made his Louisville debut Monday night, going 1-for-4 with a double and run scored. The nephew of Hall of Fame slugger Vladimir Guerrero was batting .296 with Class AA Pensacola at the time of his promotion yesterday, and has previously spent time in the Mariners and Diamondbacks organizations, appearing in 34 games with Class AAA Reno in 2016.