Home Run Sink Bats In 6-4 Loss
In a back-and-forth affair, the Iowa Cubs got the decisive hit they needed to hand the Louisville Bats a 6-4 loss in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 5,760 on Friday night at Louisville Slugger Field. Following a scoreless first, the teams traded runs in the second. David Bote opened
In a back-and-forth affair, the Iowa Cubs got the decisive hit they needed to hand the Louisville Bats a 6-4 loss in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 5,760 on Friday night at Louisville Slugger Field.
Following a scoreless first, the teams traded runs in the second. David Bote opened the scoring against Louisville starter Lyon Richardson with a solo homer off the left field foul pole, his seventh homer of the year. The Bats came right back against Iowa starter, former Major League All-Star Julio Teheran, in the bottom of the inning. Edwin Rios got the inning started with a double down the right field line. The next hitter, Austin Wynns, tied the game with an RBI single to left.
Iowa restored the lead in the third on a two-run homer from Cole Roederer, his first with Iowa in 2024. Teheran and Richardson exchanged zeroes in the bottom of the third and top of the fourth before the Bats rallied.
Rece Hinds began the inning with a single and single to right and promptly stole second for his 10th steal of the year. Conner Capel plated Hinds with a single through the right side of the infield to make it a one-run game. P.J. Higgins then put the Bats in front for the first time with a two-run homer down the left field line, his fourth of the season to extend Louisville’s franchise record streak of games with at least one home run to 23.
Richardson held the lead with a clean fifth, striking out a pair. But his luck ran out in the sixth. A pair of singles put the tying and go-ahead runs on base for Iowa. Miles Mastrobuoni turned the game around with one swing, hitting an opposite field three-run homer into the left field stands, his third of the year, to put the visitors back ahead 6-4.
Richardson (L, 1-1) pitched six innings, allowing the six runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts to suffer his first loss of the season. Teheran (W, 1-4) was pulled after five for the Cubs, allowing four runs on six hits with no walks and eight strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year.
Yosver Zulueta was first out of the Louisville bullpen and pitched two scoreless innings to keep the deficit at two. Brooks Kriske needed only seven pitches in a one, two, three ninth. But the Bats offense was unable to get any closer.
Colten Brewer and Ethan Roberts combined on a scoreless sixth for the visitors. Eduarniel Nunez walked a pair but escaped with a clean seventh. Brad Wieck struck out two of three hitters he faced in the eighth and struck out Michael Trautwein to start the ninth. Michael Arias (S, 1) tossed only three pitches, getting the final two outs on a pair of ground balls to finish the win and earn the save.
Rios was the only Bat to record more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and a double. Mastrobuoni’s three-run homer was the difference for Iowa. Bote went 2-for-4, scoring twice.
The Bats (31-23) continue the series against the Cubs (25-30) on Saturday night. First pitch at Louisville Slugger Field is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.