The Louisville Bats were defeated 6-2 by the Columbus Clippers at Huntington Park on Sunday afternoon. A five-run third inning by the Clippers made all the difference, as Julian Aguiar struggled and the Bats' offense could not overcome the early deficit.
In a rematch of the series-opening pitching matchup, Julian Aguiar (L, 1-4) was opposed by the Clippers’ Logan Allen (W, 4-2). Following a clean inning from Allen to open the contest, Columbus’ Petey Halpin took the first pitch he saw to deep left field for a leadoff homer, giving the Clippers an early 1-0 advantage.
Michael Chavis evened the game on a solo shot of his own with two outs in the second. It was Chavis’ 15th home run of the season and the Bats’ first hit of the game.
Aguiar battled control issues, leading to traffic on the basepaths in the first two innings. He walked five batters and faced two bases-loaded jams, but escaped each unscathed, thanks in part to three strikeouts.
The Bats' offense struggled to solve the Columbus starter in the early going. Allen struck out three batters and allowed only three baserunners through the first 15 plate appearances.
Concerns of Aguiar’s control carried into the third, when he walked two more and allowed a single to load the bases for a third consecutive inning. His seventh walk of the afternoon would be his last, as Sam Benschoter entered in relief.
With one out in the inning, Columbus scored a go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to Carlos Jorge. The center fielder dropped a sure out, keeping the bases loaded. Halpin, the next Clippers batter, then delivered another big hit for his squad, a bases-clearing triple. Halpin eventually scored on a sacrifice fly, capping off a five-run inning that yielded a 6-1 Columbus lead.
Aguiar’s line went final earlier than anticipated; he completed 2.1 innings and allowed 4 earned runs on three hits, three strikeouts, and seven walks.
Jonathan Lavallee made his second appearance out of the Bats’ bullpen in the fifth inning. He walked the first batter he saw on a pitch clock violation, but recorded three consecutive outs for a scoreless frame. An inning later, he recorded his first Triple-A strikeout to cap a fourth consecutive shutout inning on the mound.
Francisco Urbaez provided a much-needed Bats run in the sixth with a solo homer to left field, his second of the season. The big fly represented only the third Louisville hit of the afternoon, as they continued to trail 6-2.
Luis Mey struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh, concluding matters in 12 pitches and ending with a 98-mph fastball at the top of the zone for a swing-and-miss. After another quiet inning offensively, Mey pitched a second scoreless frame in the eighth, navigating a bases-loaded scenario to maintain the four-run deficit. His day concluded with five total strikeouts.
The Bats went down quietly in the top of the ninth, dropping the game and their fifth series of the season. Louisville’s limited offense was headlined by two solo home runs from Chavis and Urbaez. Still, the team struggled to pose much of a threat to a strong combined pitching performance by the Clippers, only managing eight baserunners in the contest.
Dominic Pitelli and Garrett Hampson each provided a hit in Louisville's four-hit total. The series loss continues a drought of over two months without a road series win, with the last coming against the Omaha Storm Chasers from 4/28-5/3.
The Bats (43-41) welcome the Storm Chasers to Louisville Slugger Field for a six-game series beginning on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for Sports Talk 790AM.