The Louisville Bats lost the game and series to the St. Paul Saints in a 3-0 finale at Louisville Slugger Field on Sunday afternoon.
Sam Benschoter (L, 2-3) made his second start of the series for the Bats. He navigated trouble early, allowing a leadoff single and two walks to a dangerous St. Paul lineup. With two outs and the bases loaded, Benschoter recorded his second swinging strikeout of the inning to conclude the opening frame scoreless.
The Saints offense cashed in on a leadoff baserunner in the second, when a double quickly came across to score on an RBI single by David Banuelos. Another inning-ending strikeout minimized the damage, as Benschoter stranded two more in scoring position.
Trailing 1-0, the Bats offense stumbled out of the gates. Noelvi Marte’s double in the first stood as the team’s only hit through three innings.
Benschoter gave way to Trevor Kuncl in the fourth. Across three innings of work, Benschoter struggled to throw strikes, pitching out of the stretch for much of the afternoon. He stranded seven Saints baserunners to keep the score close, and Kuncl dealt a clean 1.2 innings in relief.
Héctor Rodríguez led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, providing the Bats their first baserunner in seven plate appearances. Marte moved the runner to third on a deep flyout to center field, but the tying run would be stranded after back-to-back strikeouts.
Pitching continued to dominate on both sides of the ledger into the seventh. Connor Phillips recorded three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work, while the Bats offense endured its longest scoreless drought of the season.
In the sixth, Rodríguez recorded his second double of the game, placing Marte in another run-scoring opportunity. With two outs, loud contact amounted to little as a lineout ended the inning.
St. Paul scratched across a run in the seventh off reliever Hunter Parks, increasing the lead to two runs. A solo shot from Matt Wallner in the top of the ninth made it 3-0 Saints, with the Bats down to their final three outs.
The final frame began with two base hits to bring the tying run to the plate with no outs. A groundout double play from Marte dashed hopes of a Bats rally, and the game ended on an unassisted groundout to first base.
Louisville’s offense recorded five hits, three of which came from Rodríguez’s 3-for-4 performance at the plate. The Bats' season-long scoreless drought reached 16 innings and counting, as they dropped the home series to St. Paul.
The Bats (30-26) head south for a series against the Memphis Redbirds (34-22) beginning Tuesday evening. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. ET at AutoZone Park. Nick Curran will be on the call for Sports Talk 790 AM.