Bats' Stagnant Offense Results In Fifth Straight Loss to I-Cubs
The Louisville Bats' offense suffered some setbacks in its 6-2 loss to the Iowa Cubs at Louisville Slugger Field on Sunday afternoon. After winning the first four games of the season, the Bats have now dropped five straight. Louisville’s southpaw starter Brandon Leibrandt was touched up in the first by
The Louisville Bats' offense suffered some setbacks in its 6-2 loss to the Iowa Cubs at Louisville Slugger Field on Sunday afternoon. After winning the first four games of the season, the Bats have now dropped five straight.
Louisville’s southpaw starter Brandon Leibrandt was touched up in the first by back-to-back singles to open the game, which gave the I-Cubs an early 1-0 lead. Leibrandt struggled in the second but induced a weak flyball with the bases loaded and two outs to work out of the jam. The I-Cubs broke through again in the third with a Kevin Alcantara solo shot, boosting the lead to 2-0.
Michael Chavis put the Bats on the board in the third with a 403-foot blast to right-center field for his third of the year to pull the deficit to 2-1. Iowa responded in the fourth with a leadoff walk and back-to-back singles to increase the lead to 3-1. Two batters later, James Triantos smoked a two-run double to give the Cubs a 5-1 lead. Anthony Misiewicz promptly relieved Leibrandt and recorded two quick outs to limit any further damage.
The performance continued the streak of poor outings for the Bats' starters. With Leibrandt’s five earned runs allowed on eight hits over 3.1 innings, Louisville starters finished the series with a 17.05 ERA in six starts against Iowa.
Misiewicz allowed a solo homer to Chas McCormick in the fifth inning to extend the Cubs' lead to 6-1.
The Bats' offense remained stagnant until the ninth, when Hector Rodriguez smashed his second home run of the year, a solo shot 399 feet to right field, providing the final score of 6-2.
The offense was mostly quiet on Sunday, but the bullpen was strong. Yunior Marte, Tejay Antone, Trevor Kuncl, Zach Maxwell, and Andrew Chafin combined for four scoreless innings of relief with six strikeouts. Louisville recorded just five hits in the loss, its lowest total in a game this season.
The Bats (4-5) will face the Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. to begin their first road trip of the season. Chase Petty (0-1) will get the ball for the Bats. Nick Curran will be on the call on Sports Talk 790.