The Louisville Bats are in the midst of a 12-game road trip that includes stops in Norfolk and Durham. The Bats have won the first two in Norfolk with 2-1 and 9-2 wins Friday and Saturday, respectively. They are 2-2 on the road trip with eight games remaining.
No goals, just win
Bats manager David Bell was asked what the goal was for this 12-game road swing. He declined to give an answer saying he likes to take it a day at a time and focus on winning each day. Fair enough, but let’s be honest; the Bats sit at 9-14 on the season and are 5.5 games back. Yes, it’s early in the season but if the Bats can go 5-3 or 6-2 over the next eight games, that would be huge momentum going into the second week of May.
Two gems are better than one
Friday, Jeff Francis pitched a marvelous game, going eight innings giving up just one run on three hits, walking three and striking out nine. Sean Gallagher followed up with a gem of his own Saturday night, going seven-plus giving up two runs on four hits, striking out eight. Those two followed a wasted quality start by Brett Tomko on Wednesday in which Tomko gave up two runs on four hits in six innings. Bats starters now have eight quality starts on the year and are 6-2 in those games.
Three wins are better than two
The Bats have won back to back games for the third time this season. They have yet to win three games in a row. The first time they won two in a row, they lost their next five. They won two straight again April 22-23 but lost two games in Indianapolis before winning two straight in Norfolk. The Bats are in the midst of playing the two worst teams, Norfolk and Durham, in the International League South Division. Anything less than 6-2 against these two teams would be a disappointment.
Costanzo on fire
Mike Costanzo, who was called up to the Bats to replace Todd Frazier, has not disappointed. Costanzo is currently on a three game multi-hit streak and is hitting .286 in ten games with Louisville. Costanzo has also homered in consecutive games, including a critical two-run shot in Friday’s 2-1 win. In 11 games with Double-A Pensacola, Costanzo hit .333 with three homers and 13 runs batted in. In 21 games combined, Costanzo’s overall average is .308.
Janish keeps on raking
Paul Janish started the season with the Bats for the first time in three years. Most guys would pout and play poorly. Janish has taken it in stride—literally. Janish has a .521 slugging percentage to go with a .315 average and .390 on-base percentage. Janish has hit safely in 16 of the 23 games he’s played in and has six multi-hit games. Those numbers are a far cry from his career .227 average with the Cincinnati Reds.
The road ahead
The Bats are on the road through the Kentucky Derby and return home Monday May 7. Keep your browser here for all the latest Bats news and game recaps and be sure to follow me on twitter @kevingeary10.
