By Josh Cook
One night after being no-hit the Louisville Bats' bats were still fairly quiet.
Louisville managed only five hits - three by Chris Burke - against four Gwinnett pitchers in a 7-1 loss in front of 9,714 fans at Louisville Slugger Field.
Braves starter Jose Ortegano (2-0) held the Bats hitless for the first three innings and gave up just four hits and one earned run over 5 and 2/3 innings.
Gwinnett pounded out 12 hits, seven against Louisville starter Matt Klinker (1-0), who was making his Triple-A debut this season. Klinker had one clunker of an inning - the third.
The Braves scored three runs, all with two outs, in the third on four straight hits. Three of those were doubles by Jordan Schafer, Luis Bolivar and Barbaro Canizares.
Bolivar's knocked in Schafer and Canizares' scored Bolivar and Joe Thurston, who had singled.
Louisville's lone run came in the fourth when Burke led off with a single, stole second and scored on Yonder Alonso's single.
Gwinnett added a single run in the fifth off of Klinker, who yielded seven hits and four earned runs while striking out five in six innings.
The Braves then added three runs on insurance in the seventh off Louisville reliever Federico Baez. He gave up an RBI-single to Brandon Hicks, then a pinch-hit two-run homer to Mitch Jones.
Burke led the Bats' batters, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Alonso's single and a triple by Todd Frazier were Louisville's only other hits.
The Bats and Braves close out their four-game series, as well as Louisville's eight-game homestand, at 6:05 p.m. Sunday night. The Inflatable Mortenson Family Dental Kid's Zone will be set up from 5-8 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Pavilion. There will also be post-game fireworks in honor of Monday's Memorial Day holiday.
In other Bats' news:
- Catcher Chris Denove was assigned to the Bats from Carolina after Corky Miller was called up to the Cincinnati Reds after former Bat Ryan Hanigan fractured his left thumb sliding into second base Friday night. Denove batted .296 in 31 games with the Double-A Mudcats.
