Ryan Feierabend probably hoped his debut with the Louisville Bats would’ve gone smoother. The Cleveland, OH native, whose contract was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds from the York Revolution on June 7, gave up seven runs on nine hits—three of which were home runs—in 4-1/3 innings of work against the Syracuse Chiefs Friday as the Bats fell 7-3.
Dioner Navarro’s two-run homer spotted Feierabend a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the second. Feierabend gave the lead up quickly, handed out lead off solo home runs in the second and third innings by Carlos Rivera and Mitch Atkins (Syracuse’s starting pitcher), respectively, which tied the game after three.
The offense battled back to take the lead in the fourth with an RBI sac fly from Danny Dorn. But, in the bottom of the inning, the wheels fell off for Feierabend.
Feierabend loaded the bases four batters into the inning but got Atkins to fly out, appearing to have extinguished the threat. The next batter, Cody Brown, sent a grand slam over the center field wall, giving the Chiefs a 6-3 lead.
That would be all the offense Syracuse needed, but they did tack on an insurance run in the fifth with an RBI single from Rivera.
The Bats (19-44) got solid work out of the bullpen from Josh Judy and Scott Carroll, who combined to go the final 3-2/3 without giving up a run.
Atkins (5-5) picked up the win for the Chiefs, going 6-1/3 innings giving up three runs eight hits as the Chiefs improved their season record to 30-32.
The Bats head to Rochester Saturday to begin what will be a very odd road series with the Scranton Wilkes/Barre Yankees, whose home stadium is undergoing renovations. After playing three in Rochester, the teams will travel to Batavia, NY for a morning game on Tuesday.
First things first, though, is the game on Saturday. The Bats will send Chad Reineke (1-4, 4.23 ERA) will be on the hill for the Bats opposed by Dellin Betances (3-4, 5.28 ERA) of the Yankees. First pitch Saturday is set for 7:05 p.m.
Photo: Max Sharp
