The Gwinnett Braves scored eleven times in the first three innings against the Louisville Bats Monday night and rode the big lead to an 11-7 victory. The first six batters in Gwinnett’s lineup all had at least two hits and combined to go 17-for-30 with ten RBIs.
Nine of the runs came off Bats starter Pedro Villarreal (3-10) in the first two innings. Villarreal managed to record just four outs in the worst start of his young Triple-A career. He gave up eight hits, three walks and did not record a strikeout.
Despite being down such a large deficit, the Bats kept battling. Henry Rodriguez went 4-for-5 for Louisville (48-76) with an RBI. Felix Perez continued to stay hot for the Bats, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.
Since the beginning of June, Perez has now recorded a hit in 41 of 55 games. During that time, the is hitting .337 with three homers, 18 doubles, and 23 RBIs. He also has 18 multi-hit games during that stretch. His batting average, which was at .227, is u to .297—good for the team lead.
Louisville’s bullpen also battled valiantly. Josh Judy, Nick Christiani, and Will Ohman combined to pitch the final 6-2/3 innings giving up just two runs. The runs came in the third when Stefan Gartrell smashed a two-run homer off Judy.
Gwinnett (56-68) beat the Bats in the final three games of the series to gain a split of the season series.
Gwinnett starter Randall Delgado (3-2) went five innings giving up four runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out three. The only Braves pitcher not to give up a run was Anthony Varvaro, who came on to record the final out of the game.
The Bats travel to Charlotte Tuesday to begin a four game series. Sean Gallagher (9-8, 4.83 ERA) will take the mound for the Bats against former Louisville righty Scott Carroll (2-5, 5.49 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.