Bats vs. Reds…sort of
Louisville Bats vs. Cincinnati Reds (Exhibition)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: We’re so glad that Bats baseball is slowly creeping back into our lives! On Friday night the Bats (sort of) hosted the Cincinnati Reds for an exhibition game. I say ‘sort of’ for the Bats because in all reality, this was a Red’s Futures team, which probably very few from this roster will be actually seeing time in Louisville this summer. Probably more guys from the Reds roster will be here, but it’s still baseball, and it was still a fun game. We got there as early as we could, to get our Adam Duvall bobble-head and our free Reds hats (we still cheered for our ‘Bats’, though). As the Reds were warming up, we noticed catcher Rob Brantly, who we saw play up in Michigan for the Whitecaps. Since they were old pals, Brian decided to go chat with him a bit.
And here were the starting line-ups for the teams:
The obvious big pop for the night was for Louisville’s own Adam Duvall. He had a nice game, too, going 2-2 with a double.
The game was low scoring, with both runs coming in the first two innings. Rookie Davis started on the bump for the Reds. He pitched three innings, allowing one earned run and three hits with two walks, two strikeouts and a hit batsman. Tyler Mahle started for the Bats/Futures team, hurling five solid innings and allowing one run and seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 87 pitches. He gave up his only run in the first inning, when Billy Hamilton scored on a Joey Votto base-hit RBI. The Bats scored their lone run on a Aristides Aquino solo home run. Final: Bats 1, Reds 1.
The game didn’t have a lot of action, but still a fun night with Brian. We have tickets for the Reds game on Thursday, but the weather calls for lots of rain, so I’m doubting we’ll get that game in. The Bats also start this week (officially), so we’ll still try to get a game in somewhere, somehow. I’ll leave off with a pic of Brian and Buddy Bat, who we were both glad to see for the first time in 2017!
Brian with Buddy Bat
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Minoring In Baseball 
A couple questions … that stadium looks new (or new-ish) … is it? Hey, cupholders! (I’m always looking for those sweet little touches!) And, the photo of the player at bat, it looks like there’s nothing between the fans and the batter’s box. There must be netting, but I’m not seeing it?
Plus … Buddy Bat and your son are both adorable! 🙂
I believe the ballpark was built in 2002, and, yes, the cup holders are awesome! And, yes, there is netting there, but funny the camera didn’t pick it up much, if you REALLY look at the fans toward the top, you can kinda-sorta see it. And thanks for the props on Buddy and Bri!