Tagged: Clippers

Bats games with Bri

Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers/Toledo MudHens (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY:  I’m combining a couple of games we went to before our trip up to Michigan. After battling rain for the first few months of the season, we have been battling extreme heat since then.  I miss when the Bats played their Sunday games at 6:00 instead of at 2:00.  Makes the heat a little more bearable.

The game against Columbus featured a nice comeback from the Bats.  Down 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Louisville’s offense kicked in, scoring five runs to tie things up.  The Bats scored one more in the seventh, then held on for the win.  Leading the way was Narciso Cook, going 2-4 with a pair of RBI’s.  Cassidy Brown added a two RBI’s himself, while Nick Longhi got two hits and two runs scored.  Eric Stout picked up the win pitching one scoreless inning, while R.J. Alaniz earned the save.  FINAL:  Bats 7, Clippers 6.

Louisville’s game against Toledo took place the day we left for our trip north.  It’s always good to see the Tigers’ affiliates play, also.  This one was close early, but Toledo would score two runs in back-to-back innings to take the lead.  The teams made the last two innings interesting also, but the Mud Hens would get 16 hits off Louisville pitching, en route to the win.  Christian Colon lead the way for the Bats, going 2-4 with two RBI’s.  Blake Trahan also went 2-4, and contributed one RBI.   Vladimir Gutierrez took the loss, giving up five runs on eight hits in five innings of work.  The Bat’s relief pitchers didn’t fare much better.  FINAL:  Bats 4, Mud Hens 9.

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

Back to the Bats

Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY:  After the long drive back from Michigan, you’d think we’d take it easy for a bit, but no, not while the Bats are in town.  We took the weekend to recover and unpack, however, and then took in a Monday night game.  Despite the weather actually being pretty nice, there was a pretty sparse crowd at Slugger Field.  That would come into play later, as Brian was lucky enough to take home a couple of game balls.

The first ball he got was thrown to him by right fielder Rosell Herrera.  After the third out, he tossed the ball to Brian as he was coming off the field.  We were really surprised that this was a Major League ball in play here in the minors, but I’ll explain that momentarily.

As for Herrera, he went 1-3 on the night, driving in the lone Bats run.  Louisville didn’t have much in the way of offense this game.  Oh, and the reason why the game ball was a Major League one was because the Reds’ Brandon Finnegan was on the bump in a rehab stint, and that’s what the rehabbing pitchers use (thanks to Jeff Perro/@MiLBClubbie for that info off Twitter).

Ok, and speaking of Finnegan, he took the loss for the Bats, throwing five innings while giving up eight hits, four runs, and striking out two.  On a lighter note, Brian got another game ball, this time just a normal International League one, from the Clippers relief pitcher Jeff Beliveau, who threw him a foul ball that came his way while warming up.  As I said, there wasn’t much of a crowd, and there was a group of kids who got way more than Brian!  Final:  Bats 1, Clippers 7.

A rough outing for our first Bats game of the season, but we’re still looking forward to more to come.  The weather turned a little cool once that sun went down, but I’m sure we’ll have some hot days at the ballpark this summer.  Don’t forget to follow me on Snapchat: @MinorBaseball for live game action!

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

Bats double-header Game 2

Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY:  Brian and I settled in for the second game, and were pleased with this one, also, as we were looking for another Bats victory.  To start the game off right, though, we had to get ourselves some ballpark treats.  Brian went with some Flavor Ice and I settled for some simple ice cream in a helmet.

Pitching for the Bats in game two was lefty Ismael Guillon.  He pitched three and two thirds of an inning, giving up four hits and one run, but never allowing a base on balls.  Louisville did most of their damage in the fourth inning.  Beau Amaral hit a bases loaded triple, scoring Sebastian Elizalde, Brandon Dixon, and Rob Brantley.  The Bats lead 4-1 after the fourth and hung on for the victory. Final(7): Bats 4, Clippers 3.

We can’t forget that the Zooperstars were still on hand to put on a show.  We were able to see Peyton Manatee, Nomar GarciaParrott, and Whale Gretzky.  Harry Canary sang ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’ during the seventh inning stretch, but I wasn’t able to snap a photo of that.

And we ended the day right by hanging out with Buddy Bat! More posts to come in the next couple of weeks.

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

Bats double-header Game 1

Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY:  Well, we finally made it back to Slugger Field for some Bats baseball.  Usually with us the rain is a pain, but last weekend it actually helped, as Saturday nights game was rained out, so we were able to enjoy a double-header on Sunday.  The first game moved by quickly, but we enjoyed it and cheered on our team.

As is with most minor league double-headers, they are a seven inning games, and this one was a pitchers duel.  For the Bats, starter Jackson Stephens pitched all seven innings for a complete game shut out.  He gave up seven hits, but gave up no walks in his outing.   And while we were watching all of the non-offense, Brian was enjoying his free kids meal of a hot dog, nachos, and root beer.

The Zooperstars were also on hand to entertain us.   We saw CentiPete Rose, Tommy LaSwordfish, and Tim TeBull during this game.

We finally saw some excitement in the final inning.  The Bats had back-to-back singles from Sebastian Elizalde and Tony Renda to open the inning.  Then Brandon Dixon came to the plate and hit a walk-off single for a 1-0 Louisville victory!  Final (7): Bats 1, Clippers 0.

Between games Brian and I went out to the West Wing to get out of the sun for a while.  As Sunday is Kids Club day, they had plenty of activities for them.  Brian was lucky enough to interact with some of our veterans, and made a poppy flower that will go on a Memorial Day parade float honoring our fallen heroes!

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

Bats get Clipped

Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY:  Another fun night of baseball, this time back in the ‘Ville.  This was the last game my dad would be at on this visit.  He plans on coming back next month, though, for some more minor league ball and the ACC Championships.  It was a beautiful night, as the weather just seemed to get better as the weekend went along.  Brian played on the playground most of the game, but was happy to spend some time with his papa, too.

Brian won this hat, but gave it to his Papa for his golf games

This was a good game, with the Bats down, but certainly not out.  Louisville was lead offensively by catcher Rob Brantly, who went 3-6 with four RBI’s, including a 2-run homer in the seventh and a game tying double in the eighth.  Jesse Winker helped out by going 2-4 with an RBI and run scored, and Philip Ervin went 2-5 with two runs scored.

On the mound, Jackson Stephens got the start for Louisville.  In four innings pitched, he gave up five runs while striking out four.  Luckily the offense  and bullpen bailed him out, so he didn’t get the decision.  Evan Mitchell ended up taking the loss, though, after giving up the winning run in the 10th.  He pitched two innings and gave up three hits.  Final in 10:  Bats 8, Clippers 9.

Another fun night, with it being capped off with Brian getting to meet Jake the Diamond Dog.  We saw him a couple of times last season, as he acted as bat boy and brought water to the umpires. He was hot and tired by the end of the night, though.  We look forward to our next game, which will probably be right back here at Louisville Slugger Field.

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

Clipped in Columbus

Columbus Clippers vs. Buffalo Bisons (International League)

clip1Huntington Park-Columbus, OH: For our official first game of our 2014 baseball trip, we travelled south into Ohio.  I’m dedicating this season’s trip to my favorite baseball movie Major League, due to its 25th anniversary, and the fact we’re visiting so many Cleveland Indians affiliates! Columbus is a great sports city, and we actually spent the day there checking out Ohio State, the Jack Nicklaus museum, and the Columbus Blue Jackets’ arena.  We arrived at Huntington Park early, so we were one of the first few fans through the gates to explore at little.  The home of the Clippers is really a nice Triple-A stadium that has many positive aspects.  There doesn’t seem to be a bad seat in the house, and even has a group of seats attached to a building next to it in left field. The main concession stand was an island, so you don’t always have to miss part of the game when getting a snack or a beer. The ballpark also had many bits of baseball history, and history of  the sport in Columbus, which I always find interesting. The Clippers have two mascots, Lou Seal and Krash (a parrot). Neither were active in the crowd, only on the field before the game. We were also joined by my best friend Darryl who lives near Dayton, so it was a pretty special game for us.

clip.panclip2clip3clip4clip5clip6clip7Unfortunately, we only got four innings in before the rain started. It really wasn’t all that bad at first, but then came down in buckets with thunder and lightning to boot. The storm really didn’t last that long, but the lightning stuck around long enough for them to postpone the game. The Clippers were up on the Buffalo Bisons 3-1 when the game was called, but ended up losing 5-3 when it was resumed the next day. Fans said the big prospect in the Clippers is Jesus Aguilar, and he went 1-3 in the game. Left fielder Tim Fedroff led the way for Columbus, going 2-4 with a double and RBI. On the mound, Travis Banwart started the game, but Nick Hagadone took over when it was resumed the next day, taking the loss.  Even though we only got four innings in, we had fun in Columbus and the Clippers are a must see for baseball fans. Postponed: Clippers 3, Bisons 1 (3-5 Final).

clip7clip8clip9clip10clip11clip12clip13clip.rainHere’s a video of the game from my YouTube channel:

All photos and video property of Minoring in Baseball