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LOUISVILLE, KY – The Louisville Bats, Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, walked off the Gwinnett Braves last night 3-2 to complete the three-game sweep, its first series-sweep of the season. Sebastian Elizalde delivered the game-winning hit that scored Beau Amaral in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Here is a snapshot of a few players from each team and their performances.
Gwinnett Braves
Andrew Albers, SP
The 31-year-old Albers came into Thursday night’s game with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He dominated on the mound, though, as the Bats’ first hit came in the fourth, and he never faced more than four batters in an inning. His final line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO.
Ozzie Albies, 2B
Albies reached base on an error in the third and a walk in the fifth, but his most impressive play of the night was a leaping catch when he caught a line drive off the bat of Phil Ervin in the sixth. Albies scored on a Sean Kazmar single in the fifth that gave Gwinnett a 2-0 lead.
Mel Rojas, Jr., RF
His solo shot in the fourth kicked off Gwinnett’s scoring. It was his sixth home run of the year.
Louisville Bats
Ismael Guillon, SP
In Triple-A Louisville this season, the lefty came into the game with a 9.72 ERA, 2.16 WHIP, and a 4.15 BAA. The solo shot to Rojas was his lone run he surrendered. His final line: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 SO.
Jesse Winker, RF
He had a superb May, as SB Nation’s Red Reporter discussed here and here. Winker finished May with a slash line of .360/.435/4.80 in the month’s 28 games.
But Winker’s first game in June was anything but superb. He went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
Phil Ervin, CF
Ervin tied the game at two when his ground rule double scored Dilson Herrera and Zach Vincej in the eighth.
Herrera came into the game with a slash line of .228/.285/.336, but his defense continues to impress. Herrera made a diving stop on a grounder up the middle and threw out the runner to start the third inning. He also made a diving stop to his right and flipped the ball with his glove to the shortstop to start a 4-6-3 double play to end the top of the 10th. He hit a one-out single in the bottom of the eighth, went to third on Vincej’s double, and scored on Ervin’s ground rule double.