Bats Punched Early, Drop Game Four to Mud Hens

The Louisville Bats went down quietly in Friday night’s contest with the Toledo Mud Hens, falling in game four of their six-game set by a score of 7-2. Louisville has now lost its last 16 straight games against Toledo, dating back over 400 days to June of last year.

Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene (L, 0-2) made the third start of his rehab assignment today, his first appearance at Louisville Slugger Field since 2023. He ran into trouble in the first inning, walking the first batter he faced and later allowing a two-run homer to Jace Jung, as Toledo jumped out in front early.

The Bats punched back in the bottom of the inning, putting runners on the corners before Rece Hinds ripped an RBI single into center field to cut the deficit in half.

Greene bounced back in the top of the second, retiring the side in order and finishing the frame with his third strikeout. It was a different story in the third, as Justyn-Henry Malloy blasted off for a home run of his own, this one a three-run shot onto the left field concourse that made it 5-1 Mud Hens.

Louisville put two runners on in the bottom of the third, but squandered the opportunity, as Toledo starter Keider Montero (W, 3-4) picked up a pair of strikeouts to extinguish the threat.

Greene came back out and picked up two more strikeouts in the fourth, bringing his total to six for the evening. After picking up another four outs, he hit his pitch limit and was removed for Reiver Sanmartin with one away in the top of the sixth. Greene finished with 5.1 innings pitched, allowing five earned runs on two hits, three walks and a pair of homers. He struck out seven Mud Hens.

The next couple of innings went by without much doing for either team. Brenan Hanifee took over for Toledo in the bottom of the seventh, retiring the side in order. Sanmartin worked an inning and two-thirds before turning it over to Zach Maxwell in the eighth. The big righty worked around a one-out walk to send the 5-1 game to the bottom of the eighth.

Bailey Horn kept the Bats off the board in the eighth inning and Louisville gave the ball to Buck Farmer for the ninth. The Mud Hens created another big scoring opportunity, loading the bases with nobody out. Eduardo Valencia, who hit for the cycle in last night’s ball game, came through with a single up the middle, adding two runs for Toledo. Farmer bounced back with a pair of strikeouts as he limited the damage.

Matt Seelinger came on for the Mud Hens, looking to close out the Bats. Will Benson led off with a two-base error for Louisville, and later in the inning, Edwin Rios punched an infield single to the left side to advance Benson to third. Christian Encarnacion-Strand struck out, and with Ryan Vilade at the plate, a wild pitch brought Benson home. Vilade grounded out to short to end the ballgame, as the Mud Hens clinched a series victory with a 7-2 win.

The Bats (48-64, 16-21 second half) will continue their six-game set with the Mud Hens (61-51, 21-15 second half) with game five on Saturday, still looking for their first win of the series. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. ET with Nick Curran and Jim Kelch on the call for Sports Talk 790.