LOUISVILLE — Will Paar is a Cincinnati Reds fan and has been going to Louisville Bats games since he was a little kid. However, he hadn’t been to Slugger Field for a ballgame this season until Wednesday night.
It wasn’t because of nice weather — it was rainy all day, including during parts of the game — but rather a special guest in a Bats uniform.
“For Votto. I mean, yeah," Paar said, stating the obvious.
Joey Votto, the Cincinnati Reds six-time All-Star and 2010 National League MVP, played for the Triple-A Bats Thursday night as part of a rehab assignment as he recovers from an injured left thumb. The game, a 6-2 win for Louisville, marked Votto's first game for the Bats since a two-game rehab stint in 2014.
It was a scattered crowd at wet Slugger Field, but a few fans wore Votto jerseys — including Parr, a recent graduate and football standout at Christian Academy of Louisville who will be a preferred walk-on at the University of Louisville.
Paar said he likes the beloved Votto because, like him, Votto is a lefty, and because the sweet-swinging first baseman has a fun demeanor.
“It’s pretty cool because someone of his caliber, an MVP and everything, heading back here (to Louisville), it’s cool to be able to see,” Paar said midgame. “Hopefully he can get a homer or something.”
Votto did not have a productive day at the plate, however, in his first in-game appearance in nearly a month. He hit leadoff as the designated hitter and went 0-for-3 in his three plate appearances against the visiting St. Paul Saints: striking out looking on a 3-2 pitch in the first inning, flying out to center field in the third inning and watching strike three again in the sixth.
He did hit one foul ball into the stands behind home plate, which fans raced to grab for a souvenir.
Background:Cincinnati Reds superstar Joey Votto to play for Louisville Bats on rehab assignment
But if fans came only to see Votto, they wound up seeing an unbelievable Bats’ comeback. Louisville trailed 2-0 with two outs and nobody on in the 8th inning, but put together a massive 6-run frame.
Speedy center fielder TJ Friedl, the No. 17 Reds prospect entering this season per MLB.com, started it with a walk, and then Alejo Lopez, pinch-hitting for Votto, lined a single on the first pitch he saw at the Triple-A level.
Lopez was promoted from Double-A Chattanooga ahead of Wednesday’s game and was not in uniform and at Slugger Field until just before his pinch-hit appearance, the team said.
Errol Robinson then walked to load the bases and shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, Louisville’s top hitter, hit a single to drive in two runs and tie the game. Dwight Smith doubled to drive in another one, Brantley Bell singled on a 3-0 pitch to drive in two more, and Narciso Crook doubled to drive in the final run.
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By the time the Saints got out of the inning, seven-straight Bats had reached safely with two outs, and the team had batted around to take a 6-2 lead, which they would hold onto.
Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run, and remained Louisville’s leader in batting average (.311), on-base percentage (.386) and slugging percentage (.419).
For the Saints, Brent Rooker — the Minnesota Twins No. 12 prospect per MLB.com — hit a home run, and the team added six other hits, including one from former Kentucky Wildcat J.T. Riddle.
The Bats improved to 8-16 with the win and snapped the Saints (13-12) 7-game winning streak.
The Bats have the lowest team batting average (.216) in the Triple-A East, their new league this season, and will look to build upon their big 8th inning as they continue the series against the Saints.
Votto is likely to be in the lineup as the Bats play two seven-inning games in a doubleheader Thursday evening, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Hayes Gardner can be reached at [email protected]; Twitter: @HayesGardner.
