Bats rally past Mud Hens 9-5 behind Rodriguez, Chavis homers

Louisville never let Toledo’s first punch turn into control.

Corey Julks opened the scoring with a solo homer to left in the second, putting the Mud Hens ahead 1-0, but the Bats kept chipping away until the game flipped in one hard fourth-inning burst at Louisville Slugger Field. Sam Benschoter, working as a late replacement starter, had trouble as the inning wore on, and Louisville used a string of contact, patience and power to turn a deficit into a lead it would not give back.

Noelvi Marte made an immediate impact in his first game back, lining a double for his first hit with the club. Will Banfield followed with an RBI double, then Edwin Arroyo lifted a sacrifice fly to tie it 3-3. That only set the stage for the swing that really changed the game: Hector Rodriguez launched a three-run homer to push Louisville in front 5-3 and turn a tight game into one Toledo had to chase.

The Bats were not done. Michael Chavis added the exclamation point with a three-run homer of his own, stretching the lead to 9-3 and giving Louisville the kind of late cushion that lets a home club breathe. It was Chavis’ seventh home run of the season, and he extended his hitting streak to eight games. Rodriguez also kept his on-base streak alive at 17 games, another sign that Louisville’s middle-order production has started to stack up at the right time.

Tejay Antone supplied more stability out of the bullpen, throwing another clean frame as he continues to look like a weapon in relief. He entered with a 0.00 ERA in 2026 MiLB play and had not allowed a run in 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts, and the Bats have been able to lean on that kind of late-inning help while the offense does the heavy lifting.

The 9-5 win moved Louisville to 9-7 and gave the club another positive step after opening the season 4-0, then dropping five straight before righting the ship. It also fit the larger shape of this lineup at work: Rece Hinds already owns the International League’s first Player of the Week award, Marte is back, Rodriguez is locked in, and Chavis is driving games late. In the opener of a six-game home series against Toledo during the Bats’ 26th season in downtown Louisville, the script was the same each time Toledo got a foothold. Louisville answered, then answered again.