Rodriguez sparks Louisville comeback win over Gwinnett with late power

Louisville did not need a perfect start to beat Gwinnett again. It needed a window, and Hector Rodriguez opened it with his 17th homer before the Bats kept swinging through a 4-2 comeback at Gwinnett Field.

Gwinnett had Louisville on the ropes early. A solo homer in the second inning put the Stripers in front, and Brett Wisely's RBI single in the third made it 2-0. After that, the game tightened into a dead stretch, with both clubs putting balls in play but not stacking hits, the kind of quiet middle innings that usually favor the team already holding the lead.

Rodriguez changed that with one swing. His homer in the middle innings cut the deficit to 2-1 and gave Louisville life, and it was the kind of blast that has become the Bats' calling card lately: stay close, then cash in when the game starts to tilt. It was Rodriguez's seventh homer in June, tying him for second in the International League for the month, and it came on the heels of being named International League Player of the Week for June 8-14 after a standout stretch that included a historic series against Iowa.

That matters beyond one night in Lawrenceville. Rodriguez is no longer just producing in spurts; he is building a month that forces a larger conversation. A 17-homer season, seven long balls in June and a weekly league award do more than pad a Triple-A line. They put a hitter on the radar when the Reds are looking for players who are forcing the issue rather than waiting for a call.

Austin Gomber was good enough to make Louisville work for it. The Gwinnett starter lasted six innings and allowed only three hits, giving up just the Rodriguez homer through his outing. But the Bats kept pressing, and the late power finally broke the game open. Louisville finished with three homers, with the offense supplying the decisive blows while Brandon Leibrandt earned the win and Trevor Kuncl picked up his third save by closing the door in the ninth. Elieser Hernandez took the loss after surrendering the key blasts.

The comeback also fit the shape of this road series. Louisville split a June 18 doubleheader with Gwinnett, losing the opener 9-8 on a walk-off before shutting out the Stripers 2-0 in the nightcap on June 19. Saturday's win gave the Bats another statement finish in the same stretch and sent them toward their first home series of the second half, which began Tuesday, June 23, against the St. Paul Saints at Louisville Slugger Field. In the 26th season of baseball in downtown Louisville, the formula is getting harder to ignore: fall behind, hang around, then let the power finish the job.