LOUISVILLE – It was a night of several firsts for Martin County West graduate Brandon Williamson Friday for the Louisville Bats in an International League game at Louisville Slugger Stadium.
Williamson made his first home Triple-A appearance, had his first quality start and earned his first win as the Cincinnati Reds affiliate won 4-1 in the fourth game of their six-game home series with the St. Paul Saints, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
He pitched six innings, allowing one run on six hits, walking one and striking out four. Williamson threw 94 pitches, 60 for strikes.
Williamson made his second Triple-A start after going 5-2 with a 4.14 earned run average in 14 starts at Double-A Chattanooga.
Louisville led 4-1 when he left the game and that would be the final score. The lone run he gave up came on a third-inning home run.
Williamson helped keep St. Paul’s Jake Cave off base, ending his streak of reaching base safely at 49 games, the second longest in professional baseball this season. Cave played in 281 major league games with the Twins from 2018-2021.
He got Cave to hit ground balls three times including hitting into a double play in the first inning and making the third out with runners on second and third in the fifth.
Cave also flew out to centerfield in the eighth inning. He had reached every game since the beginning of May.
The longest on-base streak of the season in professional baseball is 51 games by Luke Berryhill Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks.
The longest streak in Major League Baseball is 46 games by Paul Goldschmidt of St. Louis.