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08/09/2007 11:47 PM ET
Bats' Herr, Janish slam Indians
Louisville's unexpected sluggers plate combined 11 in 16-1 shellacking
By Zack Hample / Special to MLB.com
Louisville's Aaron Herr plated a career-high seven runs on a two-homer night. (Jerry Hale/MLB.com)

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• Thursday's box score
• Aaron Herr's player page
• Paul Janish's statistics
• Audio: Janish knocks everyone in
• Audio: Herr smacks Bats' second slam

Louisville Slugger Park lived up to its name on Thursday night.

Aaron Herr had seven RBIs and he and Paul Janish belted grand slams as Louisville pounded Indianapolis, 16-1.

With nobody out in the second inning, Janish connected on a 1-2 slider to put the Bats (58-61) on top, 5-0.

"It's not really a big part of my game, hitting grand slams," said the 24-year-old shortstop who last hit a slam while playing college ball at Rice and last went deep for Double-A Chattanooga on May 13. "I was just trying to put the ball in play and make something happen."

Herr, whose last slam came while playing summer legion ball after his junior year of high school, blasted a 1-2 fastball with one out in the fourth to give the Bats a 10-0 lead.

"I started off the game with a couple bad at-bats," he said. "Honestly, I was just trying to hit a fly ball to get the sac fly."

Herr and Janish both cranked shots toward the left-field foul pole and admittedly got a little help from Mother Nature.

"I give a lot of credit to the wind," Herr said.

"The wind helped keep the ball fair," added Janish.

Louisville hit two slams in a game for just the second time in team history. On May 15, 1984, Gary Rajsich and Mark Salas both went deep with the bases juiced for the club.

The Bats nearly had a third when Joey Votto slapped a deep drive past the wrong side of the foul pole in the seventh. Votto delivered a two-RBI single on the next pitch to extend the lead to 13-1. Herr followed with a three-run homer, tying Votto for the team lead with 15 dingers, and giving him a career high in RBIs.

"Everybody was pretty fired up," Janish said.

Herr appreciated having a big lead since Louisville had lost the previous four games.

Chris Dickerson, who finished 2-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, also went deep, cracking a solo shot, his ninth, in the second. Votto went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a pair of runs.

Richie Gardner (4-4) limited the Indians to one run on three hits while walking two and striking out three in 5 2/3 innings. Todd Coffee retired seven batters to extend his scoreless streak with the Bats to 10 1/3 innings, and Bill Bray closed the door with a perfect ninth.

Indianapolis starter Marty McLeary (4-5) was tagged for six runs on five hits in two innings. Josh Sharpless allowed four runs in two frames, and Jonah Bayliss gave up five runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Steven Pearce hit his fourth homer and Brad Eldred went 2-for-4 with a triple for the Indians (60-57).

Zack Hample is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.