Birmingham Wins Fifth Consecutive, Tops Tennessee 4-3
July 7, 2015 - Southern League (SL1)
Birmingham Barons News Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A pair of big leaguers were not enough to put a halt to the Barons (41-38, 8-2) second-half surge Monday, beating Tennessee (44-35, 5-5) 4-3 at Regions Field for their 20th one-run win of the season.
Shortstop Tim Anderson delivered a rude welcome to rehabbing Cubs hurler Tsuyoshi Wada, taking the left-hander deep on the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning. The homer was the No. 1 prospect's second of the season, and first since hitting for the cycle May 9 at Montgomery.
Tennessee rallied in the second to take a 3-2 advantage, but a two-run blast off the bat of Brian Fletcher in the third put Birmingham back on top for good. Wada exited after the fourth, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in his first career outing with the Smokies. The left-hander struck out five batters.
Former Major League All-Star Rafael Soriano held the Barons off the board in the fifth, but allowed a leadoff double to Joey DeMichele. Soriano followed up the hit by striking out the side, but the damage made by the Birmingham lineup through the first three frames was too much for the Smokies to overcome.
Birmingham's bullpen followed up a quality Mark Blackmar (3-4, 3.30 ERA) start with three scoreless innings in relief. The duo of Tyler Barnette and Tim Crabbe blanked Tennessee through the final three innings of the contest. Blackmar earned his third win in a row, Barnette was credited with a hold and Crabbe got the save.
Birmingham claimed its third win in as many games, moving 3.0 games ahead of third-place Tennessee and keeping a 2.0-game buffer between it and second-place Montgomery. The Barons improved to their second-half record to 8-2 while the Smokies fell to 5-5. With two games left in the set, Birmingham took its 10th series victory with the win.
ON DECK
The fourth game of the series is set for 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Regions Field. Tony Bucciferro (0-5, 6.80 ERA) gets the start for the Barons, and right-hander Pierce Johnson (2-0, 1.08 ERA) takes the hill for Tennessee.
TICKET BOOTH
Tickets to Saturday's game are all gone, but plenty of seats remain for the rest of the five-game home stand. To order tickets, visit Barons.com or call (205) 988-3200. For more information, visit us at www.barons.com, www.facebook.com/birminghambarons or on Twitter: @bhambarons.
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Southern League Stories from July 7, 2015
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