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Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Pensacola Drops Game, 5-3, to Mobile

August 25, 2016 - Southern League (SL1)
Pensacola Blue Wahoos News Release


PENSACOLA, Fla. - Pensacola Blue Wahoos reliever Abel De Los Santos is human after all.

The Mobile BayBears scored three runs on three hits in the eighth inning off of De Los Santos, who had not allowed an earned run since joining the Blue Wahoos on July 13. The inning allowed the BayBears to pull out a 5-3 victory Thursday over Pensacola in front of 4,278 fans at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

The Mobile win also tied the series, 2-2, with the final game of the five-game series scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday.

The come-from-behind win also pulled Mobile within three games of South Division-leading Mississippi, which fell to 33-25 on the season. The BayBears are 30-28, while Pensacola dropped to third at 30-29.

De Los Santos, who was making his third appearance this series, hadn't given up an earned run in 17 innings over 13 appearances but Mobile shortstop Dawel Lugo tripled in third baseman Travis Denker and left fielder Rudy Flores and Lugo scored when center fielder Gabriel Guerrero hit a sacrifice fly to left field. It gave Mobile a two-run lead that they clung to.

"Lugo kept fighting off the breaking balls until he got a pitch he liked and drove it to left field," said Pensacola manager Pat Kelly. "It came down to executing some pitches."

Pensacola had led before the Mobile rally. Blue Wahoos right fielder Sebastian Elizalde extended his hit streak to 11 games when he drilled a three-run homer into the Hill Kelly Dodge Hill area in the fourth inning to give Pensacola a 3-1 lead.

Elizalde's fifth homer of the season and 46 RBIs came after Blue Wahoos center fielder Jeff Gelalich hit a leadoff single down the first base line to break up Mobile starter Edgar Garcia's perfect game to that point. Pensacola left fielder Phillip Ervin followed Gelalich in the order with a walk - giving him 58 on the season which ties him for fourth in the Southern League.

Elizalde is now hitting 21-48 or .438 during his hit streak, going 1-4 Thursday. His career-high hitting streak is 14 games at High-A Daytona Tortugas last season between April 22 and May 6. He had 20 hits and batted .345 then.

"We weren't really doing much with Garcia," Kelly said. "He was pitching well with three days rest. Elizalde smoked that ball to right field. You don't see a lot of home runs to right field here."

Also leading Pensacola at the plate was second baseman Brandon Dixon. Hehas hit in 12 of his last 13 games, going 21-49 or .429 with nine RBIs, six doubles, six runs scored and six multi-hit games. He was 3-4 with his 25th multi-hit game on the year.

Meanwhile, Blue Wahoos starter Sal Romano turned in his second strong performance throwing 91 pitches in six innings, scattering seven hits and a walk, giving up two earned runs and striking out seven. The flame-throwing Romano increased his strikeouts to 134 this season, which is second in the Southern League.

The righty, who is the Cincinnati Reds No. 17 prospect, entered the game coming off of his longest outing of the season, going eight scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out eight. In his last three games, he has thrown 20.1 innings, giving up four runs and striking out 18 for a 1.77 ERA.

"He fought his way through and turned it over to the bullpen," Kelly said. "The biggest difference in the second half is he has been able to control his emotions. He realizes he has good enough stuff to get out of a lot of jams."

Garcia was a last minute fill in for scheduled starting pitcher Vincente Campos, who was called up to the Arizona Diamondbacks. A spot starter for Mobile, Garcia has pitched five innings in each of his last three starts, giving up 21 hits, seven runs, five walks and 17 Ks for a 4.20 ERA.

However, he left the game after the fourth inning when Pensacola took the lead, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out four.

GAME NOTES

Pensacola plays the final game of a five-game series at 6:30 p.m. Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks Double-A affiliate Mobile BayBears. Pitching for the BayBears is TBA, who will face Blue Wahoos RHP Nick Travieso (4-6, 3.64).

Blab TV is airing this weekend's Pensacola Blue Wahoos games live at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. Check your local listings.

The games are broadcast live on the Blue Wahoos flagship station 97.1 The Ticket. Listen for free at bluewahoos.com and by using the TuneIn Radio app on your mobile, desktop or home devices. Stream Wahoos games on MiLB.TV, a subscription-based service provided by Minor League Baseball.

BIG FISH Right fielder Sebastian Elizalde crushed a three-run homer to right field, going 1-4. It was his first three-run homer since Aug. 23 with High-A Daytona Tortugas...Second baseman Brandon Dixon went 3-4 and hit his 25th multi-hit game of the season...Center fielder Jeff Gelalich broke up the perfect game with a sharp grounder to first base that he beat out.

BLUE WAHOOS HOSTS PLAYER OF DAY Scott, a recent Milton High School graduate, hung out with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos team all day Thursday.

Scott, who is autistic and spent 2015 overcoming cancer in his chest, told Pensacola manager Pat Kelly that he was a "slugger" in the Miracle League and had been working on his pitching. He missed the season, though, to beat his cancer.

"It was terrific," Kelly said of hosting Scott. "We don't often get a chance to give back to the community like that."

As Player of the Day, Scott was given a full uniform to keep, exchanged lineup cards, hung out in the club house and collected autographs, threw out one of the first pitches, and sat on the bench during the game.

You can bet it was a lot more fun than being treated for a germ cell tumor that required him to spend nine weeks at Shands Children's Hospital in Gainesville, where his tumor was removed. After three of his six chemotherapy treatments, he returned home to Pensacola to complete his recovery at Nemours Children's Clinic.

Celebrate five seasons of baseball in 2016! Blue Wahoos tickets are available for purchase at Hill-Kelly Dodge Pick-Up Window and by calling (850) 934-8444. Follow the team at BlueWahoos.com, facebook.com/PensacolaBlueWahoos and twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall.

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