SL Birmingham Barons

Barons Lose in Chaotic Fashion in Extras

Published on June 6, 2022 under Southern League (SL)
Birmingham Barons News Release


For the first time all season, a Barons' ballgame went into extra-innings. Although Sunday's series finale against the Tennessee Smokies did not produce high-scoring entertainment, its' ending surely kept fans on the edge of their seats. However, things got off to quite the slow start due to some phenomenal pitching from both teams. Both starting pitchers, in particular, showcased their capabilities to the fullest on Sunday.

For the Barons, youngster Sean Burke dominated the Smokies' sluggers for the second time this series. The 22-year-old finished with 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, and 4 SOs. Similarly, Tennessee's Javier Assad also performed admirably by shoving 4 innings of one-hit baseball, albeit the righty also gave up five walks.

Neither team broke into the score column until the eighth inning, when Birmingham jumpstarted the excitement. Catcher Evan Skoug launched his fourth long ball of the season, this one coming in the solo variety. But then, Tennessee responded rather rapidly. The Smokies scratched across their run in the bottom half thanks to a fielder's choice. From there, the two teams remained deadlocked at one apiece.

After nine innings, no stand-alone victor emerged, so the Barons played extra-inning baseball for the first time this season. A scoreless tenth included an anomaly in baseball, the classic two-pitch three out inning. With D.J. Burt acting as the ghost runner on second, Jagger Rusconi attempted to bunt him over. However, in a turn of events, the sacrifice resulted in a first-pitch double-play after Burt got aggressive on the basepaths and was cut down at third. Then, just one pitch later, Raudy Read lined out to end the inning as quickly as possible.

In the eleventh, though, offenses bounced back to make things interested once again. With two out in the top half, Jose Rodriguez roped an RBI 'triple' into the outfield, but the play very easily could've been made if not for a blunder by Tennessee. Nevertheless, Birmingham held the lead, but not for long, as the Smokies evened things up with a sacrifice fly out.

The Barons failed to score in the twelfth, leaving the door open for a crushing walk-off loss. And that's exactly what happened. Specifically, a defensive breakdown by Jose Rodriguez and Xavier Fernandez led to an easy run-scoring opportunity for the Smokies. Ultimately, Birmingham fell in the extra-inning nailbiter by a score of 3-2, thereby moving their record to a league-worst 19-32 on the season.

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Southern League Stories from June 6, 2022


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