SL1 Birmingham Barons

Barons Losing Streak Continues in Twin Bill Sweep

Published on April 26, 2019 under Southern League (SL1)
Birmingham Barons News Release


MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Birmingham Barons (9-13) second doubleheader of the season went sideways, with the Montgomery Biscuits (13-8) getting the sweep Friday evening at Riverside Stadium.

GAME 1 - Despite Blake Rutherford's second home run of the season, the Barons dropped the series opener against the Biscuits by a 3-1 final.

Rutherford's solo shot represented the lone run of the game for the Barons and snapped a scoreless streak of 28 innings dating back to Birmingham's game Monday against the Jackson Generals.

The Barons managed just five hits in the loss, which included a pair from Yermin Mercedes. The 26-year-old catcher extended his season-long hitting streak to 11 games with a second-inning single.

Barons starter Kodi Medeiros (L, 0-3) suffered the loss after he surrendered three runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings of work. The southpaw struck out six but remained winless as a Baron since his acquisition from the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 2018.

After right-hander Danny Dopico tossed 1.1 scoreless frames to keep Birmingham within striking distance, the Barons brought the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh inning. However, Biscuits right-hander Ricardo Pinto (W, 2-1) induced a double-play lineout and a soft fly to right to close out the win.

GAME 2 - The Barons came back late to tie the game and looked destined for extra innings until the Biscuits walked-off in the bottom of the seventh in a 3-2 Barons loss.

With the bases loaded in the seventh and one out, Biscuits Rene Pinto singled to deep right over Gonzalez's head to score the winning run.

With Mauricio Cabrera pitching in the ninth, Barons second baseman Ti'Quan Forbes made a fielding error on a ground ball from Brendan McKay, allowing McKay to get to second. McKay was pinch ran for and the next two batters were walked (one intentional) to load the bases.

The Chicago White Sox No. 10 prospect Luis Gonzalez came up huge in the fifth inning with a triple to tie the game. With the Barons offense struggling, Gonzalez smacked a pitch to deep right center field that brought home Laz Rivera and Joel Booker to tie the game 2-2.

Montgomery's Jesus Sanchez, the Tampa Bay Rays No. 4 prospect, opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second with an opposite field solo homer to go up 1-0.

One inning later, the Rays No. 10 prospect Lucius fox hit his first home run of the season to right center to extend the Biscuits lead to 2-0.

Right-hander Jimmy Lambert got the start for Birmingham and pitched six solid innings, allowing just two runs with six strikeouts. Cabrera took the loss, his first of the season and pushed his record to 2-1.

Mercedes started the second game and, like the first, extended his hitting streak. A single in the first inning pushed his streak to 12 consecutive games. Mercedes has also reached base safely in all 13 games he's played this season.

This was the second doubleheader of the season for Birmingham and their first time being swept. The Barons have now lost five straight games.

The Barons and Biscuits will continue their five-game series with a 6:05 p.m. matchup Saturday at Riverwalk Stadium. Barons left-hander Bernardo Flores (1-2, 2.14) opposes Biscuits southpaw Kenny Rosenberg (1-0, 3.38).

Coverage of Saturday's game will begin at 5:50 p.m. with the Coca-Cola Pregame Show.

The Birmingham Barons are the proud Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The Barons will open the home portion of their 2019 season, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of Michael Jordan's lone year in baseball, against the Tennessee Smokies at 7:05 p.m. April 10 at Regions Field. For ticket information, game schedule, promotions calendar or additional information about Regions Field, please visit barons.com or call (205) 988-3200.

Check out the Birmingham Barons Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Southern League Stories from April 26, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central