SL Birmingham Barons

Birmingham Falls 9-4 in Highest Attended Game of Season

Published on August 5, 2023 under Southern League (SL)
Birmingham Barons News Release


The Birmingham Barons lost 9-4 to the Rocket City Trash Pandas in their 100th game of the 2023 season. Friday also marked the Barons' largest attendance of the season, bringing in 8,038 fans.

Despite strong starting pitching from Birmingham, the Barons' offense never found life. The Barons managed nine hits compared to Rocket City's seven, and still failed to score half as many runs as the Trash Pandas.

RHP Matt Thompson started for the Barons. Thompson, who has strung together a handful of consecutive good starts, wasted no time making his presence known. Thompson orchestrated a 1-2-3 first inning in which he struck out two batters. RHP Robinson Pina kicked off the game for Rocket City. Pina followed Thompson with two strikeouts and a 1-2-3 inning of his own to keep the game even.

Thompson faced four batters in the second inning, striking out one and retiring two others while allowing a single. Pina posted another 1-2-3 inning, denying Birmingham's offense an opportunity to create momentum.

Matt Thompson continued his dominant start by striking out three of four batters faced in the top of the third inning. Pina allowed his first hit of the game in the bottom of the inning, leading to a Terrell Tatum RBI single to give the Barons the first run of the game and a 1-0 lead.

The fourth inning resulted in two unearned runs for Thompson, but he also posted a strikeout in his final inning of the game. Pina continued his hot start, posting another 1-2-3 inning for Rocket City.

Down 2-1, RHP Yoelvin Silven relieved Thompson at the top of the fifth inning. Thompson finished with seven strikeouts and only two hits. Silven struggled in his lone inning, failing to record a strikeout and allowing the Rocket City lead to grow to 5-1. The Barons put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth inning, but came away scoreless as Pina struck out Jose Rodriguez to end the inning.

LHP Tommy Sommer relieved Silven at the top of the sixth inning. Sommer, who spent more than a month in the Barons' starting rotation, orchestrated a 1-2-3 inning with one strikeout. Pina then handled the Barons' bats, maintaining the lead.

Sommer returned to the mound in the seventh inning, recording two strikeouts before allowing three runs. LHP Gil Luna relieved Sommer and struck out one to end the inning. As he had in the previous innings, Pina continued to handle the Barons' offense with ease.

Gil Luna remained in the game at the top of the eighth. Luna allowed one run before heading to the bottom of the inning. RHP Luke Murphy relieved starter Pina at the top of the eighth. Birmingham took advantage, recording three runs on Murphy and RHP Kenyon Yovan in the eighth to bring the score to 9-4.

Birmingham threw in the towel in the ninth inning, putting INF Jason Matthew on the mound to close the game. In a game where the Barons' bullpen struggled, Matthews recorded a 1-2-3 inning to prevent Rocket City from growing their lead. Yovan returned to the mound to close the game for Rocket City. Yovan swiftly handled three batters in a row, securing a 9-4 win for Rocket City.

Birmingham looks to bounce back on Saturday night.

Check out the Birmingham Barons Statistics



Southern League Stories from August 5, 2023


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