Sports stats



SL1 Mississippi Braves

Davidson Dazzles over Eight Shutout Innings

May 18, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


BIRMINGHAM, AL - Tucker Davidson tossed a career-high 8.0 shutout innings on five hits as the Mississippi Braves (19-22) beat the Birmingham Barons (17-25) on Saturday night at Regions Field, 4-1. Davidson now ranks fourth in the Southern League with a 1.65 ERA.

Davidson (W, 1-2) was coming off his first quality start of the season on Monday in Montgomery, but still searching for his first win. Davidson, the No. 21 overall prospect for the Atlanta Braves faced the minimum through three innings and threw up eight zeros en route to his first Double-A victory. Davidson struck out four and walked two, scattering five hits.

Davidson had received no runs of support over his last two starts, but that changed on Saturday. Riley Unroe singled to begin the top of the second inning and came around to score on an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Ray-Patrick Didder. Unroe, selected by the Braves in the Rule 5 draft last December was added to the roster on Saturday afternoon from High-A Florida.

Mississippi tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning and did their damage with two outs. Ryan Casteel singled to start the rally and Andy Wilkins followed with a ground-rule double down the right-field line. Alejandro Salazar made it three straight hits with a single to center scoring Casteel and Wilkins to make it 3-0. Casteel was 2-for-3 with a walk, extending his hitting streak to eight games.

Luis Valenzuela finished with a season-high three hits and capped his night by scoring the M-Braves fourth run in the top of the sixth inning on a wild pitch by Birmingham reliever Zack Burdi.

Josh Graham took over for Davidson in the ninth inning and surrendered a run, but finished off the 4-1 victory. Birmingham starter Kyle Kubat (L, 2-1) had given up just one run over his first 21 Double-A innings, but the M-Braves saddled him for four runs on Saturday night.

Mississippi starters have posted three quality starts so far in the series and allowed just five earned runs over 19 innings with 17 strikeouts and just four walks.

The M-Braves and Barons play game four of the five-game series on Sunday afternoon at Regions Field. RHP Ian Anderson (2-3, 4.04) makes his team-leading ninth start against Birmingham RHP Blake Battenfield (1-0, 1.80). First pitch is set for 4:00 pm with coverage beginning at 3:45 pm on 103.9 WYAB, TuneIn Radio, MiLB First Pitch app. and MiLB.TV (subscription required).

The Mississippi Braves are the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Since the inaugural 2005 season, 139 M-Braves have gone on to Major League Baseball. The M-Braves have made postseason play four times and went on to win the Southern League Championship in 2008. Stop by Trustmark Park or call 888-BRAVES4 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For the latest news and updates, visit mississippibraves.com or connect with @mbraves on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Check out the Mississippi Braves Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Southern League message board...

Southern League Stories from May 18, 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