SL1 Jackson Generals

Diaz Dazzles in Opening Night Win for Generals

Published on April 8, 2016 under Southern League (SL1)
Jackson Generals News Release


Jackson, Tenn. - Edwin Diaz struck out nine over six nearly spotless frames to help the Jackson Generals down Montgomery 6-0 on Opening Night at The Ballpark at Jackson in front of 2,901. Tyler O'Neill pitched in as well, driving in two and sealing the game with a diving catch in his Double-A debut.

Jackson (1-0) won behind the strength of starting pitcher Edwin Diaz (1-0, 0.00) and clutch hitting from the entire lineup. Montgomery (0-1) struggled at the plate against the lanky 22-year-old. The righty picked up his first win of the season with an impressive line going six frames and giving up just two hits while walking none and striking out nine. Only two runners reached scoring positon, but both were stranded.

Montgomery's Jake Faria (0-1, 4.76) matched Diaz through the game's first five frames. After giving up a leadoff single to Guillermo Heredia in the first inning, Faria retired 15 Generals in a row before running into trouble in the sixth.

Zach Shank led off the home half of the sixth with a walk and moved to second on an Ian Miller single. With two outs and runners on second and third, D.J. Peterson finally got the Generals on the board on an infield single. Tyler O'Neill drilled a triple to right field, scoring a pair to give Jackson a 3-0 lead.

Faria was stellar for the Biscuits despite the loss, striking out eight over 5.2 innings while allowing three runs. Faria and Diaz went blow for blow in the strikeout category throughout the second, third and fourth innings. Both starters struck out the side in the second, Diaz struck out three again in the third while Faria struck out two. Both punched out a pair in the fourth. The two starters combined for an impressive 17 strikeouts on the night.

The Generals added insurance and finally put the game away in the eighth. With one out, Gonzalez and Peterson hit back-to-back singles. Leon Landry drove both men in with a triple that got by a diving Johnny Field in left. Steve Baron promptly drove in Landry with a base hit to put Jackson up 6-0.

The dramatics for the Generals didn't end until the game did. With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the ninth, O'Neill sealed the game with a diving catch to rob Mike Marjama of extra bases. Seattle's No. 4 prospect finished 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI on the night.

A trio of Jackson players made their Mariners' organizational debuts in Thursday's game. Guillermo Heredia, who was also making his professional debut, went 1-for-3 with a single on the first pitch he saw. Benji Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a single and a run scored. Kraig Sitton (S, 1) picked up the save, going scoreless two innings.

The Generals will look to improve to 2-0 with a win over the Biscuits on Friday at The Ballpark at Jackson. The matchup features a pair of top pitching prospects on the mount, with Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, -.--) on the mound for Jackson against Taylor Guerrieri (0-0, -.--) on the hill for the Biscuits. First pitch is slated for 7:05 pm CT.

Tomorrow's game is also the first Chick-Fil-A Friday at The Ballpark. Chick-Fil-A sandwiches are now being sold at every Monday through Friday home game in Jackson. Tickets are still available by calling (731) 988.5299, stopping by the park or going onlne to jacksongeneralsbaseball.com. Radio coverage of the game on the TJ Network (AM 1390, FM 94.1) starts with the Generals Pregame Show at 6:50 pm CT.

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Southern League Stories from April 8, 2016


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