SL1 Birmingham Barons

Gamel's Blast Pushes Stars to 2-0 Win

Published on August 18, 2008 under Southern League (SL1)
Birmingham Barons News Release


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Mat Gamel's two-run homer in the second inning was the game's only offense, and three Huntsville pitchers stifled the Birmingham bats in the Stars' 2-0, series-opening victory over the Barons Monday night. The shutout loss was just the fifth this year for Birmingham (67-58, 27-28) and the team's first since being blanked by Montgomery in an identical 2-0 score on August 7.

After Angel Salome led off the Huntsville (68-58, 27-29) half of the second with a single to right, Gamel followed with a blast to right-center that just cleared the outstretched glove of a leaping Miguel Negron. The home run, Gamel's 19th of the season, proved to be the only Stars offense off Birmingham starter Kyle McCulloch (7-11). The right-handed hurler was the tough-luck loser after scattering seven hits over six innings, walking one and striking out a pair.

After the second inning, McCulloch surrendered just three hits over the rest of his outing, and relievers Kanekoa Texeira and John Lujan tossed three scoreless innings in his relief.

As effective as McCulloch was, Huntsville starter Jeremy Jeffress (1-0) was even better. In just his second Double-A start, the righty was able to quiet the Birmingham bats, allowing just three hits over six shutout frames. He fanned four batters and walked four others, but he was the beneficiary of some timely defense behind him, inducing a line-out double play and watching two Barons get gunned down trying to steal.

Relievers David Johnson and Juan Sandoval combined for three scoreless innings after Jeffress was lifted, with Sandoval earning his 17th save of the year.

Birmingham had opportunities to score, both early and late. Back-to-back one-out singles by Victor Mercedes and Ricardo Nanita put two men aboard in the second inning with just one out. However a hard line-out off the bat of Javier Castillo and an inning-ending fly ball by Brandon Allen canceled the threat.

The Barons' last chance to rally came in the eighth off Johnson. Trailing 2-0, Robert Valido and Miguel Negron each recorded singles to open the inning, and both runners moved up on a Mercedes sacrifice. Nanita then smashed a hard shot up the middle that seemed ticketed for center field. But Johnson speared the liner and then doubled off Negron at second base for the rally-killing double play.

The Birmingham defense held its own in the contest, turning four twin-killings to limit any further Huntsville rallies. The Stars rapped out 11 hits but left seven men stranded.

Martin Maldonado's 3-for-4 day paced the Stars, while Lorenzo Cain, Salome, Gamel, and Guilder Rodriguez recorded two hits apiece.

Six different Barons tallied singles for the squad including Lee Cruz, who extended his hitting streak to five games. He failed to homer in Monday's game, though, coming up short in his bid to become the first Baron to homer in four straight contests. He had smacked a long ball in each of the final three games of the team's recent series at Tennessee, becoming the first Baron to achieve that feat since Chris Young in June of 2005.

The Barons and Stars will square off in the second game of this five-game series Tuesday night at 7:05 pm. Southpaw Aaron Poreda (2-3) will start for Birmingham, and right-hander Donovan Hand (2-4) is expected to get the nod for Huntsville.

Check out the Birmingham Barons Statistics

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



Southern League Stories from August 18, 2008


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