Jones, Kubat, Mendick Key Come from Behind Victory
August 2, 2017 - Southern League (SL1)
Birmingham Barons News Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In support of Kyle Kubat's relief appearance, Hunter Jones clobbered a sixth inning solo home run, which proved to be the game-winning tally in a 3-2 victory over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday night.
Brannon Easterling got the spot start for the Barons and the Blue Wahoos mounted a rally early, scoring two in the first inning.
Nick Senzel started the scoring with an RBI double and Shed Long drew a bases loaded walk to give the Blue Wahoos an early 2-0 advantage.
Easterling, however, locked it down from there, retiring 10 of his final 12 batters faced to keep the deficit at 2-0, before handing the ball to Kyle Kubat out of the bullpen.
Kubat, making his Double-A debut, tossed a clean top of the fifth, allowing the Barons' bats to come alive in the bottom half. Trey Michalczewski and Alfredo Gonzalez reached with base hits and after Jose Vinicio walked to load the bases, Danny Mendick singled up the middle, tying the game at two.
With the score still tied at two in the sixth, the inning belonged to Jones in the field and at the plate. In the top half of the inning, Jones dove for a line drive, but it bounced off the tip of his glove. With the ball bouncing behind him, Jones got up and threw out Josh VanMeter at second base.
The play in the field kept the game tied and allowed for his bat to take center stage in the bottom half, hitting his seventh home run of the season on a towering fly ball to left field.
Spotted a 3-2 advantage, Kubat filled up the strike zone and rounded out his three inning outing with a 1-2-3 seventh.
"That's how I pitch, I attack the zone," Kubat said. "I attack hitters and get ahead and that's what's been preached with throughout my college and professional career. Once you're ahead of the hitter, it's a lot easier to control the at-bat."
Jack Charleston got the final six outs to record his first save at the Double-A level and preserve the 3-2 victory. Kubat recorded the win, moving to 1-0 with the Barons, while Deck McGuire surrendered all three runs, dropping to 9-8. Jones and Alfredo Gonzalez led the Barons' offensive charge with two hits apiece in the seven hit attack.
The Barons will look for a series win in game four tomorrow night against the Blue Wahoos at Regions Field, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. CT. Right-hander Spencer Adams will take the ball for the Barons, while righty Jose Lopez will be on the mound for Pensacola. Curt Bloom will bring you all the action starting with the Coca-Cola pregame show starting at 6:55 p.m. on 105.5 FM WERC and the iHeart Radio app.
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Southern League Stories from August 2, 2017
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