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SL1 Mississippi Braves

Late Homer Spoils De La Cruz's Quality Start

June 21, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


BILOXI, MS - Biloxi Shuckers (1-1) All-Star first baseman Patrick Leonard hit an eighth-inning three-run home run to give the Shuckers a 4-2 win over the Mississippi Braves (1-1) on Friday night at MGM Park.

The late-inning loss, spoiled the fourth quality start from 21-year-old right-hander Jasseel De La Cruz in six outings. The Dominican Republic native matched a season and career-high with nine strikeouts over 7.0 innings of one-run baseball.

Biloxi pushed across a run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead against De La Cruz and the M-Braves. After giving up back-to-back singles, the No. 23 prospect for the Atlanta Braves walked Leonard to load the bases. The next batter, Dillon Thomas delivered a sacrifice fly to left scoring C.J. Hinojosa.

De La Cruz didn't give up another hit in the outing and went on to retire 16 of the final 20 batters faced. Overall, De La Cruz gave up just two hits and one run with five walks and nine strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.16 after six outings and five starts.

Drew Waters led off the fourth inning with a single against Biloxi starter Alec Bettinger. The single in his second at-bat extended his league-best on-base streak to 27 games and hitting streak to 15 games. The 15-game hitting streak is one shy of the league's longest this season. Tyler Neslony followed with a single sending Waters to third base. Ryan Casteel reached on a fielders' choice, and Waters scored on the misplayed ball at second base. William Contreras extended his hitting streak to three games on a one-out single, and then Neslony scored on a sacrifice fly by Daniel Lockhart, giving Mississippi a 2-1 advantage.

Josh Graham (L, 2-2) took over for De La Cruz in the eighth inning, appearing for the second-straight night. Luis Aviles Jr. opened the frame with a single and promptly stole second bases. Graham struck out Hinojosa for the first out, but Aviles swiped third base, placing the tying run 90 feet from home. Graham walked Michael O'Neil and then surrendered the three-run homer to Leonard giving Biloxi a 4-2 lead.

The M-Braves placed two runners on base in the ninth inning but stranded them on base against Biloxi reliever Devin Williams (S, 1). The Braves stranded seven on base Friday night and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Cristian Pache was 2-for-4, extending his season-long hitting streak to 11 games and Neslony was 3-for-4, pushing his hitting streak to five games. Mississippi out-hit Biloxi 10-4 in the loss.

The M-Braves and Shuckers meet for game three of the series on Saturday night at MGM Park. RHP Ian Anderson (5-4, 2.85) makes his team-leading 15th start for Mississippi against RHP Dylan File (0-0, 0.00) for the Shuckers. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm with coverage beginning at 6:20 pm on 103.9 WYAB, TuneIn Radio and MiLB.tv (subscription required).

The M-Braves return to Trustmark Park for a five-game series against the Jackson (TN) Generals, June 25-29. Tickets are on sale now at mississippibraves.com, or by calling 888-BRAVES4.

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.

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