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SL1 Mississippi Braves

M-Braves Suffer Heartbreaking Doubleheader Sweep on Saturday

April 27, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


MOBILE, AL - The Mississippi Braves (9-12) suffered a heartbreaking doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Mobile BayBears (10-12) on Saturday night at Hank Aaron Stadium. The BayBears scored eight unanswered runs in game one to win 8-3; then took the nightcap, 4-3 on a two-out, two-run walk-off home run by Conner Justus. The M-Braves have lost a season-high five consecutive games.

In game one, Drew Waters put the M-Braves up 1-0 by crushing the second pitch of game one from Matt Ball over the wall in left field for a solo home run. The leadoff blast was Drew's second of 2019 and first leadoff homer for the Braves since Michael Reed did so last May 16. Waters finished the doubleheader 3-for-8 with three runs scored.

The Braves pushed the lead to 3-0 with a two-run top of the second inning. Ball walked the bases loaded and then yielded an RBI fielders choice off the bat of Cristian Pache and a two-out RBI single from Luis Valenzuela.

The BayBears forced M-Braves starter Joey Wentz (L, 0-1) to throw 32 pitches in the bottom of the inning. Roberto Baldoquin and Erick Salcedo recorded RBI singles to pull Mobile within a run at 3-2.

Wentz faced the minimum in the third, but saw the first five BayBears reach on singles in the fourth, including run-scoring knocks from Baldoquin and Salcedo. Jhoan Urena scored on a wild pitch and Mobile led 5-3. Manager Chris Maloney called on reliever Phil Pfeifer out of the bullpen with two runners on base. The veteran lefty walked a pair and gave up a sacrifice fly to Jahmai Jones. Urena then hit a two-run single, his second single of the inning to make it 8-3.

Wentz allowed a career-high seven runs and eight hits in the loss. Mobile reliever Zac Ryan (W, 2-2) faced just seven batters and retired all of them to earn the win.

Game two started out a similar way for the M-Braves, jumping out to an early lead. Waters opened the tilt with a single and eventually scored on a single by Ryan Casteel. With two outs, Daniel Lockhart smacked the first of his two doubles down the right field line bringing home Casteel to make it 2-0.

Tucker Davidson made his fourth start and was brilliant over 5.0 innings of one-run, one-hit baseball. He gave up his lone run in the second inning after walking back-to-back hitters to start the inning. Brendan Sanger drove in Julian Leon with an RBI ground out to trim Mississippi's lead to 2-1. Davidson struck out three and walked three, leaving with a 0.95 ERA, just two runs allowed over 19 innings.

The 27-year-old Casteel doubled with two outs in the top of the fifth inning and came in to score on the second hit of the game by Andy Wilkins. Casteel doubled again in the seventh to finish a season-high 3-for-4 performance. The M-Braves have a Southern League-best 40 doubles over 21 games.

Huascar Ynoa (L, 0-2) took over for Davidson in the sixth inning and surrendered a run in the sixth. The 20-year-old retired the first two batters in the seventh before Sanger extended the game with a single to left. Down to his final strike twice, Conner Justus hit a wall-scraping 353-foot homer down the left field line to win it for Mobile.

The M-Braves and BayBears will play game four of the five-game series on Sunday afternoon at Hank Aaron Stadium. Atlanta Braves No. 3 prospect RHP Ian Anderson will take the mound against Mobile RHP Luis Madero. First pitch is set for 2:05 pm CT with coverage beginning at 1:53 pm on WYAB 103.9 FM, the free TuneIn Radio app. and MiLB.tv.

The M-Braves will return to Trustmark Park for a ten-game homestand against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Pensacola Blue Wahoos, May 1-10. For tickets visit mississippibraves.com/tickets or call 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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