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SL1 Mississippi Braves

M-Braves Suffer Third Straight Loss in Series Opener

April 26, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


MOBILE, AL - After Thursday night's rainout, Friday's game became the series opener and the Mobile BayBears (8-12) took the contest, 5-3, over the Mississippi Braves (9-10) at Hank Aaron Stadium. The loss was Mississippi's third straight since back-to-back walk-off wins over Montgomery on Sunday and Monday.

Atlanta Braves No. 19 prospect Patrick Weigel made his fourth start of 2019 for the M-Braves, continuing his journey back from Tommy John Surgery. Weigel delivered an efficient 1-2-3 inning in the first on 10 pitches (eight strikes) to get off to a great start.

The M-Braves jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Andy Wilkins singled to center and advanced to second base on one of three Mobile errors Friday night. After an Alejandro Salazar single and walk to Connor Lien, Carlos Martinez reached on an error by BayBears second baseman Roberto Baldoquin letting Wilkins score.

Weigel ran into some trouble in the second inning and wouldn't escape the frame. Mobile sent eight batters to the plate and scored two runs, taking advantage of three Weigel walks and an RBI single by Erick Salcedo. Jeremy Walker (L, 0-2) relieved Weigel and recorded the final out of the inning on a groundout.

Walker has pitched behind Weigel in all four of his relief appearances and he's logged five or more innings each time. Walker logged 6.1 innings on Friday night, the longest outing of the year by an M-Braves pitcher.

Mississippi tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning. Wilkins led off the inning with a walk and eventually scored on an RBI groundout by Martinez.

The BayBears answered right back with a run in the bottom of the fourth and wouldn't look back. Doubles by Brendan Sanger and Connor Justus made it 3-2 BayBears.

Mobile scored a pair of unearned runs in the fifth inning to stretch their lead to 5-2 when Bo Way singled to right field and the ball got by Braves Drew Waters and went all the way to the wall. Way rounded the bases, also scoring Jhoan Urena in the process.

Walker would go on to retire nine of the final 11 batters to finish his outing. Over four appearances, the 23-year-old has a 2,45 ERA, logging 16 strikeouts and just one walk over 22 innings of work.

Ryan Casteel brought the Braves within two at 5-3 in the seventh on a single scoring Luis Valenzuela. Casteel has a five-game hitting streak, hitting in five of six games played since being activated.

Mobile reliever Kaleb Cowart (W, 1-0) made his pro pitching debut in the fourth inning and picked up the win. The Angels first-round selection in 2010 made it to the majors as a position player and now is one of five two-way players in the Angels organization. Jesus Castillo pitched 4.0 innings of one-run ball behind Cowart and Adrian Almeida (S, 1) recorded the final out for a save.

Salazar finished 2-for-4 on Friday night for the M-Braves and has hit in 10 of 12 games. Lien reached base safely all four times, going 1-for-1 with a single.

The Braves and BayBears will play two games on Friday night at Hank Aaron Stadium, beginning at 5:05 pm. LHP Joey Wentz will start game one for the Braves against Mobile RHP Matt Ball. LHP Tucker Davidson will start game two against RHP Jose Rodriguez. Coverage of the doubleheader begins at 4:50 pm on 103.9 WYAB, 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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