SL1 Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Sammons Stymies Birmingham in 3-1 Win

Published on August 4, 2019 under Southern League (SL1)
Pensacola Blue Wahoos News Release


Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitcher Bryan Sammons
Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitcher Bryan Sammons
(Pensacola Blue Wahoos)

The last time Bryan Sammons remembers flirting with a full no-hitter, he was a high school pitcher.

He nearly played the lead role Saturday night in a combined one.

Sammons, 24, part of the same 2017 Major League Baseball draft which had Blue Wahoos teammate Royce Lewis as the overall No. 1 selection, pitched six hitless innings in a season-best outing, helping lead the Blue Wahoos to a 3-1 win against the Birmingham Barons.

"It's always a good feeling when you can keep hits off a scoreboard," said Sammons, a lefthander, who played at Western Carolina University.

After a 38-minute weather delay, which ended without rain, a sellout crowd (5,038) at Blue Wahoos Stadium witnessed the Blue Wahoos come oh-so-close to a fourth no-hitter in franchise history.

The crowd included the MLB-China 16-18 year-old team competing in the Babe Ruth World Series in Mobile, and coached by former Blue Wahoos player and fan favorite Ray Chang.

With one out in the eighth inning, Sammons was in the dugout watching when a towering infield pop up by Birmingham's Blake Rutherford fell between the pitcher's mound and home plate. The pop-up, ruled a hit, eluded catcher Ben Rortvedt and reliever Gabriel Moya.

"You try not to get too emotional," said Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego, reflecting on his own emotions in the dugout. "You have to wait until out number 27. In baseball, there is a lot of stuff that can happen."

In the ninth, the Barons' Luis Gonzalez led off with a homer against reliever Alex Phillips that spoiled the shutout bid.

That was the separation between another piece of history for the Blue Wahoos (59-53 overall, 21-21 second half), who won for the 10th time in 13 games.

In their inaugural 2012 season, Daniel Corcino (8 innings) and Wilken De La Rosa (save) combined on a no-hitter in Pensacola. Another occurred in 2016 on the road in a seven-inning game in Jacksonville that was the first of a doubleheader.

The greatest one was Tyler Mahle, now part of the Cincinnati Reds' starting rotation, throwing his nine-inning, perfect game in April 2017 on the road against the Mobile BayBears.

"Losing the no hitter the way we did was kind of tough," said Sammons, who battled through five walks and a hit batter in his night to keep Birmingham without a hit. "But at the end of the day, we won the game. That's all that really matters.

"I had a little mixed emotions (after his six-inning outing). Too many free passes. But a learning experience and a step in the right direction."

Sammons, the Minnesota Twins' eighth round pick in 2017, matched his season-high for innings pitched, despite 100 pitches, 56 for strikes. He overcame a lot of 3-2 counts and just one inning where he retired the Barons in order.

"He had really good stuff," Rortvedt said. "Everything was great out of his hands. The changeup was probably the biggest pitch.

"(Saturday) is probably the first time in awhile his changeup was really working over the plate. And that just slowed everything up, got (Barons hitters) off balance. A lot of stuff was working, so it was great."

The game began without either team getting a hit the first three innings. The Blue Wahoos, who had only one baserunner in those innings, broke through in the fourth inning.

Alex Kirilloff led off with a hit into the left-center gap. He tried to stretch the play into a double, but a strong throw from Gonzalez in center field got him out.

Trevor Larnach, part of the Blue Wahoos' trio of Twins' first-round selections (2018), followed with a no-doubter home run, his third as a Blue Wahoos player.

The score stayed that way until the seventh when first baseman Ryan Costello led off the inning by blasting a pitch over the right-center fence. It was his second homer in as many nights.

After the Barons broke up the no-hitter in the eighth, Lewis electrified the crowd with a shot down the right field line, then showed his speed when the ball got past two Barons' fielders by heading to third base. When he slid head-first into the bag, the throw sailed wide toward the stands.

Lewis instantly began running and home plate umpire Reed Basner awarded him the round-tripper on the throw.

Moya, who has made 42 appearances in relief with the Twins since being acquired last year, continued his progression by throwing two scoreless innings to get his third hold.

After giving up the homer in the ninth, Phillips picked up his fourth save by retiring the next three Barons' batters.

BALLPARK MEMORIES

Ray Chang, who played parts of four seasons for the Blue Wahoos while with the Cincinnati Reds organization, was cheered as he entered the stadium on a tractor with Kazoo, as part of the Field of Dreams Night promotion.

His team from China, most of whom had never been in the U.S., were lined in front of the Blue Wahoos dugout as he threw out the first pitch. China is the only international team competing in the Babe Ruth 16-18 World Series at the University of Mobile's field.

The game was sponsored by Pepsi, which supplied the post-game fireworks show.

The Pensacola Ice Flyers were among the groups in attendance Saturday and displayed their upcoming season information in an area behind home plate. Their season begins in mid-October.

The National Anthem was performed by the Pensacola Children's Chorus.

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Images from this story

Trevor Larnach of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos returns to the dugout following his homer
Trevor Larnach of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos returns to the dugout following his homer
 Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitcher Bryan Sammons
Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitcher Bryan Sammons
  



Southern League Stories from August 4, 2019


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