SL1 Knoxville Smokies

Tennessee Falls in 12 Innings to Generals

Published on July 5, 2018 under Southern League (SL1)
Knoxville Smokies News Release


SEVIERVILLE, TN - Tennessee fell to the Jackson Generals 9-8 in extra innings on Wednesday despite Jeffrey Baez and Jesse Hodges each driving in a pair of runs.

Michael Rucker got the start for the Smokies and pitched four innings, allowing two unearned runs on six hits and striking out five.

Down 2-0, the Smokies answered back in the top of the second. Trent Giambrone was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Baez hit his seventh home run of the season immediately after to tie the game at two.

Scott Effross replaced Rucker in the fifth inning and allowed two runs to give the Generals a 4-2 lead. Effross would finish going two innings and striking out two. Ryan McNeil was the next arm out of the bullpen in the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning.

In the top of the eighth, down two, Tennessee rallied. Singles by Charcer Burks and Vimael Machin to start the inning put runners on the corners with nobody out. Ian Rice was the next batter and he singled as well to score Burks and cut the lead to 4-3. After Yasiel Balaguert singled to load the bases, Hodges came through with a one out single that scored Machin and Rice to put the Smokies up 5-4.

After McNeil put two runners on to start the eighth, he was replaced by Jake Stinnett. One run would score with Stinnett pitching that tied the game at five.

In the top of the 10th, Machin started the inning on second and, after a sacrifice fly moved him to third, scored on a sac fly by Balaguert. Stinnett would give up a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at six. Jeffrey Baez came in and made his first pitching appearance in the bottom of the 11th and kept the game tied.

Tennessee finally broke through in the top of the 12th. With the bases loaded, Machin hit a sacrifice fly that scored Wyatt Short, who started the inning on second. The Smokies added one more run in the inning when Rice scored Zack Short on a groundout. Baez came out to pitch the bottom of the inning and gave up three runs to give the Generals the win.

The Smokies and Generals will back in action on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. for game two of the series. Oscar De La Cruz is the projected starter for the Smokies as he looks for his sixth win of the season. Ryan Atkinson will be on the mound for the Generals.

Written by Rob Harvey, Broadcast Assistant for the Tennessee Smokies

The full schedule for this season and information regarding single-game tickets, season tickets, and mini plans can be found online at smokiesbaseball.com, or by calling the Smokies Ticket Office at 865-286-2300.

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Southern League Stories from July 5, 2018


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