PCL1 New Orleans Baby Cakes

Turner, Smolinski Lead Zephyrs Past Rainiers

May 13, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
New Orleans Baby Cakes News Release


Jacob Turner pitched seven strong innings, and Jake Smolinski homered among his three hits, lifting the New Orleans Zephyrs to a 5-3 win over the Tacoma Rainiers on Monday night.

Turner (3-3) scattered nine hits and allowed two runs in his seven innings, turning in his fifth consecutive quality start. He struck out five and walked one, rebounding from a rocky second inning when the Rainiers grabbed a 2-0 lead.

Alex Liddi led off with a single and advanced to third on a missed catch by first baseman Jordan Brown on a pickoff attempt. Mike Zunino then blasted a home run deep over the wall in left-center for his sixth homer of the year.

New Orleans responded with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game. Bryan Petersen drew a one-out walk, and an error by pitcher James Paxton kept the inning alive for Brown, who singled up the middle to plate the Zephyrs' first run. Jeff Mathis then laced a double to left-center field, scoring Brown to knot the score.

Smolinski contributed defensively in the fourth, throwing out Zunino at the plate attempting to score on a single by Rich Poythress to end the inning.

The Z's took the lead in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Petersen and Ed Lucas, and Smolinski belted his first Triple-A home run the following inning to extend the lead to 4-2. Smolinski later added an eighth-inning double to finish off his first multi-hit game since a promotion from Double-A Jacksonville .

New Orleans added another run in the seventh, capitalizing on a leadoff double by Gorkys Hernandez. After a wild pitch by reliever Andrew Kittredge, Petersen delivered an RBI single, reaching base for the third time in the game. Petersen is now batting .357 over his last 14 games.

The Zephyrs almost needed all the insurance runs, as Chris Hatcher allowed a leadoff walk and consecutive singles in the ninth to inch Tacoma to within 5-3, then loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth. But Hatcher settled down to strike out the side, preserving his 11th save of the year, and the 21st save in his last 22 opportunities.

Paxton (2-3) took the loss for the Rainiers despite fanning 10 Zephyrs batters in 5 2/3 innings. Paxton allowed three runs - one earned - and seven hits.

The Zephyrs and Rainiers conclude the four-game series on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

Check out the New Orleans Baby Cakes Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from May 13, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central