Bauer Grabs First Win in Series Victory

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Trevor Bauer reached eight strikeouts for the second straight start as the BayBears' offense rallied behind him in a 13-6 rout over the Jacksonville Suns on Saturday night at the Baseball Grounds.

Bauer (1-0) surrendered just three hits in his five innings of work while walking three. Two of his walks came home to score in the bottom of the fourth when Kyle Skipworth belted a three-run homer to tie the game at 3-3.

Bauer also picked up his first career RBI in the contest as his bases-loaded walk in the second brought home the first run of the contest. The BayBears (75-49, 37-17) added two more runs in the top of the fourth on an RBI single from A.J. Pollock and a Daryle Ward sac fly.

They broke the 3-3 tie against Dallas Trahern (5-4) in the top of the sixth as a walk and two singles loaded the bags with no outs. Pollock knocked in Kyle Greene with his second hit of the ballgame a run-scoring single from Ward made it 5-3. Adam Eaton scored on a wild pitch while Pollock crossed the dish on an error by pitcher Ramon Benjamin to put the BayBears up by four.

Jacksonville (64-61, 27-28) picked up a pair in the bottom of the sixth off Bryan Woodall, but they wouldn't get any closer as the BayBears added a run in the seventh, three in the eighth and two in the ninth to pull away. The BayBears managed 18 hits in the contest as they took three of five from the Suns.

The BayBears lead in the South Division by 10.5 games over the second-place Suns and Biscuits with their magic number to clinch a South Division second half crown at 6. The BayBears return to Hank Aaron Stadium on Sunday to host the Jackson Generals at 6:05 p.m., beginning the final homestand of the regular season. Lefty Patrick Corbin (8-7) gets the start for the BayBears against right-hander Andrew Carraway (6-4). Kids can play catch on the field before the game and run the bases after. For tickets, which start at $5 for kids and $7 for adults, please call (251) 479-BEAR or visit www.mobilebaybears.com. You can also follow the BayBears all season long on Facebook and Twitter.