Jaye Stifles Suns In 5-1 Barons Win

The Birmingham Barons picked a series win and reclaimed first place in the Southern League North Division standings after a 5-1 over the Jacksonville Suns Friday in front of 6,592 fans at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

The Barons wasted no time jumping on Suns starter Dustin Moseley (0-1, 6.00) plating three runs in the first inning on an RBI double by Josh Richmond and run scoring singles by Rangel Ravelo and Christian Marrero.

After allowing a run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Alex Burg, starter Myles Jaye (2-9, 6.25) settled in with five consecutive scoreless frames and finished with three hits allowed over 6.0 IP.

The Barons tacked on an additional run in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Chris Curley and another run in the ninth on an RBI single by Luis Sierra, scoring Jeremy Farrell. After the play, two separate benches-clearing brawls broke out with Matt Ramsey, Wilfredo Gimenez and manager Andy Barkett getting ejected for the Suns, and Jeremy Farrell, Michael Earley and Josh Richmond being ejected for the Barons. The fracas caused a 19-minute delay prior to the continuation of play.

Relievers Braulio Ortiz and Nestor Molina combined to hold the Suns hitless over 3.0 scoreless innings as the Barons improved to 18-16 in the second half and 47-57 overall while Jacksonville fell to 57-48 on the season and 21-14 in the second half.

The Barons will return home Saturday to begin a five-game series against the Tennessee Smokies. Entering the series, the Smokies trail the Barons by half a game in the Southern League North Division Standings. The Barons will turn to LHP Scott Snodgress (6-7, 3.89) in game one against RHP Matt Loosen (4-5, 5.73). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM CDT.