Schwarber Shines as Tennessee falls, 6-2

Smokies backstop goes 2-for-4, blasts first Double-A homer in second straight defeat

By Justin Rocke

April 11, 2015

PEARL, Miss. - Smokies catcher Kyle Schwarber blasted his first career Double-A home run and starter Felix Pena fired six shuout innings, while the Mississippi Braves took advantage of five Tennessee errors to tally six runs in the seventh for a 6-2 victory at Trustmark Park on Saturday night.

With the defeat, the Smokies fell to 1-2 on the season, while the Braves improved to 2-1. Mississippi has topped Tennessee in eight of their last 11 meetings at Trustmark Park, and will also have a chance to clinch the five-game set tomorrow afternoon.

The fourth-best prospect in the Chicago Cubs' organization according to Baseball America, Schwarber (2-3, R, HR, RBI) showed off both his offensive and defensive skills. The left-handed slugger led off the fourth with a solo shot, smashing the second pitch he saw well over the right field wall to give the Smokies a 2-0 lead at the time. In the very next half inning, Schwarber displayed his strong arm, gunning down 3B Rio Ruiz trying to steal second base for a strike out-caught stealing double play.

Tennessee starter Felix Pena (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) also shined in arguably his best Southern League start of his professional career. After posting a 7.48 ERA in six starts with the Smokies in 2014, Pena dominated early and often in his first ever start against Mississippi. The Dominican native faced just one batter over the minimum in his six innings of work thanks to the four double plays he induced. Pena in addition pelted the strike zone, throwing first pitch strikes to 13 of the 19 batters he faced, and also dazzled with the bat, picking up a single and laying down a sacrifice bunt in his two plate appearances.

However, Pena did not factor into the decision, as the Braves came storming back in the bottom half of the seventh inning against the Smokies bullpen thanks to some defensive miscues. With RHP Zach Cates (0+ IP, 1 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO) on the hill, a missed catch error started the frame followed by three straight walks to Ruiz, 1B Seth Loman and RF David Rohm pulled the M-Braves within a run. For the second straight night, it was LF K.D. Kang who delivered the crucial blow, ripping an 0-2 pitch from Cates to center, scoring Ruiz and Loman to give Mississippi its first lead of the night at 3-2.

Following Kang's base-hit, a trio of errors allowed the Braves to add insurance. SS Emerson Landoni, reliever Andrew Robinson and CF Matt Lipka all reached base on the consecutive miscues, leading to a trio of tallies and pushing the M-Braves' advantage to 6-2.

Tennessee would only pick up one more baserunner, a one-out single by CF Albert Almora in the eighth inning, as the Mississippi Braves bullpen duo of Robinson (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) and LHP Ian Thomas (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO) picked up the win and save, respectively, to close out the Braves' second consecutive victory. Cates was saddled with the loss for the Smokies.

Chen, for the second straight night, tallied the Smokies first RBI of the ballgame. With runners at the corners and one out in the third inning, Chen slapped a line drive into right field for a single, plating RF Bijan Rademacher to give Tennessee the early lead, 1-0, for the third straight evening.

Left-hander Rob Zastryzny, the 14th-best prospect in the Cubs' system according to Baseball America, is slated to get the start for the Smokies tomorrow afternoon, with the Braves expected to counter with right-hander Jake Brigham. The Pilot Pre-Game Show will kick off tomorrow's broadcast at 1:45 p.m. ET on WNML 99.1 FM, the TuneIn Radio app and SmokiesBaseball.com, leading up to a 2:00 p.m. ET first pitch at Trustmark Park.

The Smokies' first home game is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 15 against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Opening night will be the very next evening on Thursday, April 16, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Smokies Stadium.

Single-game tickets, as well as multi-voucher and season ticket packages are still available, and can be purchased online at smokiesbaseball.com, or by calling the Smokies Ticket Office at 865-286-2300.

The Tennessee Smokies are the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the ten-team Southern League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America's national pastime in the East Tennessee region for over 100 years. To learn more about the Tennessee Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com.