Smokies Rally Falls Short Against Barons
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Tennessee Smokies brought the tying runs to the plate in the eighth and ninth innings, but could not complete the comback, as the Birmingham Barons rode the arm of starter Junior Guerra to a 5-3 victory on Thursday night at Legions Field.
With the loss, Tennessee drops to 11-8 on the season, while Birmingham moves back to .500 with a 10-10 first half record.After Montgomery victory, the Smokies are now just 1.5 games ahead of the Barons and Biscuits for first place in the Southern League North Division.
Birmingham grabbed the lead against Zastryzny (1.0+ IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) in the second inning. OF Christian Marrero (3-4, R, 2B, RBI) started the rally with a single to center and C Adrian Nieto (0-2, R, BB) followed with a four pitch walk. On a 2-1 pitch, 1B Danny Hayes (1-2, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) smacked a double into deep right-center field. Both Marrero and Nieto scored to put the Barons in front, 2-0.
That was all for Zastryzny, who exited the game with an apparent injury. LHP Jeffry Antigua (4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) came on in relief to try and alleviate the damage. The southpaw was greeted rudely, as 3B Jeremy Farrell (1-3, SO) singled to right to put runners on the corners. The next batter, 2B Joey DeMichele (0-3, RBI, SO), brought home to runner from 3rd with a fielder's choice ground ball to short to make it 3-0 Birmingham.
The Barons added two more runs against Antigua in the fifth. OF Marcus Lemon (2-3, R) led off with a single to center and was sacrificed to second by OF Jacob May. SS Tim Anderson followed by ripping a double off the wall in left field to score Lemon and put Birmingham ahead 4-0. After DH Courtney Hawkins struck out, Marrero delivered again with a RBI single to left to put the Barons up 5-0.
Tennessee began to slowly chip away at the Birmingham lead in the sixth inning. After OF Jacob Hannemann (2-5, 2 R, SO) started the rally with a single to right, fellow OF Pin-Chieh Chen (2-3, 2 2B, RBI, BB) crushed one over the head of Marrero in right field. Hannemann scored to make it 5-1, but Chen was tagged out trying to reach third.
The Smokies then added a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but could not push the tying run across. In the eighth, after Hannemann singled and Chen walked, DH Kyle Schwarber (1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, SO) continued his hot hitting with a double to deep right-center field to make it 5-2. Tennessee got back-to-back two out hits in the ninth, including a RBI double by 3B Anthony Giansanti (1-4, 2B, RBI, SO), but Hannemann struck out looking to end the ball game.
Guerra (7.0 IP, 5 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 9 SO) was stellar for the Barons en route to his second victory. The right-hander, who is playing in affiliated baseball for the first time since 2008, struck out nine Smokies batters, the most by an opposing starter this year. RHP J.B. Wendelken (1.0 IP, 2 H, R, ER, 2 SO) surrendered a run in the ninth inning, but struck out two to record his second save of the season. Zastryzny was saddled with his first loss of the season for the Smokies.
Tennessee will look to end their losing skid tomorrow evening, as RHP Frank Batista (2-0, 1.02 ERA) is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season. He is projected to be opposed by Barons' RHP Mark Blackmar (0-2, 4.80 ERA).
The Pilot Pre-Game Show will kick off the broadcast at 7:50 p.m. ET, leading up to a 8:05 p.m. ET first pitch from Regions Field. Tomorrow's broadcast can be heard exclusively on SmokiesBaseball.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
The Smokies will return home to Kodak on Monday, May 11, as they start a five-game series agains the Montgomery Biscuits, the Tampa Bay Rays Double-A affiliate. 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.
ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES
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.