Smokies Fall in Walk-Off Fashion to Barons
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Tennessee Smokies grabbed leads in the fifth and sixth innings, but could not maintain the advantage, as the Birmingham Barons rallied back in the bottom half of each frame. OF Christian Marrero delivered the walk-off blow in the bottom of the 10th inning, as the Barons defeated the Smokies 3-2 on Friday night at Regions Field.
With the loss, Tennessee drops to 11-9 on the year, while Birmingham improves to 11-10. After tonight's contests, the Smokies are now just a half-game ahead of the Barons and a full game in front of the Montgomery Biscuits for first place in the Southern League North Division.
With the game knotted up at two in the bottom of the 10th, Tennessee RHP Zach Cates retired the first two batters of the frame on a fly out to center and a ground out back to the pitcher. However, Cates would not get out of the frame, as OF Jacob May (3-5, R, 2B, SO) started the game-winning rally with a single to left. DH Courtney Hawkins (1-3, BB, SO) followed with a single to put runners at first and second for Marrero (2-5, R, HR, 2 RBI). The left-handed swinger smacked a line drive into left-center field. OF Pin-Chieh Chen came up with a throw to the plate, but it was off line and May scored the winning run.
After recording three hits on Thursday night, Marrero proved to be a thorn in the Smokies side once again on Friday. With Tennessee in front 2-1 with two down in the bottom of the 6th, Marrero cranked a home run to right field, his first of the season, to tie the game up at two apiece.
The Smokies took the lead against Barons starter Mark Blackmar (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO) in fifth and sixth innings, but were unable to make it last.
In the fifth, DH Willson Contreras (2-4, R, 2B) doubled, OF Bijan Rademacher grounded out and SS Elliot Soto (0-2, 2 BB) walked to put runners at the corners with one down. 2B Ryan Dent (1-4, RBI, SO) then came through with the go-ahead base-hit with a single to right field. Contreras scored to put the Smokies in front, 1-0.
After Birmingham tied it up in the bottom of the frame on a RBI ground out by OF Marcus Lemon (1-4, RBI), Tennessee stormed back to take the lead in the top of the sixth. C Kyle Schwarber (0-2, R, 2 BB) walked and 1B Dan Vogelbach (1-4, SO) singled to put runners at the corners with nobody out. The rally would end there, as Contreras grounded into a double play to short, but Tennessee had taken a 2-1 lead.
Birmingham had a chance to take the lead in the seventh, but could not thanks to a duo of spectacular defensive plays. With runners at first and second and one out, Lemon lined a single into center. 3B Jeremy Farrell (0-2) rounded third and headed for home, but a stellar throw by OF Jacob Hannemann (0-4, 2 SO) and a stupendous tag by Schwarber retired the runner.
After Smokies starter Frank Batista (6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) was relieved by RHP Stephen Perakslis (2.1 IP, H, SO), Barons SS Tim Anderson (1-5, 3B) hit a high fly ball into the right-center field gap. Once again, it was Hannemann who used his speed to track it down in front of the wall to keep the game tied.
Tonight's loss overshadowed stellar performances by Batista and Perakslis, who combined to allow just two runs over the games first nine innings. Despite the no-decision, Batista recorded his second consecutive quality start and his third of the season. Perakslis was also stellar, as he yielded just one hit over a season-high 2.1 innings pitched.
Birmingham's bullpen was solid too. RHP Cody Winiarski (2.0 IP, BB, 2 SO) and RHP Raul Fernandez (2.0 IP, SO) combined to allow just one baserunner, on a walk to Soto in the seventh, over the game's final four innings. The duo also retired the final 11 Smokies hitters who came to the plate.
Fernandez ended up taking home the victory, his second of the season and his first since April 24 against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Cates was saddled with his third loss of the season, his first since April 17, which leads the Tennessee pitching staff.
Contreras (2-4, R, 2B) paced the Smokies offense by tallying his seventh multi-hit game of the year, which ties him with Vogelbach for the team lead. May (3-5, R, 2B, SO) and Marrero (2-5, R, HR, 2 RBI) were the offensive sparkplugs in the Barons' walk-off win.
Tennessee will look to end their season-high three-game losing skid tomorrow evening, as RHP Corey Black (1-1, 3.15ERA) is scheduled to make his fifth start of the season. He is projected to be opposed by Barons' RHP Myles Jaye (2-1, 2.82 ERA).
The Pilot Pre-Game Show will kick off the broadcast at 7:15 p.m. ET, leading up to a 7:30 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.