Astin Makes Double-A Debut for Pensacola
PEARL, Miss. - Barrett Astin made a good showing in his Double-A debut for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos after getting called up from the High-A Daytona Tortugas.
He left the game after 5.1 innings of work with the game tied, 2-2, but the Mississippi Braves scored twice in the seventh inning to win the game, 4-2, over Pensacola and capture the series, 3-2, Monday at Trustmark Park.
Astin, who was acquired by the Cincinnati Reds from the Milwaukee Brewers in the fall, compiled a 4-3 record and 2.29 ERA at Daytona before moving up. On Monday, Astin gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out four and currently has a 3.38 ERA in his first start in the Southern League.
Mississippi pulled out the victory when catcher Matt Kennelly singled to center field to score left fielder Sean Godfrey to go up, 3-2. Then the Braves added another run to go ahead, 4-2, when center fielder Matt Lipka scored on a ground out by first baseman Kevin Ahrens to shortstop.
Pensacola scored first in the top of the second inning when Blue Wahoos catcher Kyle Skipworth singled and was driven in by left fielder Sean Buckley's single to left.
Mississippi then tied the game, 1-1, in the bottom of that inning when third baseman Rio Ruiz doubled in Ahrens.
The Braves went on top, 2-1, in the third inning when Kennelly doubled and scored on a KD Kang triple, his fourth of the season, to right field.
Skipworth singled to center and scored for the second time Monday to tie the game, 2-2, in the fifth inning when second baseman Ray Chang grounded out to shortstop.
June was a good month for several Blue Wahoos, including Chang, who hit .329 in 22 games with eight RBIs.
Pensacola right fielder Jesse Winker hit two homers and knocked in eight, while batting .325 with a .415 on-base percentage. In the first series after the Southern League All-Star break, Winker went 8-19 or .421 with a homer and two RBI against Mississippi and now has a seven-game on-base streak.
Finally, first baseman Marquez Smith--who went 0-4 Monday to end his six-game hitting streak--hit .312 and had a .384 on-base percentage in June.
The Blue Wahoos return home for a three-game series against the Jacksonville Suns July 1-3. Come experience the family-fun entertainment, which includes out-of-school fireworks every Wednesday! You can follow the team at BlueWahoos.com, facebook.com/PensacolaBlueWahoos andtwitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall.