Walters Works Eight Shutout Innings

Barons Secure Their First Road Series Victory with 5-0 Win

May 18, 2016

Game Recap 5/18

Box Score | Play-by-Play

KODAK, TN - Behind eight shutout innings from starter Blair Walters, the Birmingham Barons secured their first road series victory of the season with a 5-0 win over the Tennessee Smokies.

The well-traveled Walters earned the first AA win of his career, spreading six Smokies hits around 108 total pitches. The southpaw struck out three and induced three double plays. He now owns a 1.96 ERA in three starts with the Barons after beginning the year with the Class A Winston-Salem Dash. Nolan Sanburn added a scoreless ninth inning in relief.

A sacrifice fly from Marcus Lemon scored Nick Basto to give the Barons their first lead of the game in the third inning, before Knoxville native Nicky Delmonico extended Birmingham's advantage to 2-0 with his sixth home run of the season.

Delmonico's homer pushed the Farragut High School alum into a tie for third place in the Southern League, and marked his league leading 22nd extra-base hit. The sixth round draft pick now has seven RBIs in his last five games, and ranks among the SL leaders in a variety of categories despite missing the first seven games of the 2016 season.

Joey DeMichele scored on a missed catch in the fifth frame before an Eddy Alvarez groundout gave the Barons a 4-0 lead. DeMichele delivered Birmingham's fifth run of the game an inning later, grounding into a force out but plating Eudy Pina to reach the 5-0 final.

RHP Tyler Danish starts a five game series against the Montgomery Biscuits tomorrow evening at Regions Field. Danish delivered a win with eight strong innings against the Smokies, allowing just one run on four hits while adding four strikeouts for his third win of the season.

About the Birmingham Barons

The Birmingham Barons return to Regions Field tomorrow for a Thirsty Thursday showdown against the Montgomery Biscuits. For further information about the Barons and the 2016 season at Regions Field, please call (205) 988-3200 or visit www.barons.com, www.facebook.com/birminghambarons or on Twitter: @bhambarons.