Amaral Sparks Pensacola with First-Pitch Homer

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The only thing that had cobwebs after Beau Amaral's 71-day absence from the Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting lineup was his Jeep Wrangler that he left in the team's parking lot.

In his first game back with Pensacola since going on the disabled list May 10, Amaral led off the first inning by lifting the first pitch he saw Wednesday over the right field fence into Hilly-Kelly Hill. It was his third homer starting a game this season.

Amaral had surgery to remove his top rib on his right side that was pressing on a vein and created a blood clot in his non-throwing right arm. He returned to the Double-A level after playing 10 games in two weeks for the Rookie League Billings Mustangs. He hit .382 there with one homer and five RBIs for Billings.

Thanks to home runs by Amaral and catcher Chad Wallach, Pensacola went on to beat the Biloxi Shuckers, 6-4, in front of 4,683 fans Wednesday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Amaral said he was happy to be back in the No. 4 Pensacola jersey, even though, it lacked his last name across the back.

"It was real scary," Amaral said about the blood clot that could have ended his season, professional baseball career or worse. "I shouldn't have looked it up online. It kind of freaked me out."

Amaral, who worked all offseason with his dad, Rich, to improve his swing also hit a leadoff solo homer on the first pitch of the 2016 season against the Jacksonville Suns and against Biloxi earlier in the year. He was 3-5 with the homer, two singles a run scored and an RBI Wednesday night.

"I got back to the dugout and thought I would wake up and still be in my hospital bed back at home," said Amaral, who planned to celebrate his performance with a bottle of water and a conversation with his dad. "I'm just so excited to be here. It was really tough being at home and not being able to play baseball."

Before his injury, Amaral hit .280 in 28 games with Pensacola with two homers, 14 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .360. His three hits Wednesday raised his average to .295.

As excited as Amaral was to be back in Pensacola, Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly was even more excited to have him back in the lineup.

"What a terrific comeback," Kelly said. "We thought he was lost for the season. He comes back this quick and plays tremendous tonight. Everybody is excited to see him. Now, we have four really good outfielders."

Besides the hits, Amaral made a great catch running back on a deep fly ball by Brett Phillips, the Milwaukee Brewers No. 2 prospect. He caught the ball over his left shoulder on the edge of the warning track.

"He made the play on Phillips look easy and that ball was crushed," Kelly said.

Pensacola jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first three innings off of Biloxi starting pitcher Angel Ventura, who gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks to earn a loss.

Blue Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej scored from first base in the second inning on first baseman Eric Jagielo's double in the right center gap that rolled to the wall putting Pensacola up, 2-0. Wallach then jumped on a pitch sending it over the left field wall for a 4-0 Blue Wahoos lead.

Two more runs scored in the third inning for a 6-0 Pensacola lead when right fielder Sebastian Elizalde scored on a Jagielo ground out and second baseman Brandon Dixon crossed the plate on a Ventura wild pitch.

Biloxi, who entered the game hitting .209 against Pensacola pitching, scored its three runs in the fourth inning. Phillips, Biloxi's center fielder, scored the first run for the Shuckers on an error by Dixon. Biloxi third baseman Gabriel Noriega then smacked a two-out single to left field that scored first baseman Nick Ramirez for the Shuckers second run of the game, 6-2.

Noriega scored the final run of the inning when Biloxi shortstop Angel Ortega hit a blooper just over Pensacola's Dixon's outstretched arm into right field pulling Biloxi within, 6-3.

In the ninth inning, Biloxi loaded the bases on two bunt singles and a flair to right field off of Pensacola closer Alejandro Chacin. Chacin then walked third baseman Tom Belza to score Johnny Davis.

However, Chacin then got Biloxi's top of the order out on two foul pop ups to Wallach and struck out Phillips to get out of the bases loaded jam. He now has a Southern League-leading 18 saves on the year.

"It wasn't like he was getting crushed," Kelly said of Chacin. "He made great pitches when he has to."

Pensacola starting pitcher Tyler Mahle also pitched well. He worked six innings giving up five hits, two walks and three unearned runs, while striking out five. He's now 5-1 in six starts for Pensacola with a .2.41 ERA, winning 10 of his last 11 starts between the High-A Daytona Tortugas and Blue Wahoos.

Pensacola relievers have now allowed four runs total, two of them earned in 24.1 innings this season.

The Blue Wahoos improved to .500 in the second half at 13-13 and the first half South Division champions are 54-42 overall.

GAME NOTES

Pensacola plays the second game of a five-game series at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers. Pitching for the Shuckers is RHP Taylor Jungmann (0-1, 4.12), who will face Blue Wahoos Rookie Davis (6-3, 2.84).

The games are broadcast live on the Blue Wahoos flagship station 97.1 The Ticket. Listen for free at bluewahoos.com and by using the TuneIn Radio app on your mobile, desktop or home devices. Stream Wahoos games on MiLB.TV, a subscription-based service provided by Minor League Baseball.

BIG FISH Center fielder Beau Amaral crushed a first-pitch solo homer to start the game. He was 3-5 with two singles a run scored and an RBI and is now hitting .295…Shortstop Zach Vincej was 2-2 with a walk and a run scored and now has 17 multi-hit games this season…Catcher Chad Wallach was 1-2 with a two-run homer and a walk and now has four homers and 18 RBIs on the season.

Celebrate five seasons of baseball in 2016! Blue Wahoos tickets are available for purchase at Hill-Kelly Dodge Pick-Up Window and by calling (850) 934-8444. Follow the team at BlueWahoos.com, facebook.com/PensacolaBlueWahoos and twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall.

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