Sparks Crushes Walk-off Homer for Pensacola
PENSACOLA, Fla. - Taylor Sparks hit his second solo home run in two games but this time it came in the 11th inning as a pinch hitter to give the Pensacola Blue Wahoos its franchise record ninth walk-off of the season.
Sparks is now 3-3 as a pinch hitter with two homers and a single.
"That's fun right there," said Sparks after the game whose seventh homer of the season gave Pensacola a 4-3 victory Monday in front of 3,943 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said he "felt very comfortable" with Sparks, who is hitting .198 on the season, pinch hitting with one out.
"I did like Sparks in that situation," Kelly said. "He's a good looking player. Obviously, he's got power. Those (walk-offs) are pretty amazing. I don't think I've ever seen a team hit that many."
Sparks, who is playing his first season in Double-A getting called up June 22, said he goes to the plate with a different approach when he's pinch hitting.
"I walk up to the plate just trying to smash one," said Sparks, who hit two homers in his Double-A debut. "It's tough coming off the bench and swinging it. I waited for a pitch I could hammer. There's no science to it."
Pensacola, the first half Southern League South Division, improved its record to 18-19 in the second half and 59-48 overall. Mississippi is now 13 of 17 and leads the South Division in the second half with a 22-15 record and are 56-50 on the season.
Pensacola third baseman Alex Blandino sent the game into extra innings with his solo bomb that tied the score up, 3-3, in the bottom of the seventh inning. His deep fly ball cleared the left field fence just over the outstretched glove of Mississippi left fielder Dustin Peterson.
Mississippi had taken the lead, 3-2, in the seventh inning when catcher Joseph Odom ripped his first home run of the season over the left field wall in the top of the seventh inning to score two runs to tie the game, 2-2. Braves pinch hitter Carlos Franco hit a two-out single to drive in right fielder Stephen Gaylor, giving Mississippi a 3-2 lead.
"These are two pretty good clubs right here," Kelly said. "They got a hanger and beat us last night and we got a hanger and beat them tonight (Monday)."
Pensacola shortstop Zach Vincej, named Southern League Player of the Week earlier in the day, continued his hot hitting Monday. Vincej - batting .444 during his seven game hit streak - hit a chopper that squeezed between the third baseman and shortstop in the fourth inning to drive in left fielder Phillip Ervin, who doubled to start the inning. The run put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 1-0.
Ervin then hit a grounder to shortstop and beat out the throw on a double play attempt by Mississippi, allowing center fielder Jeff Gelalich to score from third in the fifth inning to put Pensacola ahead, 2-0.
Pensacola starting pitcher Rookie Davis cruised through the first six innings against Mississippi, allowing only one hit and retiring 11 in a row.
Mississippi's best chance to score against Davis came in the sixth inning when center fielder Connor Lien reached third base with two outs and shortstop Dansby Swanson at the plate. Swanson entered the game hitting .360 against Pensacola but Monday was 0-4. Davis, a 22-year-old righty, struck out Swanson, the 2015 No. 1 draft choice, to end the inning.
Davis ended up allowing three runs, though, in the seventh inning to the Braves. He finished the game throwing 6.2 innings, giving up four hits and two walks, while striking out four.
In his previous four starts, Davis has allowed three earned runs in 23.1 innings for a 1.16 ERA, while striking out 24. He has won his last three starts and the Blue Wahoos had won all four games that Davis started.
"Rookie (Davis) was terrific," Kelly said. "He had a one-hitter going into the seventh. I told him real men play in the National League. You have to run the bases and pitch, too."
Mississippi starting pitcher Jed Bradley had dominated the Pensacola lineup coming into the game going 3-0 in 10 appearances and throwing 15 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts.
After throwing three scoreless innings of one-hit ball with four strikeouts Monday, Pensacola finally broke the lefty's streak with Ervin's run in the fourth inning.
Mississippi's Bradley ended up lasting 5.2 innings giving up two runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out a season-high eight batters.
The Braves gave up two runs on two hits both solo homers by Sparks and Blandino. Despite that, they have now allowed nine runs in 65.1 innings dating back to July 11.
GAME NOTES
Pensacola plays the third game of a five-game series at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves Double-A affiliate Mississippi Braves. Pitching for the Braves is LHP Manny Banuelos (0-1, 5.02), who will face Blue Wahoos RHP Jackson Stephens (6-10, 3.39).
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 Third baseman Alex Blandino was 2-5 with a solo homer and extended his hitting streak to six games. He has hit 8-22 or .363 during his streak with one homer and six RBIs…Shortstop Zach Vince extended his hitting streak to seven games going 1-5 with an RBI. He's hitting 11-25 or .444 in that span…Left fielder Phillip Ervin stole two bases and now has 31 in 91 games and is just three shy of his career-high 34 stolen bases last season. He went 1-4, doubled, walked, scored a run and drove in one.
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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