Birmingham Shut Down by the Long Ball in 13-3 Loss to Biloxi

In his AA baseball debut, Sean Burke came out firing. Burke started out strong by easily setting down the Shuckers in the first on just seven total pitches. Then, the 6’6” right-handed pitcher improved by striking out the side in the second. Furthermore, his streak extended into the third where, across six outs, five came via the punch out.

However, after such an impressive start, Biloxi ultimately figured him out by the fourth when they scratched across three runs. From there, matters only got worse as, in the next inning, the Shuckers smacked their second two-run deep fly of the game to push their lead to five.

On the other side, Biloxi’s starter, Tyler Herb, accomplished a very well-rounded night. Across Herb’s six innings, the Barons could only grind out four base hits and draw two walks. His impressive night left him in a spot to earn his third win of the season, as long as the Shuckers’ bullpen could maintain the lofty lead.

With Yoelvin Silven on the hill in the sixth, the Shuckers seemed poised for another big inning. However, following some initial inconsistency, Silven recuperated to only give up a single run. Similarly, in the Barons' first opportunity against Biloxi’s bullpen, they pounced on the new arm by scoring two runs. Birmingham faced a bases-loaded opportunity where a complete comeback appeared doable, so, all things considered, two runs fell a bit flat.

Silven’s second inning of work was no better than his first, unfortunately. Specifically, he offered up not one, not two, but three consecutive home runs. Collectively, the long ball streak brought four runs in for the Shuckers. Although the 10-2 lead seemed plenty, Biloxi’s bats just kept adding on. In the end, it became well too great of a lead for even the Barons’ offense to mount a comeback on. The Barons ultimately lost game five 13-3 and moved to 13-19 on the season.