Birmingham Unable to Come Back in 9-5 Loss to Tennessee
Like the night before, the Tennessee Smokies and Birmingham Barons were off to the races relatively early. However, Friday night’s rendition of the six-game set favored the Smokies. After just nine pitches, Tennessee quickly racked up two base knocks that resulted in an early run. Overall, the story of the
Like the night before, the Tennessee Smokies and Birmingham Barons were off to the races relatively early. However, Friday night’s rendition of the six-game set favored the Smokies. After just nine pitches, Tennessee quickly racked up two base knocks that resulted in an early run.
Overall, the story of the night was the strikeout. After initially struggling, Barons’ starter Scott Blewett recovered and recorded three straight punchouts. Similarly, from the end of the first into the third, Tennessee’s starter registered five consecutive outs via the strikeout. In the end, Blewett, across his five innings pitched, set a new season-high for punchouts with eight of them.
The Barons’ offense failed to carry the momentum they built from the previous night’s success. Furthermore, with the winds gusting, they could not capitalize upon the additional lift given to the balls. Tennessee, on the other hand, let the wind do the work and, in back-to-back innings, sent two towering solo shots over the wall.
On top of strikeouts, the Barons endured a rough night of rolling over the ball. Specifically, three huge double-plays ended shut down what seemed like big innings. However, all the credit goes to Tennessee’s stellar defense, especially up the middle. Their seamless transitions made tough grounders look like easy plays.
In the end, Birmingham’s bats simply did not wake up in time to recuperate from the early deficit. Even so, the Smokies consistently added run support throughout, with runs coming in all but three innings. Granted, the Barons’ defense or lack thereof certainly aided their cause courtesy of four errors.
Ultimately, the Barons fell to the Smokies for the third time in the series. This time around, the lopsided victory arrived for Tennesse by a score of 9-5. However, their loss did not come without a valiant effort, as the bottom of the ninth included some serious pressure for an incredible comeback. But, in the end, the lead was insurmountable. The series continues on Saturday, though with Steven Moyers going for the Barons while Anderson Espinoza gets the nod for Tennessee.