Gonzo Colas! Gonzo Muno! Gonzo Colas Again!!
It's only fitting that on the same day Barons' announcer Curt Bloom finally gets called up to the big leagues, the Barons' bats explode with three home runs. After 30+ years announcing Birmingham baseball, Bloom called his first White Sox regular season game on Sunday. Simultaneously, his Barons salvaged the
It's only fitting that on the same day Barons' announcer Curt Bloom finally gets called up to the big leagues, the Barons' bats explode with three home runs. After 30+ years announcing Birmingham baseball, Bloom called his first White Sox regular season game on Sunday. Simultaneously, his Barons salvaged the series against the Trash Pandas, primarily due to the long ball, which CB typically tags with his go-to Gonzo call.
Although the offense finally showing up certainly turned the momentum on Sunday, Scott Blewett's day on the bump cannot be overlooked. The 6'6" right-handed pitcher bounced back from a rough outing a week ago to earn his team-leading fifth win of the season. Following a silent first frame, both sides scored in the second. Following a Craig Dedelow double, J.J. Muno drove in his 21st RBI of the year on a low-liner into left. Conversely, in the bottom half, Jeremiah Jackson eventually scored after reaching base via error.
Therefore, Blewett's day ended without allowing a single earned run. Overall, his incredible day ended with 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, & 5 SOs. As true with the entire series, after his day ended, the Barons' bullpen truly stood strong, shutting the door on an impressive Rocket City offense. Ironically enough, the same can be said about the Trash Panda's bullpen, as both squads allowed zero runs once their starters were relieved of duties. The only difference is that Scott Blewett ended without a significant scratch while Rocket City's Mason Erla was touched.
Most notably, Oscar Colas abused the Panda's pitcher. In the third, Colas ripped his second solo home run in two days, both narrowly staying within the foul pole's constraints. In the fourth, Colas did it again, but not before J.J. Muno stepped in and showed off his surprising strength. On the very first pitch of the inning, Muno absolutely clobbered a ball over the right-field party area, giving him three long balls on the year.
Oscar Colas, on the other hand, ripped his third home run in less than 24 hours later on in the frame. With two on and two down, the big Cuban left-handed hitter launched a ball at an astounding 112 mph off the base of Rocket City's scoreboard, good enough to span 405 feet! Ultimately, this emotionally draining four-run frame deflated the Pandas as the rest of this game flew by without much delay.
Of course, the aforementioned pitching prowess aided in that tremendously. Additionally, Birmingham failed to record a single base hit against the Panda's bullpen yesterday. Nevertheless, the Barons arms accomplished nearly the same thing and closed the door on the 6-1 victory. With the win, Birmingham and Rocket City are tied in second, with Tennessee holding the lead in the northern division. However, a six-game road set against them this week will undoubtedly flip the script on that.