Tennessee Mounts Late Comeback to Earn Hard-Fought 7-6 Victory
In the series opener against the Smokies, Birmingham jumped out to a relatively early lead. However, their bullpen, which has undoubtedly been better as of late, dropped the ball in the end. As for their starting pitcher, Birmingham's Emilio Vargas pitched very well for the most part. His final line,
In the series opener against the Smokies, Birmingham jumped out to a relatively early lead. However, their bullpen, which has undoubtedly been better as of late, dropped the ball in the end. As for their starting pitcher, Birmingham's Emilio Vargas pitched very well for the most part. His final line, though, suggests otherwise. Through four innings, Vargas fanned seven Smokies while allowing just three hits and one walk. Granted, one of those hits was Yonathan Perlaza's two-run blast, giving him 12 homers on the season.
Thankfully, the Barons broke into the score column in the previous inning, thanks to Raudy Read's double and J.J. Muno's clutch two-out RBI single. Therefore, entering the fourth inning, after a silent fourth by both teams, Tennessee held a minor 2-1 lead. The fifth inning created some excitement as both sides got after it.
With Jose Rodriguez and Oscar Colas on base with one down, Tennessee pulled their starter, Ryan Jensen. Raudy Read wasted no time against the new arm, though, as on the first pitch, he smacked a three-run home run over the tall left-field fence. Then, just three pitches later, Craig Dedelow added to the Barons' reclaimed lead by hitting his team-leading 16th dinger of the season. As a result, Birmingham held a commanding 5-2 lead.
Tennessee 2, Birmingham 5 | Bot 5
— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) July 27, 2022
Barons hit back-to-back jacks thanks to Craig Dedelow’s team-leading 16th of the season💪 pic.twitter.com/cQpVKS5c23
In the bottom half, Tennessee capitalized on J.J. Muno's inexperience in the outfield. On what should've been a warning track flyout, J.J. lost it in the lights, giving the Smokies their second-straight double to start the frame. Later, Yonathan Perlaza grounded out to drive in Tennessee's second run of the inning, thereby cutting the lead to just one and ending the day for Emilio Vargas.
Birmingham's bullpen came in and struggled. Fraser Ellard endured a lot of threats but escaped after allowing just one run, which tied things up. Then, the Barons' newest pitcher, Vince Vannelle, received his welcome to AA moment when, once again, Yonathan Perlaza launched an opposite-field, two-run go-ahead home run. And just like that, Birmingham's four-run lead quickly evaporated into a two-run deficit.
In the ninth, Birmingham posted a valiant effort, as Raudy Read ripped his fourth hit of the night to score Jose Rodriguez from second. But, with two on and nobody out, they failed to cash in either. The disheartening 7-6 loss puts a sour taste in the mouths of Barons' fans, but there's still a whole series ahead to climb our way back up the standings. Plus, Rocket City lost, so Magic City remains in second place.