JACKSON, Ten. - The Biscuits (48-43) used the long-ball to defeat the Jackson Generals (48-43) in Thursday night's series opener at The Ballpark at Jackson, 6-1, getting home runs from Grant Kay, Nick Ciuffo, and Nathan Lukes to put an end to the club's three-game losing skid. The victory also
JACKSON, Ten. - The Biscuits (48-43) used the long-ball to defeat the Jackson Generals (48-43) in Thursday night's series opener at The Ballpark at Jackson, 6-1, getting home runs from Grant Kay, Nick Ciuffo, and Nathan Lukes to put an end to the club's three-game losing skid. The victory also snapped the Generals' six-game winning streak.
Montgomery sent Génesis Cabrera (3-1) to the mound for his fourth Double-A start and the left-hander impressed, tossing seven innings of one-run ball, scattering nine hits and only one walk to go along with six strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.42 in the win.
Andrew Velazquez would provide the game's first run for the southpaw in the second inning when the switch-hitter's RBI-single off Jackson starter Taylor Clarke (8-5) scored Dalton Kelly from second to make it 1-0 Biscuits. An inning later, Kay would sock his seventh home run of the season over the 24-foot-high wall in left field to double that lead. Six of Kay's seven homers this season have come on the road, and the third baseman also picked up his league-leading 26th double later in the game.
Clarke pitched well, going six innings and allowing just those two runs on five hits with no walks and five strikeouts, but did not get the run support and lost to the Biscuits for the third time this season. Kevin Cron's RBI-single in the third scored Domingo Leyba and cut the deficit in half for Jackson at 2-1, but that was the only run the Generals could muster.
Kelly would add some insurance for the Butter and Blue with an RBI-double in the eighth off reliever Bud Jeter to make it 3-1. Kelly now has 16 RBI in his first 16 Double-A games. Ciuffo's two-run blast in the ninth that also cleared the tall wall in left extended the lead to four, and Lukes' solo blast to right made it a five-run game. The 23-year-old outfielder has now recorded eight multi-hit games in his last nine contests, and has homered in two of his last three games.
The Biscuits will try to keep the momentum going on Friday night when Edwin Fierro (4-2) makes his fourth-consecutive spot start against Brad Keller (6-6) at 6:05 PM.
