Poveda Strong as Suns Beat Barons 7-1
HOOVER, Ala. - The Jacksonville Suns (9-13, 46-46) beat the Birmingham Barons (10-13, 50-43) 7-1 at Regions Park on Saturday night.
Jacksonville starter Omar Poveda (5-5) was strong in six innings on the mound, allowing only one run on four hits with five strikeouts as he won his second straight start. Barons starter Charlie Leesman (7-3) took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits with six walks and a strikeout.
The game was scoreless entering the top of the fourth, when Jacksonville took the lead on a bases-clearing three-RBI double by Chris Gutierrez to go ahead 3-0. The Suns added another run in the frame when a throwing error by Barons third baseman Kyle Shelton on a Kevin Mattison bunt single scored Gutierrez to give the Suns a four run advantage.
After tossing the first five innings in scoreless fashion, Poveda allowed a run in the bottom of the sixth as Barons catcher Jason Bour hit a sacrifice fly that scored Brandon Short to trim Jacksonville's lead to 4-1.
Once again the Suns struck gold with the bases loaded, as Ben Lasater hit a bases-clearing three-RBI double to extend the Suns lead to 7-1 in the eighth, which would be the final score. Lasater finished the game 3-5 with three runs batted in and a run scored.
Jacksonville relievers Darin Downs, Jhan Marinez, and Jeff Allison worked the final three innings in scoreless fashion to preserve Poveda's win. Suns third baseman Paul Gran saw his hitting streak end at 11 games, as he finished 0-4 with a walk and he was hit by a pitch.
Chris Coghlan, with the Suns on a major league rehab assignment from the Florida Marlins, went 1-2 in the game and drew three walks. In four games with Jacksonville, Coghlan has had a base hit in each contest.
The Barons issued 10 walks to the Suns in the game, the most by any pitching staff in a game against the Suns in 2011.
The Suns and Barons will play the fifth game of the six-game series on Sunday night at Regions Park. Right-hander Graham Taylor (2-3, 4.14 ERA) will pitch for Jacksonville against Birmingham's right-hander Terry Doyle (3-3, 2.25 ERA). Sunday's first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. ET, and fans can listen to the game beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the U.F. & Shands Pregame Show on Jacksonville's WFXJ AM 930 the Fox and www.jaxsuns.com.
ABOUT THE JACKSONVILLE SUNS The Jacksonville Suns are the minor league Class AA affiliate of the Florida Marlins. The Suns are proud members and five-time champions of the 10-team Southern League of Professional Baseball. To learn more about the Jacksonville Suns, visit www.jaxsuns.com.