'Birds close out series with win over New Orleans

Metairie, LA - The Memphis Redbirds homered twice in the first inning and went on to beat New Orleans 6-3 in the final game of a rain-shortened series.

Jarrett Hoffpauir hit a one-out, solo homer in the first inning off Clay Hensley (3-2) to open the scoring. Hoffpauir leads the Redbirds with 10 home runs.

Nick Stavinoha followed Hoffpauir's blast with a single to left. That brought the 'Birds hottest hitter to the plate, Brett Wallace.

The Memphis third baseman entered the game with a 13-game hitting streak. He wasted little time extending the streak as he hit a mammoth blast to right field that carried over a swimming pool that sits beyond the outfield fence for a 3-0 lead. It was Wallace's fifth of the season.

Wallace added a run-scoring single in the third inning and a double in the eighth, upping his average to .291.

Oneli Perez (1-0) pitched into the sixth inning to pick up the win in his Redbirds debut. He recently joined the Redbirds after signing as a free agent.

Jess Todd closed out the game by earning his seventeenth save. After allowing a leadoff single, Todd fanned the next three batters to end the game.

The Redbirds took two out of three games in the series and have posted a 5-2 record over their last seven games.

Notes: Wallace's 14-game hitting streak is the longest by a Redbird this season. Tonight's Probables: Memphis - RH P.J. Walters (2-6, 5.06), Albuquerque - RH Josh Lindblom (0-0, -.--)