Gulin keeps Stars alive again

Lindsay Gulin's second strong outing with the Huntsville Stars' postseason fate on the line could be attributed to some good home cooking.

The 30-year-old left-hander pitched eight strong innings Saturday as Huntsville topped the Montgomery Biscuits, 4-1, to force a decisive fifth game in the Southern League Championship Series.

"I had some good tacos last night," said Gulin, who prepared for Saturday's contest with the traditional meal that his wife, Traci, prepares. "That usually does the trick."

Gulin (2-0) gave up one run on seven hits and four walks with six strikeouts to lower his postseason ERA to a league-best 0.53.

"I didn't really have the control I usually have," he said. "[Catcher Lou Palmisano and I] tried to mix it up the best we could."

Gulin tossed a complete-game three-hitter against Tennessee on Sunday to help Huntsville stave off elimination in Game 4 of the North Division Finals.

"All the money is on the line on this one," he said. "This is what it's all about."

Gulin went 12-6 with a 3.29 ERA in 21 regular-season starts, winning his lone outing against Montgomery.

"I was just going to enjoy it. I knew it was going to be my last start of the year," he said of taking the mound Saturday.

Luis Pena pitched around a hit and fanned one in the ninth to notch his second save and force Game 5 on Sunday at 7:05 p.m. ET.

Alcides Escobar grounded into an RBI forceout and Steven Sollmann cranked a two-run homer, his first postseason blast, over the left-field wall in the third to give the Stars a 3-1 lead.

"The guys come right back and pick you up," Gulin said.

Sollmann also singled and scored on Brendan Katin's base hit in the eighth. The 25-year-old first baseman shares the team lead with seven playoff RBIs.

Biscuits starter Mike Prochaska (1-1) surrendered three runs on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts over seven innings. Nick DeBarr yielded a run on three hits while fanning three in the eighth.

Fernando Perez, Reid Brignac and Chris Nowak walked to load the bases and John Jaso stroked an RBI forceout in the first for Montgomery, which is trying to become the first team to defend its Southern League championship since 1977.

The Biscuits loaded the bases in the fourth, but Gulin struck out Josh Asanovich to escape the jam.