Bats Explode, Whalen Cruises, M-Braves Snap Skid

Montgomery, AL - Following Thursday night's loss, Mississippi Braves starter Sean Newcomb commented, "We have a lot of talent on this team…  [The bats] will come around. I'm looking forward to when that happens. It's going to be a lot of fun."

 

Those words proved to be prophetic. It was indeed a lot of fun on Friday night.

Mississippi (2-7) erupted for nine runs on 13 hits, including a pair of home runs by Dustin Peterson and Jacob Schrader, and the Braves picked up their first win in a week, a 9-2 final over the Montgomery Biscuits (4-4) at Riverwalk Stadium.

 

Rob Whalen (1-0) picked up the win, giving up just two runs on four hits over six innings, striking out five and walking one. And he got plenty of run support to help snap the skid.

 

Mississippi took the lead for good in the top of the third. Johan Camargo got a one-out single, followed by walks to Ozzie Albies and Dian Toscano to load the bases. Peterson, who had a big night at the plate with three hits and three RBIs, hit a sacrifice fly to left for a 1-0 lead.

 

The Braves blew the doors open in the fifth. It started with a Levi Hyams walk in the fifth, with Camargo bunting him to second. Albies drilled a single and Toscano ripped a two-run triple to left-center, his first hit in a Braves uniform, to make it 3-0.

 

Peterson followed with an RBI single, ending the day for starter Ryne Stanek (0-2), who finished with five runs, all earned, on five hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out eight, including six of the first seven he faced, and walked three.

 

Buddy Borden came on in relief, and Mississippi welcomed him to the game with a walk to Jacob Schrader and a Carlos Franco infield hit to load the bases. Willians Astudillo came to the plate and smoked a two-run single, extending the lead to 6-0.

 

Whalen's only blemish came in the bottom of the sixth. Tommy Coyle led off the inning with a single, and Willy Adames doubled to put two men in scoring position. Kean Wong and Jake Bauers hit back-to-back groundouts to short, driving in a run apiece to make it 6-2.

 

But any momentum the Biscuits garnered came to a screeching halt with one swing from Peterson, who launched his first double-A home run to left center, a solo shot to make it 7-2.

 

Not to be outdone, Schrader came up in the ninth with one out and smacked a two-run home run onto the train tracks beyond the left field wall for a 9-2 Braves lead.

 

Peterson and Astudillo finished with three hits apiece, while four different Braves drove in multiple runs.

 

Stephen Janas pitched two relief frames, and Bradley Roney, a Montgomery native, added a scoreless frame of his own.

 

The M-Braves go for back-to-back wins on Saturday evening, with a scheduled 6:35 PM CT first pitch at Riverwalk Stadium to wrap up the five-game series. Right-hander Brandon Barker (0-0, 1.50) will get the ball for the Braves against Biscuits left-hander Chris Kirsch (1-0, 0.00).

 

Mississippi Braves (2-7) 9 R       13 H       0 E
Montgomery Biscuits (4-4)                          2 R          6 H         1 E

W - Whalen (1-0)
L - Stanek (0-2)
Time: 2:39
Attendance: 3,006