De Avila delivers quality start, but M-Braves were shut out by the Barons on Thursday

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Luis De Avila turned in his best start of the year on Thursday night, but it wasn't enough as three Birmingham Barons hurlers combined to shut out the Mississippi Braves 2-0 at Regions Field. Birmingham starter Drew Thorpe, the twice traded White Sox third-ranked prospect, tossed 7.0 shutout innings to earn his third-straight win.

De Avila (L, 0-2) struggled with command over his first two outings but walked just two and struck out five over 6.0 quality innings, one earned run, and eight hits allowed. The 22-year-old suffered tough luck in the first inning, and Birmingham (7-5) took advantage. Terrell Tatum started the bottom of the first with a slow rolling single down the first base line, and then Brooks Baldwin singled on a perfectly placed bunt down the third base line. An errant pickoff attempt moved Tatum to third, and he scored on one of Mississippi's three double plays turned on Thursday night to make it 1-0.

The Barons tacked on their second run in the fourth inning when Jason Matthews snuck a liner past M-Braves centerfielder Justin Dean all the way to the wall for an RBI triple. De Avila had a runner on base in every inning but held the Barons to 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

The night belonged to Thorpe. The Barons starter moved to 3-0 in his first three starts and has given up just one run in 18 innings. The former second-round selection by the Yankees led all of minor league baseball with 182 strikeouts in 2023.

The M-Braves (4-8) did record seven hits in the game, with three coming from Geraldo Quintero. The 22-year-old reached base four times, going 3-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Nacho Alvarez Jr. extended his hitting streak to five games by posting a 1-for-4 night, and Dean was 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Dean has reached in nine of ten games played this year and is second in the league with nine stolen bases. The two steals Thursday give Mississippi a Double-A best 31 on the year.

Mississippi relievers Jake McSteen and Trey Riley posted scoreless frames behind De Avila in the seventh and eighth.

The M-Braves and Barons meet again on Friday night at Regions Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 pm with Mississippi sending RHP Hurston Waldrep (0-2, 12.86) to the mound against Birmingham RHP Jairo Iriarte (0-0, 0.00). Coverage begins at 6:45 pm on 102.1 The Box, Bally Live, and MiLB.tv. The M-Braves return to Trustmark Park for a six-game series against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos from April 30 to May 5. For tickets and information on the latest promotions, visit mississippibraves.com.