Jenista hits fourth home run in Saturday's 4-1 loss to Blue Wahoos

PEARL, MS - The Mississippi Braves dropped their second-straight game to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Saturday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium, 4-1. The win gives the Blue Wahoos (18-11) a 3-2 edge heading into Sunday's series finale.

Billed as a pitcher's duel, neither Pensacola Max Meyer (W, 3-1) nor the Braves' Jose Rodriguez (L, 0-1) disappointed with their outings. Meyer, the third overall pick in the 2019 draft by Marlins, was a bit better, setting new season and career highs with 6.0 innings and nine strikeouts.

Rodriguez worked 5.2 innings and needed just 66 pitches to get through 5.0 innings of one-run baseball. The former LA Angel retired eight-straight Wahoos at one point but couldn't quite get through the sixth. Rodriguez gave up a one-out double to Peyton Burdick, and then with two outs, a solo home run to JJ Bleday to end his outing with Mississippi (14-15) trailing, 3-1. In his second outing, he gave up three runs on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

After the M-Braves fell behind 1-0 in the second inning,* Greyson Jenista* tied the game with a solo home run off of Meyer to straightaway centerfield. The homer was Jenista's fourth on the season and only the second given up by Meyer this year.

Brooks Wilson pitched behind Rodriguez for the Braves and delivered 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out the Blue Wahoos side in the seventh inning.

Troy Bacon surrendered his first run of 2021 in the eighth inning on a Burdick RBI single to push their lead to 4-1. Bacon allowed one run on two hits on Saturday night after starting the year with 13-straight scoreless.

No M-Braves recorded multiple hits on Saturday, but Wendell Rijo ran his hitting streak to an M-Braves season-best, six games. He finished 1-for-3 and is batting .354 over the streak. The M-Braves also played error-free baseball for the sixth-straight contest.

The M-Braves and Blue Wahoos concluded the six-game set on Sunday at 4:00 pm. In a rematch from game one on Tuesday, RHP Nolan Kingham (2-1, 4.33) will start for the Braves against LHP Jake Eder (1-1, 0.73) for Pensacola. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm with coverage on 103.9 WYAB and mississippibraves.com.

The M-Braves will return to Trustmark Park on June 15 to begin a 12-game homestand against the Birmingham Barons and Tennessee Smokies. The homestand will feature two great giveaways. On Friday, June 18, the first 1,000 fans will get a Mississippi Braves beach towel, showcasing a panoramic photo of Trustmark Park, presented by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi. The first 1,500 fans on Friday, June 25, will get a Freddie Freeman replica jersey presented by Morgan & Morgan!

For tickets or more information about the M-Braves, visit mississippibraves.com or call 888-BRAVES4.