PEARL, MS - On a night when pitching reigned at Trustmark Park, the Birmingham Barons (27-23, 54-65) outlasted the Mississippi Braves (24-28, 57-64) in a late back-and-forth battle, 2-1, at Trustmark Park.
PEARL, MS - On a night when pitching reigned at Trustmark Park, the Birmingham Barons (27-23, 54-65) outlasted the Mississippi Braves (24-28, 57-64) in a late back-and-forth battle, 2-1, at Trustmark Park.
M-Braves starter Phil Pfeifer and Birmingham starter John Parke combined to retire the first 24 batters on Thursday night. Pfeifer blinked first by allowing a leadoff single to Gavin Sheets in the top of the fifth inning. The 28-year-old needed just 42 pitches to get through the first four innings, striking out seven. The Barons singled twice against Pfeifer in the sixth inning and two more times in the seventh, but could not muster a run.
The Barons rallied with two outs against Pfeifer in the eighth inning, and Luis Basabe scored the game's first run on a single by White Sox No. 17 prospect Laz Rivera. Pfeifer matched a career-high and set a Double-A career-high with 8.0 innings of one-run baseball, striking out ten and walking none on 101 pitches. The Vanderbilt product reached double digits in strikeouts for the third time this season and has 137 strikeouts in 2019.
Birmingham's Parke meanwhile needed only 75 pitches to toss 7.0 perfect innings. Ryan Casteel opened the top of the eighth inning with a double down the left-field line braking up the perfect game bid. Lane Adams reached on a fielding error to place runners on the corners with nobody out. Birmingham manager and 11-time Gold Glove Award winner Omar Vizquel took Parke out of the game and brought in Codi Heuer (W, 2-1). The right-handed reliever retired the next two batters, before giving up an RBI single from Carlos Martínez to score Casteel and tie the game at 1-1.
Birmingham went back ahead 2-1 in the ninth inning against M-Braves reliever Jonathan Aro (L, 3-2). Sheets had three of Birmingham's nine hits and doubled with one out to start the rally. After inducing a groundout, Aro ceded an RBI double to Columbia, MS native Ti'Quan Forbes to score Sheets and make it 2-1.
The M-Braves made things interesting against Heuer in the ninth, placing runners at the corners with one out. Ray-Patrick Didder singled to begin the inning and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Riley Unroe . Trey Harris then reached on a Joel Booker dropped catch in centerfield. Heuer rebounded by striking out Casteel and Adams to end the game, leaving the tying run at third base.
Harris went 0-for-4 and saw his 13-game on-base streak come to an end on Thursday. The M-Braves were held to just three hits by Parke and Heuer. Harris and Martinez each stole their first base of the season, with Martinez' being just the fifth of his career.
Game four of the five-game series between the M-Braves and Barons is on Friday night at Trustmark Park. RHP Nolan Kingham (0-1, 2.45) makes the start for Mississippi against Birmingham's Blake Battenfield (5-4, 4.34). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm with coverage beginning at 6:20 pm on 103.9 WYAB, TuneIn Radio, First Pitch App. and MiLB.tv (subscription required).
Friday's Promotions:
Post-Game Fireworks Extravaganza - Friday Night Fireworks is back at Trustmark Park!
Austin Riley Braves Kids T-Shirt Jersey - The first 1,000 kids, 14 and under will receive an Austin Riley Braves Kids T-Shirt Jersey!
Trustmark Dash For Cash - $10,000 in cash will be spread out in the outfield, and ten lucky fans will have 1 minute to collect as much cash as possible.
Free Fist Bump - As part of our Fan Friday promotion, every fan coming through the gates will receive a FREE FIST BUMP from an M-Braves representative.
