Santiago guides M-Braves to 7-4 win over Smokies to even series

KODAK, TN - Mississippi Braves starting pitcher Andres Santiago earned his second-straight win on the mound and went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI in the 7-4 win over the Tennessee Smokies on Sunday. The win in front of 3,981 at Smokies Stadium evens the series, forcing a rubber match of the five-game series on Monday at 11:00 am CT.

Santiago (W, 2-0) sailed through the first two innings on 16 pitches and pushed his hitless innings streak against the Smokies to 16 consecutive frames. Santiago threw a no-hitter in his last start against the Smokies on August 28, 2014, while a member of the Chattanooga Lookouts. Santiago then pitched for the Smokies in 2015 as a member of the Chicago Cubs organization. 
The Smokies though recorded two hits against Santiago in the third inning and got on the scoreboard first with the first of two home runs from Jason Vosler. 
The lead was shortlived as Santiago collected the first of his three RBI with a single that scored Alex Jackson in the top of the fourth inning. The Braves went up 2-1 when Michael Reed was hit by an Oscar De La Cruz (L, 4-5) pitch with the bases loaded.
Mississippi pulled away in the fifth inning after sending eight batters to the plate and scoring four runs. Travis Demeritte walked with one out to get the inning started. After a strikeout of Jackson, Tyler Marlette and Daniel Lockhart recorded back-to-back singles to push the lead to 3-1. Santiago followed with a double that scored Marlette and Jackson to make it 5-1. Michael Reed became the fourth straight Braves batter to register a hit and it scored Santiago to finish off the four-run inning. 
Santiago's two-hit performance is the third this season by an M-Braves' starting pitcher, joining Touki Toussaint and Wes Parsons. The three RBI is a season-high by an M-Braves pitcher. 
Vosler hit his second home run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, a two-run shot that cut the lead to 6-3. 
Santiago left the game after 6.0 innings of three-run baseball, yielding six hits and no walks while striking out two. 
Demeritte blasted James Norwood fastball over the left field wall for his second home run of the series and fourth of the season in the seventh inning to make it 7-3. Demeritte was 2-for-4 on Sunday and is 6-for-12 in the series.
M-Braves relievers Michael Mader and Adam McCreery tossed scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth and Josh Graham allowed one run in the ninth, but finished off the 7-4 victory for Santiago. 
The win pushes the M-Braves record on the road trip to 5-4 and the club is also 5-4 against the Smokies this season. 
The rubber match of the five-game series in East Tennessee will be an 11:00 am (CT) first pitch against the Tennessee Smokies at Smokies Stadium on Sunday. This will be the final matchup between the clubs in 2018. RHP Enderson Franco (1-3, 4.75) will start for the Braves against RHP Michael Rucker (3-2, 4.89) for the Smokies. Fans can listen to all M-Braves games for free on 103.9 WYAB or the free TuneIn Radio App. 
The M-Braves will return home to Trustmark Park on Wednesday, May 23 for a five-game series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. The game will feature two promotions in AMR First Responders Wednesday presented by AMR (All First Responders/Emergency Response personnel, including law enforcement and firefighters, may purchase a $7 ticket in all seating areas, excluding Suite Level, when presenting ID. Excluding July 4) and Strike Out Hunger presented by the Mississippi Food Network (Fans who bring a canned food item to the Trustmark Park Box Office will receive a voucher for one $3 Field Level ticket).