Fore! 'Cakes use four homers to top Missions

The New Orleans Baby Cakes used four home runs to slug their way past the San Antonio Missions on Independence Day, 7-3.
New Orleans inched within four games of the first-place Missions, the closest the 'Cakes have been to the division lead since June 8.
Lewis Brinson continued his power surge by slugging the eighth homer in his last 20 games, a solo blast in the opening frame estimated to travel 435 feet. Rosell Herrera's RBI single later in the inning cashed in Isan Diaz's bunt single to double the lead.
Wilkin Castillo led off the following inning with a home run to put the Baby Cakes in front by three.
Baby Cakes starter Hector Noesi retired the first 11 batters he faced until Cory Spangenberg lined a home run over the left field fence to get San Antonio on the board. That was the only hit Noesi surrendered before Mauricio Dubon led off the seventh with a homer, bringing the Missions within a run.
Noesi (9-4) struck out eight without a walk in seven innings to become the third PCL hurler to reach nine victories.
In the bottom of the seventh, Peter O'Brien worked a full count with two on and two out against Donnie Hart and crushed a 450-foot home run off the light tower in left-center field to provide the Baby Cakes with some cushion. O'Brien, who provided the game-winning run on Wednesday in Memphis with his sixth-inning homer, has gone deep in four of his last seven contests.
Eddy Alvarez tacked on a solo shot in the eighth to complete the Baby Cakes' four-homer effort.
San Antonio threatened in the ninth, getting an RBI triple from Spangenberg and loading the bases with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate before Tyler Kinley induced a game-ending fly out from Troy Stokes to nail down his second save.
Miguel Sanchez (2-4) gave up three runs and six hits in three innings to take the loss for the Missions, who have dropped nine of their last 14 games.
The four-game series continues on Friday at 7 p.m.