Birmingham Upends Pensacola with Dominant Pitching and Clutch At-Bats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Birmingham Barons (38-47) clawed their way back and then took control of their Friday evening 7-3 win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (47-39) from Regions Field.

Tied 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the Barons batted around and broke it open with four runs on three hits and some small ball plays.
Blake Rutherford's RBI single to score Nick Madrigal put Birmingham up for good at 4-3. What followed was a fielding error, a sacrifice bunt, and intentional walk to load the bases, and a bunt single to score a run. Ramón Torres would work a clutch bases loaded walk, followed by a hit-by-pitch with the bases jacked on Luis Robert.
After the dust had cleared, the Barons had four more runs and led 7-3.
After three scoreless innings, things changed in a hurry. Leading off the fourth, Minnesota Twins No. 2 prospect Alex Kirilloff pounded his third home run of the season to deep right. After a hit-by-pitch, designated hitter Mark Contreras smacked a two-run homer to straightaway center. They were Pensacola's first homers of the series and put them up 3-0.
The Barons would chip away, however. In the bottom of the fourth, Robert, the Chicago White Sox No. 1 prospect, cranked a line-drive homer down the left field line to make it 3-1. It was La Pantera's eighth homer as a Baron.
One inning later, the Barons would tie it up with some bottom of the lineup production. After a Ti'Quan Forbes leadoff walk, Luis González roped a triple to left to cut it to one.
The Barons proceeded to score in three straight innings after being down 3-0, working good counts and forcing Pensacola to make mistakes.
A few batters later, nine-hole hitter Torres pulled a double off the right field wall to score Gonzalez and even it up at 3-3.
Coming up clutch as well was shortstop Laz Rivera. Rivera notched his fifth three-hit game of the season, including the perfectly executed squeeze bunt up the first base line with the bases loaded in the sixth. Two Blue Wahoos collided with each other trying to field the bunt, Rivera was safe at first and most importantly it brought Rutherford home to score.
The Barons bullpen was absolutely masterful in relief of starter Blake Battenfield. Vince Arobio, in just his third appearance with Birmingham, struck out five over two innings and didn't allow a hit.
Kodi Medeiros continued his bullpen resurgence by pitching the final two frames scoreless. Overall, Barons pitching walked just one Blue Wahoo batter.
Madrigal, after missing out in his first two at-bats, lined a double down the third base line in the sixth inning. The double extended his hitting streak to 13-straight games, during which he is now hitting .403 with 21 hits, 12 runs and just one strikeout.
With Robert's homer, he has now hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games and has four homers, 19 runs scored and 12 RBI over that span.
The Barons will continue their series against the Smokies at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Left-hander Tanner Banks (1-5, 3.43) will make his 11 start of the season.
WJQX-FM 100.5 will be the home of the Barons on Saturday. Fans can tune into the Coca-Cola Pregame Show starting at 6:15 p.m.
The Birmingham Barons are the proud Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The Barons will open the home portion of their 2019 season, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of Michael Jordan's lone year in baseball, against the Tennessee Smokies at 7:05 p.m. April 10 at Regions Field. For ticket information, game schedule, promotions calendar or additional information about Regions Field, please visit barons.com or call (205) 988-3200.
Southern League Champions: 1906 • 1912 • 1914 • 1928 • 1929 • 1931 • 1958 • 1967 •1983 • 1987 • 1989 • 1993 • 2002 • 2013
33-Year Double-A Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox