Soler Delights, Ladwig Deals As Blue Wahoos Cap Big Night With Win Against Chattanooga 

The sky had darkened and the first band of rain was imminent around 2 p.m. Tuesday when Jorge Soler arrived at Blue Wahoos Stadium, greeted by a small contingent of autograph seekers attired in Atlanta Braves gear.

He signed each request, posed for pictures and flashed a smile, while pushing two large luggage cases on rollers.

Soler was a free agent acquisition by the Miami Marlins, following his instant-legend status in Atlanta, after being the 2021 World Series MVP in the Braves championship win against the Houston Astros. He extended his fan engagement prior to being in the Blue Wahoos lineup for their weather-delayed, 2-1 victory Tuesday night against the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Soler went 1-for-4 as the Blue Wahoos designated hitter on brief loan during his recovery from bilateral pelvis inflammation. He had two hard-hit outs in other plate appearances Tuesday, including a crowd-arousing deep flyout to center field in his first at-bat. It was a good sign for the Miami Marlins that his rehab progression has gone well.

And he wasn’t the only World Series hero in the ballpark. Pensacola’s TJ McCants, the Pensacola Catholic High graduate, whose pinch-hit homer for Ole Miss in the College World Series factored into the Rebels national championship triumph against Oklahoma, was saluted by the Blue Wahoos before the game for his own feats.

McCants, 21, who is eligible for the MLB Amateur Draft on Sunday, is a year older than brother Jordan McCants, who was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the third round of the 2021 draft. Jordan is now in his first full season with the Marlins organization, playing in the Florida Complex League (FCL) Marlins, formerly the Gulf Coast Rookie League. He has played in 26 games, batting .252 with five doubles, four triples, 5 RBI.

The Blue Wahoos, meanwhile, opened a homestand against the Lookouts, the Cincinnati Reds affiliate, by continuing their season identity of outstanding performances by their starting rotation.

This time, it was A.J. Ladwig again spinning a gem, while working into the seventh inning without allowing a run and only one walk. He had six strikeouts enroute to earning his third win. Relievers Jefry Yan and Eli Villalobos pitched the final three innings.

Yan shined, getting out of a seventh-inning jam with runners on second and third. He threw two wicked sliders for strikeouts and followed with two more punchouts in the eighth. Villalobos gave up a two-out, ninth inning home run to Ivan Johnson, then retired the final Lookouts batter,ubbise pinch hitter Jacob Hurtubise on a groundout to end the game and record his fifth save.

Soler, 30, is set to play in the outfield Wednesday night for the Blue Wahoos and if all goes well, he could be activated by the Marlins off the injured reserve list and return to Miami’s lineup.

There was little doubt of his popularity in Pensacola, which has its share of Braves fans. Soler accommodated every fan lining the Blue Wahoos dugout tunnel before the game, thanking fans who thanked him for delivering a World Series championship to the Braves.

He is one of the biggest Major League Baseball names to have an injury rehab assignment in Pensacola during the Blue Wahoos 10-year history. The other was Minnesota Twins slugger Miguel Sano, who wowed with some mammoth homers during his stopover in 2019 – the lone year the Blue Wahoos played as a Twins affiliate.

Soler, a Cuba native who ascended into one of Major League Baseball’s premier power hitters – headlined by leading the American League in homers in 2019 with 48, was signed by the Marlins on March 22.

He hit .223 with 27 homers and 20 RBI last season while first with the Kansas City Royals, then acquired in a mid-season trade by the Braves, which proved pivotal.

In the World Series, Soler made himself beloved forever in Atlanta sports history, hitting three home runs in the World Series, putting together a .300/.391/800 slash line in winning MVP honors.

That was instant celebrity status among Braves fans, including a sizeable number who turned out to see him Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

After the game was delayed 42 minutes from late-afternoon rain, both teams pitching and defense controlled the flow. The Blue Wahoos got their two runs in the second inning on a two-out bases-loaded walk to Devin Hairston, followed by an RBI single by Jose Devers.

From that point, the Blue Wahoos road a familiar path with their pitchers controlling the game.

GAME NOTABLES

--- Blue Wahoos star pitcher Eury Perez will miss his start in the rotation Wednesday to get ready to travel to Los Angeles to play in the Saturday’s Sirius XM Futures Game at Dodger Stadium. The event is part of the prelude to the 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Los Angeles on July 19. Perez was the only Miami Marlins prospect named to the National League side playing in the Futures Game. This year’s game will be played at 6 p.m. CDT that day and broadcast on NBC’s Peacock TV streaming service.

Also last week, Perez climbed to No. 1 in MLB Pipeline’s ranking of the Miami Marlins’ top prospects and No. 17 overall among global prospects. Perez shined in his start against the M-Braves, working six complete innings for the second time in his career.

--- TJ McCants was joined Tuesday night by his family, along with Pensacola Catholic baseball coach Seth Currie and his wife, plus other members of the Catholic baseball staff. He signed autographs on the stadium concourse, did a variety of media interviews, including an in-game radio interview with Blue Wahoos announcer Erik Bremer..

McCants will return this week to Ole Miss to begin preparations for the upcoming fall semester and fall workouts with the national champion Ole Miss team.

BLUE WAHOOS HOMESTAND

WHO: Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Blue Wahoos

WHEN: Wednesday Through Sunday (July 17)

WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium

GAMETIMES: Games Wednesday through Friday start at 6:35 p.m. , then 6:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday’s game is 4:05 p.m.

TICKETS: Available online at www.bluewahoos.com/tickets. Or purchase at stadium box office (opens at 10 a.m. on weekday), or call 850-934-8444.

RADIO: ESPN-Pensacola (99.1 FM and 1330 AM and WYCT 98.7 HD4).

TV: YurView (check provider) and MILB.tv (streaming) through www.milb.com/live-stream-games with subscription discount using BLUE WAHOOS.

PROMOTIONS: Wednesday – Mardi Gras In July. Various Krewes from Pensacola Mardi Grass will parade shopping carts during pregame. It’s also One Price Wednesday with an $18 ticket for any available stadium seat, plus a hot dog, soda and chips. It’s also mid-week, post-game fireworks following game.

Thursday – Mullet Thursday/Thirsty Thursday – Team will wear Pensacola Mulllet uniforms. There will be $2 draft beer from concessions, $4 cans from carts, plus other drink specials for adults.

Friday – Giveaway Friday – Fans entering stadium will receive a Bobblehead of Sue Straughn, longtime WEAR-3 TV news anchor, provided by sponsor WEAR-TV.

Saturday – Marvel Defenders of the Diamond Night. The team will wear special Captain America jerseys to be auctioned to fans during game, plus fans are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Marvel Comics character. The traditional Saturday night post-game fireworks follow the game.

Sunday – Family Sunday. Early-arriving fans will receive a Blue Wahoos team photo courtesy of Dlux Printing. Following game, kids may run an infield lap around the bases and family toss in the outfield.