Braves Avoid Rally, Beat Cardinals, 7-5
The D-Braves made a statement both on the mound, and at the plate early on in the ballgame. Farrell shut down the first six batters he faced in order, recording three strike outs right away. While it took three Cardinal batters to get out of the top of the first, it took three D-Braves to score the first run in the bottom half. The first tally came courtesy of a lead-off double by center fielder Jason Mowry, who then crossed home on an RBI single by third baseman Barrett Kleinknecht.
Quiet through two, Johnson City hopped on the board in the third with a lead-off home run by center fielder Virgil Hill. It was his first of the season. Farrell recovered quickly, however, allowing only two additional hits and no runs through the final four innings of his outing.
Johnson City righty Angel De Jesus settled down on the hill after the first, but D-Braves batters got to him again in the fifth for an additional three runs. All three were credited to Mowry, who blasted a three-run homer to right to give Danville a 5-1 lead. Like his Cardinal counterpart, it was Mowry's first home run of the season.
Cruising with a 6-1 lead into the eighth, the Cardinals made it a game with D-Brave reliever Tyler Stovall on the hill for Farrell. In his one-out, six-batter outing, Stovall hit a Cardinal, walked two and gave up a double that resulted in Johnson City runs. In now for the save, Kyle Mertins notched a one-pitch double-play ball off the bat of JCY first baseman Kleininger Teran.
The D-Braves tallied a desperately-needed insurance run in their half of the eighth on an RBI single by second baseman Elmer Reyes, giving them the 7-5 edge at the end of eight. Tension built in the top half of the ninth once again, as a quick first out was followed by back-to-back singles and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Pop and ground-outs by the Cardinals, however, gave Mertins his third save, and the D-Braves a big home victory.
Reliable once again for Danville was Kleinknecht, who extended his hitting streak to eight games on two RBI singles at back-to-back at-bats. Also hitting safely to lengthen his streak was catcher Evan Gattis, who has now hit safely in ten-straight thanks to a 2-4 night. Center fielder Hill had a solid night offensively for Johnson City, going 2-4 with a single on top of his solo shot.
Taking the win for his one-run performance, Farrell improves to 3-1 on the season, and adding four strike outs to his record. De Jesus got his first loss of 2010, allowing five, all earned, on eight hits in five innings. He, too, struck out four batters.
Tonight's win sets up the rubber match of the series between Danville and Johnson City. Game time is tomorrow at 4 p.m., with D-Brave Willie Kempf and Cardinal Cale Johnson taking the mound in the mid-afternoon game.
The Braves will then hit the road for their third six-game road trip of the season. The away stint will start with a three-game series against the Bristol White Sox, followed by another three with the Princeton Rays. The team will return on Aug. 1 to kick off their second series of the season with the Bluefield Orioles. Featured in the short three-game home stand is Sylvan Learning Center Hit the Books Night and Dollar Dog Monday on Aug. 2, followed by KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets on Aug. 3.
Fans can follow all Braves play-by-play action for home games on WMNA 106.3 FM or on the Braves' website at www.dbraves.com. For other information on the schedule, tickets, group nights, and/or partnership opportunities please contact the Danville Braves office at (434) 797-3792, [email protected], or log on to the D-Braves website.