Suns Walks by BayBears to Take Series Lead
Newby became the second pitcher for the BayBears (60-51, 24-19) this season to fan double digits in a contest joining Josh Collmenter who turned the trick against Montgomery on July 1. Newby only surrendered two hits with the Suns (66-48, 26-18) pulling off back-to-back home runs in the third by Tim Torres and John Otness.
Jose Rosario couldn't hold the advantage for Jacksonville as the BayBears pulled back with a run in third another in the fifth, both knocked home by Collin Cowgill. Cowgill's sac fly in third drew Evan Frey to the dish while a single in the fifth inning brought in Jake Elmore to tie the contest at 2-2.
Bryan Shaw (3-8) relieved for Newby in the seventh and walked Matt Dominguez before Lee Mitchell reached on an error. A wild pitch from Shaw moved both runners up a bag while Torres was walked intentionally with one out to load the bases.
Otness drew a free pass to the put the Suns on top while another wild delivery allowed Mitchell to score. After Ryan Curry walked, Lorenzo Scott was put on first to bring home the third run of the inning without a base hit. Finally, Ozzie Martinez cracked a single to make it 6-2 while Vinny Rottino knocked in Curry with a fielder's choice before an RBI single by Dominguez put the Suns up by six.
Jacksonville plated two more tallies in the ninth inning off Roque Mercedes with Mitchell tagging a run-scoring double while Brandon Tripp's sac fly allowed Dominguez to come home. Steven Cishek (S, 1) closed it out on the hill for the Suns as he combined with Jeff Gogal (1-0) to work with four scoreless innings out of the Suns' bullpen.
The BayBears continue their five-game showdown with the Suns at 7:05 on Tuesday night. The BayBears will welcome Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey to Hank Aaron Stadium on Wednesday night and Thursday night for a special, two-day appearance in Mobile. For tickets, which start at $5 for kids and $7 for adults, please call (251) 479-BEAR or log on to www.mobilebaybears.com. For more information on the Hank Aaron Childhood Home & Museum, please visit www.hankaaronstadium.com.