Hader continues Southern League dominance with six strong on Monday
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Josh Hader continued his dominance over the Southern League on Monday night at Riverwalk Stadium, as the Biloxi Shuckers' ace limited the Montgomery Biscuits to just one run on four hits, while tying season-highs with eight strikeouts and six innings pitched in the 4-2 victory. The run surrendered by the 22-year-old saw his league-leading ERA jump from 0.88 to 0.95, as the southpaw earned his first win since May 11. Hader has not allowed more than one earned run in any of his 11 starts this season.
The Shuckers remain a game out of first place in the Southern League South with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos victory over the Jackson Generals on Tuesday night.
Biloxi (32-24) gave their starter an early lead by jumping on Chi-Wei Hu (2-3) in the first, as Brett Phillips (1x5, R, 3B) smashed the first pitch of the game into right for his team-leading third triple of the season. Nathan Orf (0x4, RBI) brought the runner home with a groundout to second for the early 1-0 lead.
Jacob Nottingham (1x3, RBI, 2B, BB) extended his hitting streak to five games with a run-scoring double to the gap in right-center, scoring Rene Garcia (1x3, R) from first. The 21-year-old catcher has hit safely in 27 of his last 31 games, and has reached safely in a team-high 15 consecutive games.
The Shuckers opened up the game to a four-run advantage thanks to some shaky defense by Kean Wong at second for the Biscuits.
With runners at second and third and one out, Nick Shaw (0x4) grounded one to Wong, but the ball skipped underneath the second baseman's glove, allowing Nick Ramirez (0x2, R, 2 BB) to score from third and Tyrone Taylor (1x3, R, BB) to move up to third. Javier Betancourt (1x4, RBI) followed by shooting a single into right, scoring Taylor for the second run of the frame.
Montgomery (28-29) scratched across a run against Hader in the sixth inning to close Biloxi's lead to three at 4-1.
Braxton Lee walked to start the inning, moved up to second on a one-out, bloop single to center off the bat of Jake Bauers. After a strikeout by Casey Gillaspie, Willy Adames doubled to left to score Lee.
After Tyler Spurlin worked a perfect seventh, Stephen Kohlscheen (SV, 4) ran into trouble in the eighth that was Montgomery plate its second run of the game.
Lee again started an inning by reaching base, this time with a single through the middle. Wong struck out for the first out, but a wild pitch allowed Lee to make it to second. Bauers singled to center to bring the runner across the plate to cut the Shuckers' lead to two.
Gillaspie walked to bring the tying run to the plate, but Kohlscheen induced an inning-ending double play by Adames to escape further damage.
The closer put the tying run on base again in the ninth on a two-out single by Jake DePew, but the seasoned veteran finished the game with a fly out off the bat of Pat Blair to secure the victory.
Biloxi goes for the series win on Tuesday night in game three of the five-game set at Riverwalk Stadium. RHP Javi Salas (3-2, 4.17) toes the rubber for the Shuckers, while RHP Jake Faria (1-5, 4.62) will take the mound for the Biscuits. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with coverage starting at 6:45 p.m. on the Biloxi Shuckers' Radio Network's flagship station WGCM 1240 AM, 100.9 FM, Pascagoula's WPMO 1580 AM and the TuneIn Radio app.
The Shuckers return to MGM Park next Friday as the Shuckers host the Chicago White Sox affiliate Birmingham Barons for the first time in Biloxi. On Friday, June 10th, all fans 21-and-over receive a Biloxi Shuckers Cooler Bag courtesy Bud Light. Saturday, June 11th Post-Game Fireworks will follow the game. Sunday, June 12th is McDonald's -Family Fun Day and celebrate Father's Day early with Little Princess Night, featuring a pre-game Princess Parade and in-game activities. Tuesday, June 14th is Gulfport Community Night.
Tickets for individual regular season games are currently on-sale and may be purchased by visiting the MGM Park box office or any Ticketmaster outlet. Season Tickets, Shmini Plans, Group Tickets, Party Deck Tickets and Mercedes-Benz Mini Suite Tickets are available by calling the Shuckers at 228-233-3465. For more details, visit biloxishuckers.com.
About the Biloxi Shuckers:
The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and a member of the Southern League. For up-to-date news and notes throughout the offseason, visit biloxishuckers.com, follow the club on Twitter (@biloxishuckers), Instagram (@officialbiloxishuckers) or like the team on Facebook (facebook.com/biloxishuckers).