Shuckers give manager his Mike Guerrero 1,000th win with 3-2 walk-off over Barons
BILOXI, MS. - Biloxi Shuckers manager Mike Guerrero earned his 1,000th career victory with an exciting, 3-2 walk-off victory over the Birmingham Barons on Thursday night at MGM Park. A crowd of 2,639 witnessed the home team notch its fifth walk-off victory of the season on a historical night at the Shuckers' home stadium.
Johnny Davis (2x4, R, SB) reached with one out in the bottom of the ninth and swiped second with Tyrone Taylor (1x4, R) at the plate. The Shuckers' right fielder flared a single to center to put runners on the corners, setting up Angel Ortega's infield single, scoring Davis from third for the winning run.
Tayler Scott (1-0) picked up his first win with Biloxi, tossing a perfect ninth inning to keep the game tied at two.
After falling behind 2-0, Biloxi (8-13, 47-43) rallied against 2016 first-round draft pick, Zack Burdi, in the seventh to tie the game.
Taylor was hit by a pitch to start the inning and advanced to second on Ortega's infield single. Brett Phillips (0x1, 2 BB) dropped down a sacrifice bunt in front of the mound, but Birdi threw the ball into right field, allowing Taylor to score. Garrett Cooper (2x4, RBI) drove a single to right, plating Ortega to tie the game.
Birmingham (9-12, 38-53) broke up a scoreless game with a run in the fifth to take the lead in the middle innings.
Adam Engle singled to right with one out in the frame, and stole second with Eddy Alvarez at the plate. The Barons' shortstop shot a 1-0 pitch into the gap in right center, plating Engle from second. Davis fired the ball into third from right field and initially did not retire Alvarez on the play, but the base runner over slid the bag with Javier Betancourt applying the tag to record the out.
Angel Ventura allowed a single to Courtney Hawkins and a double to Eudy Pina with two outs in the inning, but induced a groundout back to the mound off the bat of Keon Barnum to escape the jam.
The Shuckers' right-hander finished the night with five innings pitched in his MGM Park debut. The 23-year-old allowed one run on eight hits, a walk and five strikeouts.
Biloxi had a chance to tie the game at one apiece in the bottom half of the fifth. Javier Betancourt (2x3, BB) singled to start the frame and Chris McFarland (0x3) sacrificed the runner over with a bunt to third. Davis blooped a single off the end of the bat into center to put runners on the corners for Taylor. The Shuckers' right fielder bounced into an inning-ending double play to end the inning.
The Barons plated an insurance run in the seventh against Junior Rincon. Engle smacked a single down the line in right to leadoff the seventh and came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Hawkins after a walk to Alvarez.
Rincon allowed a single to Joey DeMichele with one out in the sixth to snap a stretch of 25 consecutive batters retired to start his Double-A career.
Biloxi will look to take a two-game lead in the series in game two on Friday night at MGM Park. RHP Taylor Jungmann (0-1, 5.27) seeks his first victory in a Shuckers' uniform while going up against Barons' southpaw Blair Walters (3-3, 3.48). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., with coverage starting at 6:50 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.
With Thursday night's win, Shuckers fans can receive half off of their online orders with Papa John's Pizza by using the promo code: SHUCKERS.
Friday is a Mississippi Forestry Commission Youth Baseball Giveaway, where the first 1,000 kids (12 and under) will receive a free youth baseball. Saturday, July 16, will feature a Post-game Fireworks Extravaganza presented by Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Sunday, July 17 will be another McDonald's Family Fun Day.
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).