Lien, Swanson Blast M-Braves to Win over Wahoos
Pensacola, FL - Connor Lien homered twice, including a go-ahead three run blast in the 7th, and the Mississippi Braves beat the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 8-3 in Sunday afternoon's series opener at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
It was the 13th win out of the last 16 for the Braves (22-14; 56-49), who extended their lead to 1.5 games over Mobile (20-15; 52-53) in the second half Southern League standings.
Max Povse (4-0) picked up his fourth consecutive win, allowing just three runs on six hits over six innings, striking out six.
Lien started the scoring in the first, launching a solo home run to left center, his third of the year, to make it 1-0 against starter Tyler Mahle.
Pensacola came back in the third on an Alex Blandino RBI single, and took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a Beau Amaral sacrifice fly to center.
The Braves jumped back out to the lead in the sixth. Lien reached on a fielding error by third baseman Taylor Sparks, and Dansby Swanson singled to put two men on. Joey Meneses came through with a two-out double to left-center for a 3-2 lead.
The lead was short-lived when Sparks led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run off Povse, his sixth of the year.
But Lien wasn't finished. Jacob Schrader started the 7th with a pinch-hit single, and Ozzie Albies doubled to right to extend his on-base streak to 34 games, six shy of the M-Braves record. Then Lien blasted a three-run go-ahead home run off reliever Jacob Ehret (1-1) to make it 6-3 Braves.
It was the first two-homer game for Mississippi since Daniel Castro launched two on July 16, 2014 at Birmingham.
In the ninth, the Braves added two more. Stephen Gaylor knocked a single and Dansby Swanson swatted a two-run homer to left-center off Alejandro Chacin to make it 8-3.
Mahle allowed three runs, one earned, on six hits over six innings in the start for Pensacola, while Ehret allowed three runs on three hits in the loss.
David Peterson (S, 3) nailed down the save, retiring the final four batters of the game with two strikeouts.
The Braves look to keep rolling on Monday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium, sending left-hander Jed Bradley (5-5, 3.99) to the bump against right-hander Rookie Davis (9-3, 2.62). First pitch is slated for 6:30 PM CT in Pensacola.
Mississippi Braves (22-14, 56-49) 8 R 11 H 1 E
Pensacola Blue Wahoos (17-19, 58-48) 3 R 6 H 1 E
W - Povse (4-0)
L - Ehret (1-1)
S - Da Peterson (3)
Time: 2:35
Attendance: 4,502