Braves Slide Past Barons 3-2 in 11 Innings in Game Two
With the game knotted in the 11th, Javier Guzman opened the extra frame with a base hit off Barons closer Jon Link (0-1), who was beginning his second inning of work on the mound. Matt Young tried to sacrifice Guzman to second, but the latter was gunned down when Link fielded the bunt attempt and fired to second for the force out. Young made up for the gaffe by stealing second, and he then took third on an infield broken-bat single to short by Kala Ka'aihue. Schafer followed with a deep fly ball to right and scored ahead of the throw by right fielder Stefan Gartrell.
Luis Valdez retired Birmingham in order in the bottom of the 11th for his second save in as many games in this series.
Mississippi (2-0) struck first against Barons starter Aaron Poreda. Greg Creek opened the fifth inning with a single to center, and Van Pope followed with an RBI double down the left field line. A wild pitch bumped Pope to third, and two batters later he touched home on a J.C. Holt single to center that made it a 2-0 game.
Birmingham responded in the bottom of the inning off M-Braves hurler Tommy Hanson. Lee Cruz led off with a single to left, took second on a Ricardo Nanita single, and scored on a double to right by Gartrell. But with runners at second and third, C.J. Lang bounced out to third, and Eric Hollis struck out swinging to end the threat and keep the score at 2-1.
The Barons would tie it up an inning later, using a leadoff infield single by Miguel Negron as the impetus for the rally. Victor Mercedes followed by ripping a single to right, and both runners then advanced on a Javier Castillo sacrifice. Cruz bounced a ball deep in the hole at short, and Guzman's throw to the plate was not in time to catch Negron. The play was ruled an RBI infield single and it tied the contest at 2-2. Once again, though, Birmingham couldn't extend the rally as Brandon Allen struck out and Nanita grounded out to again end the frame.
After a 1-0 pitcher's duel in the first game of the series, it again took several frames for either team's offense to get in a rhythm. The Braves broke through first, getting a pair of singles off Poreda in the fourth. The southpaw would allow just five total hits in six innings of work, scattering two walks and fanning nine batters. He is still winless in eight home starts this season, despite tallying a 2.53 ERA and posting 49 strikeouts in 46.1 innings at Regions Park.
Hanson was equally as effective Friday, opening the contest with four no-hit innings until Cruz' hit in the fifth. The right-hander scattered six hits over seven strong innings and recorded nine strikeouts. In his last three starts against the Barons, he has now fanned 33 batters in 22.1 innings, including a 14-strikeout performance in his no-hitter against Birmingham on June 25.
It would get no easier for each team against the other's bullpen. Brian Omogrosso and Joe Torres followed Poreda with three scoreless relief innings, and Link tossed a perfect tenth inning before running into trouble the following frame. Fernando Hernandez relieved Link in the 11th and recorded a fly out to end the Mississippi scoring threat.
Brian Dumesnil, Steve Marek, Sung Ki Jung, Kevin Gunderson (1-0), and Valdez combined for four hitless frames in relief of Hanson.
Cruz was the lone Baron with a multi-hit performance, turning in a 2-5 effort at the plate to account for a third of Birmingham's hits. Holt and Ka'aihue each posted a pair of hits for the Braves and combined for half of the team's eight base knocks.
Twice during the regular season Birmingham dropped the first two games of a five-game set, only to rebound with three straight wins to take the series. The team will need to duplicate the feat in order to advance to the Championship Series for the first time since winning the title in 2002, which was also the last time the squad won the first-half championship.
Game three of the series will be held at Mississippi's Trustmark Park in Jackson, Miss., Saturday night at 7:05 pm. A pair of right-handers are scheduled to start on the mound, with Birmingham's Lucas Harrell opposing the Braves' Kris Medlen.