Barons One Win Away From Playoff Berth

The Birmingham Barons defeated the Jacksonville Suns 3-2 Saturday evening in front of 6,698 fans at Regions Field.

The Barons collected all three of their runs in the first thanks to a little help from the Suns' defense. Andy Wilkins laced a single to left that scored Marcus Semien from second after the left fielder, Daniel Pertusati, overran the ball. Keenyn Walker and Wilkins would execute a double steal during the next at-bat with Walker scoring after catcher J.T. Realmuto's throw sailed into left field. Tyler Saladino would cap the inning with an RBI single to give the Barons a 3-0 advantage.

The lead would be cut to 3-2 in the 2nd after an opposite field two-run homer by Jeff Fisher against Barons' starter Nick McCully (6-1, . The home run would be the lone blemish against McCully who allowed four hits over 5.0 IP while striking out four.

Kevin Vance relieved McCully and allowed just one hit over 2.0 scoreless innings while striking out three. Taylor Thompson came on in the 8th to record the final six outs of the game, recording his team-leading 9th save in the process.

With the win, the Barons improved to 39-23 and reduced their Magic Number to 1 thanks to a 3-2 win by the Mobile Baybears over the Tennessee Smokies.

Keenyn Walker finished 2-for-4 with his league-leading 22nd stolen base in the winning effort.

The Barons will look to clinch their 10th playoff appearance in 14 seasons tomorrow afternoon as RHP Stephen McCray (6-3, 3.49) takes the hill against RHP Nathan Eovaldi (Major League Rehab). First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM CDT.