Redbirds’ Solo Homer Barrage Downs Sears, Stripers in Record Time

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – The Memphis Redbirds (9-14) rode five solo home runs and 8.0 scoreless innings from Aaron Wilkerson to a 6-0 victory over the Gwinnett Stripers (11-12) on Wednesday night at AutoZone Park. The game lasted just 1:52, the fastest nine-inning game in Gwinnett’s 16-year history.

Decisive Plays: All five solo homers came off Stripers’ starter Brett Sears (L, 0-2). Two from JJ Wetherholt (3-4) and one each from Luken Baker (10), Cesar Prieto (7), and Matt Koperniak (6) gave the Redbirds a 5-0 lead through four innings. In the seventh, Mike Antico tacked on with a sacrifice fly scoring Cesar Prieto for a 6-0 Memphis advantage.

Key Contributors: Wilkerson (W, 5-2) spun 8.0 innings of four-hit baseball and struck out four in his first outing for Memphis. Gwinnett’s four hits came from Jose Devers (2-for-3, double), Eddys Leonard (1-for-3, triple), and David Fletcher (1-for-3, single). Wetherholt (2-for-4, 2 homers, 2 RBIs) had the only multi-hit game for the Redbirds.

Noteworthy: The 1:52 game time eclipsed the previous Gwinnett record for fastest nine-inning game, a 1:55 contest on July 27, 2011 at Durham. Leonard’s triple extended his team-best hitting streak to 12 games. Sears is the first pitcher in Gwinnett history to allow five homers in a single outing (previous record was four, reached four times, last by Davis Daniel on May 7, 2025 at Durham).

Next Game (Thursday, July 24): Gwinnett at Memphis, 8:05 p.m. at AutoZone Park. Radio Broadcast: 7:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, July 29): Durham at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. It’s never too early to start the Christmas countdown as we celebrate Christmas in July! The first 500 fans to the ballpark will receive a Christmas Ugly Sweater Long Sleeve Tee presented by Coolray Heating & Cooling (size XL only). Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.