Strong Pitching Not Enough as Missions Doubled Up by Baby Cakes

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Missions dropped their eighth straight game Friday night as they were doubled up by the New Orleans Baby Cakes 4-2 at Nelson Wolff Stadium.
The Missions took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh but the Baby Cakes bounced back and plated a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to go in front for good. Pinch hitter Peter O'Brien drew a leadoff walk, which was followed by a base hit for Jesús Sánchez. San Antonio's Corey Ray fired the ball to third baseman, Lucas Erceg as he attempted to throw out O'Brien stretching. The throw came in late and Erceg made an errant throw to second base that went into right field, which allowed both runners to score.
San Antonio's pitching staff was outstanding through the first seven innings before getting into a bit of trouble in the eighth. Shelby Miller had his longest outing since April 26 as he allowed just one run on three hits. The lone run of the game yielded by Miller came on a Tyler Heineman solo shot in the top of the second inning. Jimmy Nelson was superb in his two shutout innings as he fanned the first four batters he faced. The right-hander needed just 22 pitches to get through the two frames. New Orleans scored three runs in the eighth thanks to three softly hit singles and a costly error.
David Freitas came through for San Antonio in the first inning as he stroked a base hit to left field to give the Missions the early lead. The Baby Cakes responded in the top of the second on Heineman's blast.
The score remained deadlocked at one run apiece until the bottom of the seventh when the Missions manufactured a run. Ray walked to begin the frame and moved to second on a sacrifice from Jake Hager and to third on a base hit from Troy Stokes Jr.Cory Spangenberg drove Ray in from third on a force out but that was all the Missions would muster.
They had an opportunity to cut into the 4-2 deficit in the eighth inning after Freitas singled and Travis Shaw reached on a bunt single. San Antonio was unable to come up with a timely hit and the Baby Cakes got out of the inning unscathed.
Stokes Jr., Tyrone Taylor, Freitas, and Travis Shaw all tallied a pair of hits for the Missions.
The Missions and Baby Cakes continue their four-game series Saturday night at Nelson Wolff Stadium. Right-hander Thomas Jankins (10-3, 4.35) is scheduled to start for San Antonio against left-hander Robert Dugger (2-4, 9.15). First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
-With the loss, San Antonio falls to 72-51 on the season.
-San Antonio's season-long losing streak extended to eight games. It is the longest losing streak for the Missions since they dropped eight in a row from August 15-22, 2012.
-David Freitas extended all three of his streaks with his RBI single in the first inning. His on-base streak moved to 26 games, his hitting streak to 12 games, and his RBI streak to eight games. His eight-game RBI streak is now the longest by a Missions player this season.
-Cory Spangenberg swiped his 28th bag of the season in the fifth inning. He is two stolen bases shy of becoming the first Missions player to tally 30 in a season since Nelson Ward stole 31 in 2016.
-With two more hits Tyrone Taylor now has seven multi-hit games in his last 11. In those 11 games he is batting .364 (16-for-44) with 9 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, and 9 RBI.
2019 is the 118th season of baseball in San Antonio and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Single game tickets are on sale now at the Wolff Stadium Box Office or online at samissions.com. Season seat memberships are available now by calling 210-675-PARK (7275).