SMOKIES WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT OVER MONTGOMERY

MONTGOMERY, AL  - The Tennessee Smokies won their fourth straight game against the Montgomery Biscuits in Montgomery on Thursday night with a 5-1 victory. Led by good starting pitching and timely offense, the Smokies were able to move above .500 and now sit at 7-6 on the season. 
Oscar De La Cruz started on the mound for the Smokies. After struggling in his first two starts of the season, De La Cruz turned it around in a big way on Thursday. He pitched 6.0 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out six. 
Yasiel Balaguert gave the Smokies an early lead when he singled to left field and Trey Martin came home to score, putting Tennessee ahead 1-0 in the fourth inning. Zack Short added to the Smokies lead in the fifth inning when he doubled to left field, scoring Jeffrey Baez and making it 2-0. Balaguert and Baez led the Smokies with two hits each. 
Baez added to the lead in the seventh inning when he singled to left field and Ian Rice scored to put the Smokies ahead 3-0. Montgomery tried to stage a rally in the bottom of the seventh when they had runners on the corners with no outs, but the next three batters struck out to end the threat and Tennessee got out of the jam with no damage done. 
The Biscuits trimmed the lead to 3-1 in the eighth inning on an RBI single, but they were unable to bring any more runs across in the inning. Erick Castillo provided insurance runs for the Smokies in the top of the ninth inning when he hit a two-run home run to left field. It was his first home run of the season. Montgomery was unable to plate any runs in the ninth. 
Right handed pitcher Preston Morrison pitched 2.0 innings in relief, allowing three hits and one run. Morrison also walked two and struck out three. Jake Stinnett pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close things out. 
The Smokies and Biscuits will meet for the series finale tomorrow at 7:35 p.m. in Montgomery, where Tennessee goes for the series sweep. Michael Rucker (1-0, 1.80 ERA) is expected to start on the mound for Tennessee and the Biscuits starter will be Benton Moss (0-1, 3.72 ERA). 
The full schedule for this season and information regarding single-game tickets, season tickets, and mini plans can be found online at smokiesbaseball.com, or by calling the Smokies Ticket Office at 865-286-2300.
ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES
The Tennessee Smokies are the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the ten-team Southern League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America's national pastime in the East Tennessee region for over 100 years. To learn more about the Tennessee Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com