Sevierville, TN - The Tennessee Smokies lost 11-2 to the Birmingham Barons on Friday night at Smokies Stadium. Tennessee grabbed an early lead but the Barons scored 11 straight to win the game. Tennessee grabbed an early lead in Friday's contest. Charcer Burks led off the bottom of the first inning
Sevierville, TN - The Tennessee Smokies lost 11-2 to the Birmingham Barons on Friday night at Smokies Stadium. Tennessee grabbed an early lead but the Barons scored 11 straight to win the game.
Tennessee grabbed an early lead in Friday's contest. Charcer Burks led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and advanced to second base on a throwing error. P.J. Higgins followed with a walk, and both runners advanced on a double-steal one batter later. Yasiel Balaguert drove in Burks on a sacrifice fly and Ian Rice followed with an RBI-single, scoring Higgins and making it 2-0 Smokies. The Barons answered with a pair of runs in the top of the third, tying the game at 2-2. Birmingham exploded for four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 6-2 lead and added five more on the ninth to make it 11-2.
Duncan Robinson started the game on the mound for Tennessee. Robinson pitched 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks. He also struck out four in the start. Robinson was relieved by Preston Morrison to start the sixth inning. Morrison threw 0.2 innings and gave up four runs on one hit and three walks. Daury Torrez recorded one out to complete the sixth before handing the ball to James Buckelew, who pitched 2.1 innings and allowed one run. Scott Effross finished the ninth inning for the Smokies.
Tennessee and Birmingham are set to meet again on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The Smokies have tabbed Matt Swarmer (1-1, 3.60 ERA) as their starting pitcher, while the Barons are going to counter with Jimmy Lambert (2-1, 4.50 ERA). Swarmer is coming off a win in his last start on July 9 against Montgomery. He pitched 6.0 scoreless innings in that game, following three scoreless in his previous start against Chattanooga. Swarmer is limiting opposing batters to a .133 batting average in the month of July.
Written by Blake Von Hagen, Broadcast Assistant for the Tennessee Smokies
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
