Braves Drop Wahoos 8-3
June 27, 2013
Barrett Kleinknecht launched a three-run homer in the top of the seventh, capping the Mississippi Braves’ second straight four-run frame in an 8-3 win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Wednesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Pensacola entered the sixth inning with a 1-0 lead and starter Ryan Dennick cruising through five frames. He retired the first batter he faced in the sixth, but would not set down another hitter in his outing. After Christian Bethancourt walked, Jose Martinez hit a ground ball to third baseman Travis Mattair who had trouble corralling the ball and overthrew the first baseman Marquez Smtih, allowing Bethancourt to score from first on the error.
Edward Salcedo then drove home Martinez with a double to left and came around to score on Jaime Pedroza single, putting the Braves on top 3-1. Dennick departed after another single by Omar Luna and gave way to Shaun Ellis. The right-hander issued a two-out bases loaded walk to pinch-hitter Kyle Russell to push Mississippi’s lead to 4-1.
An inning later, the Braves strung together three two-out hits as Pedroza collected an RBI single and Kleinknecht put the game out of reach with his three-run blast off Ellis.
Dennick (3-9) ended up taking the loss. The southpaw pitched five scoreless before giving up the four runs in the sixth. Overall, he allowed four runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings.
Pensacola jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Travis Mattair solo homer in the last of the fourth inning. It was Mattair’s team-leading 10th blast of the year and his second in as many days.
The Wahoos scratched across a pair of runs in the last of the seventh on an RBI triple Ryan LaMarre and an RBI single by Brodie Greene, but they wouldn’t threaten the rest of the night.
Chason Shreve (3-1) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief for Mississippi. Starter Ian Thomas allowed a run on three hits in four frames, not going long enough for the win.
The series continues on Thursday as the Wahoos and Braves tangle in the fourth game of the five-game set. Daniel Renken (2-5, 3.93) takes the mound for Pensacola against Mississippi’s Gus Schlosser (5-2, 2.35) with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.
story by Kevin Burke
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