Wahoos Win With Three-Run Rally In Eighth

May 19, 2016

Kyle Parker hit a blooper that landed between the second baseman and right fielder for a double to snap an 0-19 slump and drive in the go-ahead run.

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos first baseman then ultimately scored the winning run when second baseman Brandon Dixon hit a sharp liner to right field, as the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate pulled out a come-from-behind victory, 3-2, over the Mississippi Braves Wednesday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Pensacola has now won all four series at home this season, taking three of five games from Mississippi. They are 24-16 and in second place in the Southern League South Division.

The 26-year-old Parker, who has 64 games of Major League experience with the Colorado Rockies, said he remained positive throughout his slump the past six games.

“You can’t let what happens in the past dictate what happens,” Parker said. “You just have to kind of forget about your failures and hope for something good to happen. It was nice to get lucky.”

Parker was at bat when Pensacola’s Alex Blandino, who earned a two-out walk to start the rally, scored from third on a wild pitch in the eighth to tie the game, 1-1. Parker then hit his blooper that scored center fielder Phillip Ervin to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 2-1. Parker was 1-4 with an RBI and run scored.

However, the game was not over. Pensacola called on its closer Alejandro Chacin to pitch the ninth. He gave up three singles and a walk and got one out but also gave up his second run of the season when second baseman Johan Camargo singled to score Jacob Schrader and pull Mississippi within one run, 3-2.

Chacin then walked pinch hitter Levi Hyams to load the bases with one out. The righty then got lead-off hitter Matt Lipka to pop out weekly to first base for the second out. He then faced shortstop Dansby Swanson, the overall No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, who had blistered the Southern League’s best pitching staff all series, going 7-20 or .350 with one game-winning homer and three RBIs. But Chacin got Swanson to line out to right field to end the game and leave the bases loaded.

It was the fourth one-run game in the five-game series between the two evenly matched teams.

Pensacola manager Pat Kelly praised his closer for coming through to get his team-leading seventh save of the year.

“He showed no fear,” Kelly said. “He might have been the only one in the ballpark who wasn’t afraid.”

Kelly also said “grit” was a good word to describe the Blue Wahoos team that seems to never give up. In six of the eight innings, they got at least one runner on base and couldn’t bring them around to home until the two-out, three-run rally in the eighth.

“They are very determined,” Kelly said. “They’re going to find a way. Grit is a great word to describe them.”

Dating back to his first win of his Double-A career on April 25, Garrett has pitched 29.2 innings in his last five starts and allowed only four earned runs for a 1.21 ERA, while striking out 31. He got a no-decision Wednesday. In his three wins this season, Pensacola has scored 20 runs but in this three losses the team has scored only three runs. They were shutout when he left the game after working six innings, allowing four hits, giving up one earned run, walking three and striking out six.

Kelly said he liked Garrett’s effort Thursday. During the series that matched the two best pitching staffs in the Southern League, Mississippi hit just .191 against the Blue Wahoos’ pitchers, who have a 3.06 team ERA. Meanwhile, Pensacola hit .217 off the Braves pitching staff that boasts a 3.24 ERA.

“I don’t know that (Garrett) was 100 percent today,” Kelly said. “But to go six innings and give up one run is fantastic. We saw two really good starting pitchers today.”

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports