Blue Wahoos Take Series Finale Over Mobile

July 9, 2016

Pensacola Blue Wahoos right-hander Nick Travieso pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits to the Mobile BayBears to win his first game Friday in eight starts.

Plus, Blue Wahoos catcher Jose Duarte and pinch hitter Calten Daal both smashed their first Double-A home runs as Pensacola won, 4-3, at Hank Aaron Stadium.

Pensacola captured the final to take two of the five games in the series against Mobile. The Blue Wahoos start a five-game series at 6:30 p.m. Saturday against the Biloxi Shuckers, who Pensacola beat for the first half Southern League South Division title.

Travieso, the Cincinnati Reds No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America, earned his first victory since May 17 when he shut out Mississippi over seven innings. Travieso improved to 4-4 in his first season with the Blue Wahoos and lowered his ERA to 4.35.

In his last four starts, Travieso has allowed just four runs in 22 innings for a 1.67 ERA.

Pensacola closer Alejandro Chacin pitched the final two innings, allowed two hits and struck out three for his Southern League-leading 16th save on the year.

Travieso got all the run support he needed from two unlikely hitters in Pensacola’s offense, which scored three runs in the second. Pensacola catcher Jose Duarte clobbered a two-out, three-run homer in the inning for his first Double-A homer and first RBIs.

Duarte, who was called up on July 2 from Low-A Dayton Dragons, was playing in only his third Double-A game. He has a career .222 batting average in six minor league seasons with the Reds organization and hit two homers in a season once.

In the top of the seventh inning, Pensacola pinch hitter Calten Daal smacked a solo homer to give the Blue Wahoos a 4-0 lead. It was Daal’s first Double-A blast and second in 912 professional at-bats through his first four seasons in the minors.

Daal, who is hitting .310 for Pensacola, proved to hit the game-winner when Mobile came back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull within, 4-3.

The BayBears first run scored when catcher Matt Jones hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in BayBears left fielder Rudy Flores. Pinch hitter Travis Denker then singled to drive in second baseman Jamie Westbrook with the second run of the inning. The third run scored when Mobile shortstop Ildemaro Vargas doubled to right field to score right fielder Tom Belza.

The BayBears Denker also tried to score and tie the game on Vargas’ double. But Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde threw to shortstop Zach Vincej, who relayed a strike home to Duarte to catch Mobile’s Denker out at the plate to end the inning.

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