Wahoos Drop Second In A Row

April 9, 2017

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos took a short-lived, 2-1, lead in the first inning of Saturday’s game when Devin Mesoraco blasted his first homer in two seasons out of Blue Wahoos Stadium into Pensacola Bay.

However, the Tennessee Smokies regained the lead in the second inning and Smokies pitcher Trevor Clifton set down the next 13 Pensacola batters he faced, as Tennessee went on to a 9-2 victory in front of the third straight sellout crowd of 5,038.

The two-run shot by Mesoraco also scored Pensacola shortstop Blake Trahan, who had walked. It was Mesoraco’s first home run since Sept. 23, 2014 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Mesoraco, an All-Star catcher with the Reds in 2014, is playing in Pensacola as part of his rehabilitation from two hip surgeries and a shoulder surgery that limited him to play just 39 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 2015 and 2016.

Pensacola manager Pat Kelly pointed to his bulletin board where he pinned the schedule for Mesoraco’s playing time. By the middle of next week, the Reds’ want him to play in back-to-back 9-inning games. He played six innings in the Blue Wahoos’ season opener, sat out the second game, and was pulled after 7 innings Saturday.

“They don’t let me make those decisions,” Kelly said, chuckling.

Mesoraco impressed him with his long ball in the first inning.

“He hit that ball good,” Kelly said. “We talked earlier in the day at batting practice and he’s still not feeling comfortable yet. But he jumped all over that 3-1 fastball. He’s knocking that rust off.”

The Blue Wahoos stayed within two runs of Tennessee until the sixth inning when the Smokies sent nine batters to the plate and broke out with five runs.

The big hit in the inning came from Tennessee first baseman Yasiel Balaguert who with two outs and the bases loaded hit a sizzling ground ball past the shortstop into centerfield that made a close 4-2 game, 6-2, as both pinch hitter Ian Rice and left fielder Charcer Burks scored. Balaguert was 2-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs.

“Offensively, this lineup is going to hit,” Kelly said. “It just takes time. We got some power. We’re going to hits some home runs.”

Kelly expects one of the Blue Wahoos’ power hitters, Aristides Aquino, who hit 23 homers last year to get on track. Aquino is 0-11 after getting a hit in his first at bat Thursday that drove in a run.

“He’s going to show us why he’s so highly rated,” Kelly said confidently of Aquino, the sixth ranked Red’s prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Tennessee scored in the first inning to go up 1-0, when Burks started the game with a double. He then scored when second baseman Davis Bote hit a sharp grounder down the right field line.

After Mesoraco’s two-run bomb, the Smokies came back with two more runs in the second inning when catcher Cael Brockmeyer doubled and scored on a triple by shortstop Andrew Ely, who smacked a line drive into the left center gap to tie the game 2-2. Ely then scored when Tennessee righty Clifton singled up the middle to give Tennessee a 3-2 lead.

Making his Double-A debut Clifton, who MLB Pipeline ranks the seventh best prospect in the Cubs organization, retired the next 13 Blue Wahoos hitters until first baseman Angelo Gumbs smacked a line drive single to right center in the fifth inning. Clifton was named High-A Carolina League Pitcher of the Year after going 7-7 with a 2.72 ERA for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and holding hitters to a .225 average.

He finished the game allowing just two hits and two runs in five innings, while walking one and striking out four.

“In that first inning, we needed to take advantage of him,” Kelly said. “He started getting his breaking ball over and seemed to settle in.”

Pensacola right-hander Keury Mella also made his Double-A debut Saturday. The 23-year-old Mella, who is the No. 19 ranked prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, also lasted five innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out four. After giving up three runs in the first two innings, Mella threw better, blanking the Smokies and limiting them to two hits, one walk and striking out two over the next three innings.

“Those last three innings, I thought he threw fairly well,” Kelly said.

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