Barons Beat The Wahoos

April 22, 2018

Daniel Wright continued his recent string of dominance to open the season turning his one of his best career starts. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the Barons claimed the series opener over the Blue Wahoos 2-1 Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Wright flirted with perfection early in the game by retiring the first 12 Barons that came to the plate in the series opener. It felt like fortune may have been on Wright’s side when Aristides Aquino made a pair of catches to rob the Barons of base hits.  However, Seby Zavala crashed the party with a home run on the first pitch he saw in the fifth inning to give the Barons a 1-0 lead.

Wright maintained his poise and immediately retired the side in order after the home run. He was finished after seven innings give up just the one hit on Zaval’s homer.

Matt Tomshaw, while not as spotless as Wright, turned in an equally fine performance for the Barons. The southpaw scattered seven hits throughout his six innings of work for his second quality start in as many outings. His only real blemish on the night came in the fifth inning, when the Wahoos rallied for one run on three hits. Taylor Sparks and Garrett Boulware led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and Sparks scored on Shed Long’s second hit of the night. The threat was quickly neutralized when the Barons doubled up Boulware on a lineout to centerfield by Luis Gonzalez.

Birmingham dealt the final blow in the top of the ninth when Danny Mendick homered off Rafael De Paula to give Birmingham a 2-1 lead. It was both Mendick’s first home run of the season, and the second home run De Paula had surrendered in as many outings.

The Wahoos had a flicker of hope in the ninth when Gabriel Guerrero led off the inning with a single and eventually landed on second after Zavala’s first passed ball of the season. Despite the tying run in scoring position, Barons closer Ian Hamilton remained unphased and retired the next three Wahoos in order for his third save of the season. Birmingham snapped their six-game losing streak with a two-hit, two home run performance to steal the series opener.

White Sox top prospect Eloy Jimenez finished the game 0-for-3 with a walk. He attempted to tag and score the go-ahead run on Matt Rose’s fly ball in the seventh inning but was thrown out at the plate by Aquino’s wonderful throw for an inning-ending double play.

The series will continue tomorrow afternoon when Reds #22 prospect Keury Mella (2-0, 1.06) toes the rubber for the Wahoos against one of the White Sox top pitching prospects in RHP Spencer Adams (1-0, 4.05). Adams entered 2018 as the White Sox #12 prospect in the organization, according to Baseball America.

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