Johnston Leads Blue Wahoos To Eighth Win In A Row

May 5, 2023

Troy Johnston had his bat cooled to begin this week against the Mississippi Braves.

He made up for it Thursday on a Pensacola Mullets night that tied a piece of franchise history.

Johnston blasted his fifth homer of the season in the third inning, then produced the go-ahead runs in the seventh as Pensacola beat the M-Braves 6-3 for their eighth consecutive win. It delighted a crowd of 4,578 at Blue Wahoos Stadium and matched the longest winning streak in club history, which was first set in 2017, then again in 2018.

A chance at the record awaits on a Friday night with Blue Wahoos taking on another name change as the Pensacola Pok-ta-Pok in participation with the Copa de la Diversión initiative in Minor League Baseball.

Last week, Johnson tied the team record for single-game production with a two-homer, six-RBI game in a win against Montgomery.

After going 1-for-8 in the first two games of this series — hitless in seven prior plate trips — Johnston returned to his clutch-hitting ways. He came up with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh. He laced a 3-1 fastball pitch into right center for a two-run single to provide a 4-3 lead.

That pivotal moment was followed by Dane Myers’ sacrifice fly to score José Devers. Joe Rizzo then hit an RBI single to score Johnston.

The four-run rally was a big lift for Blue Wahoos starter Patrick Monteverde, named earlier Thursday as the Southern League Pitcher of the Month. He retired 16 of the first 18 batters he faced before the only dent in his six outings this season.

He gave out a one-out single, then consecutive walks to load the bases. The M-Braves Landon Stevens followed with a two-run single for the lead and ended Monteverde’s night.

But the Blue Wahoos bullpen was again flawless with relievers Austin Roberts (W, 2-0), Brady Puckett and Sean Reynolds (S, 3) combining for 3.1 scoreless innings, one hit, four strikeouts, no walks. Roberts got his second win.

Jose Devers manufactured the Blue Wahoos’ first run with his pop fly double, then went third on a wild pitch and utilized his speed to score on a second wild pitch.

The fourth game of the series is Friday at 6:35 p.m. with Pensacola’s M.D. Johnson (0-1, 4.00) going against AJ Smith-Shawyer (0-0).

written by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos

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