Bryce Elder earned his 5th win in six starts after 7.0 innings of 4-run baseball on Tuesday
Published 9:58 am Wednesday, August 4, 2021
BIRMINGHAM, AL – The Mississippi Braves began the second leg of the 12-game road trip on Tuesday night with a 7-4 win over the Birmingham Barons at Regions Field. The M-Braves used homers by Wendell Rijo and Greyson Jenista to help propel them to the victory. Bryce Elder (W, 5-1) pitched seven innings for a fifth straight start and earned his fifth win over his past six starts.
The win moves the M-Braves to 5-2 on the road trip and back to 11-games above .500, one game ahead of Montgomery.
Romy Gonzalez homered on the first pitch from Elder in the bottom of the first for the Barons to take the lead 1-0. The M-Braves responded quickly in the top of the second as Wendell Rijo tied the game at 1-1 with his 11th home run of the season.
The tie did not last long, as Craig Dedelow opened the bottom of the second inning with a single. He came across to score a couple of batters later on a JJ Muno RBI double to regain the lead 2-1.
The M-Braves responded again as Braden Shewmake led off the top of the third inning with a single. Shea Langeliers followed with a double scoring Shewmake. A couple of batters later, Rijo singled, and Jenista followed with a three-run home run to left-centerfield to give the M-Braves the lead 5-2. The homer was Jenista’s fourth in six games and 13th on the season.
The M-Braves tacked on another run in the top of the fourth inning as Justin Dean came across to score on a double play to extend the lead to 6-2.
The Barons grabbed two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning against Elder to pull within two. Dedelow led off the inning with a solo home run to right field. Joel Booker later singled and scored on an single by Yolbert Sanchez, cutting the lead to 6-4.
Andrew Perez started the sixth inning in relief of Blake Battenfield (L, 6-5) for the Barons. Battenfield pitched 5.0 innings, with eight hits allowed, one walk, two strikeouts, and six runs, five earned.
Jenista began the top of the eighth inning with his team-leading 42nd walk. Then, after back to back outs, Dean and Rijo also walked. Trey Harris followed with a bases-loaded walk to plate Jenista for an insurance run.
Indigo Diaz (H, 2) relieved Elder and started the bottom of the eighth inning. Elder pitched 7.0 innings, scattering nine hits, one walk, nine strikeouts, and four earned runs. Elder had a shaky first few innings but was phenomenal down the stretch retiring the Barons in order three of the last four innings. Diaz was excellent in relief, striking out the side in his perfect inning of relief. Diaz now has 69 strikeouts to just 11 walks in 35.2 innings.
Brooks Wilson (S, 2) locked it down in the ninth for the M-Braves, recording the save after striking out the side.
Rijo led the 11-hit offense with a 3-for-5 night, and three runs scored. Langeliers was 2-for-5, and extended his hitting streak to six games.
Game two of the six-game series in Birmingham is on Wednesday at 7:05 pm. RHP Freddy Tarnok (1-0, 2.61) will start for the M-Braves against Birmingham’s RHP Kade McClure (2-4, 4.19). The first pitch for game one is 7:05 pm, with coverage on 103.9 WYAB, mississippibraves.com, and MiLB.tv.
The M-Braves will return to Trustmark Park and host the Biloxi Shuckers again, August 10-15. The series will be highlighted by Clunker Car Night and a Cristian Pache bobblehead giveaway. Tickets may be purchased HERE, or by calling 888-BRAVES4.
