
Kyle Skipworth’s RBI-single in the fourth inning was the lone hit for the Jacksonville Suns in a 1-0 win over Biscuits starter Matt Buschmann(above)at Riveralk Stadium August 27, 2012. Photo Coutesy: Montgomery Biscuits
By Steve Kolbe
Kyle Skipworth’s RBI-single in the fourth inning was the lone hit for the Jacksonville Suns in a 1-0 win over Biscuits starter Matt Buschmann(above)at Riveralk Stadium August 27, 2012. Photo Coutesy: Montgomery Biscuits
By Steve Kolbe
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
Second baseman Alfredo Lopez drove in four runs in the Suns 9-6 win over the Biscuits at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. Photo Courtesy: Jacksonville Suns
By Steve Kolbe
The Jacksonville Suns scored seven unanswered runs in a 9-6 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits on Saturday night at Riverwalk Stadium. The Suns have won the first two games of the five-game series to trim the Biscuits lead in the South Division to just one game.
The Suns dented the scoreboard in the first inning against Biscuits starter Shane Dyer. Chris Gutierrez singled and scored when Zack Cox doubled to left field to put the Suns up 1-0. The Suns improved to 49-22 when scoring the first run of the game.
Montgomery stormed back in the home half of the first against Suns pitcher Matthew Neil. The first three batters of the inning each singled, with Derek Dietrich driving in Ty Morrison to tie the game at 1-1. A throwing error by Jose Duarte allowed Shawn O’Malley to score to give the Biscuits the edge 2-1. Ryan Garko then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, with Dietrich coasting across the plate for a 3-1 Biscuits lead.
The Suns got one back in the top of the second. Kyle Jensen led off with a walk, and Jose Duarte singled to put runners on first and third. Alfredo Lopez delivered with a RBI single, with Jensen scoring to cut the lead to 3-2. Lopez would finish the night 3-for-3 with four runs batted in. Suns second basemen have thrived ninth in the batting order in the last two weeks. The four RBI’s by Lopez are the most by a Suns number nine hitter a game this season. Dallas Poulk was playing second base and batting ninth when he drove in three runs August 19th against Birmingham.
The Biscuits scored three more runs on three hits in the bottom of the second off of Neil to take command with a 6-2 lead. Mikie Mahtook drove in two runs with a double, and Ryan Garko plated another with a sacrifice fly. Montgomery collected eight hits in the first two innings, then just three singles in the last seven.
The Suns solved Shane Dyer and pulled even in the third. Kyle Skipworth drove in two runs in the inning with his 16th double of the season to cut the lead to 6-4. Kyle Jensen scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-5, and Alfredo Lopez knocked in a run with a single to even the score 6-6.
Jacksonville scored three runs in the eighth inning with a two-out rally to take a 9-6 lead. Lopez drove in two runs with a seeing-eye single up the middle, and Jake Smolinski drove in a run with his 23rd double of the season. The Suns finished with a season-high 16 hits and tied their season-high for doubles in a game with seven. Jacksonville had at least one base runner in every inning except the fourth, and every player in the Suns lineup reached base at least once in the game. Paul Gran was the only Suns player without a hit, but he reached base when he was hit by a pitch for a league-leading 18th time this season.
The Suns had six players record a multi-hit game. Alfredo Lopez and Jose Duarte each finished with three hits. Chris Gutierrez, Zack Cox, Kyle Skipworth, and Kyle Jensen each collected two hits in the game. Lopez drove in four to double his RBI total to eight. Skipworth drove in a pair of runs and now has 59 RBI’s this season. Ty Morrison went 3-for-3 and scored two runs for the Biscuits. Ryan Garko and Mikie Mahtook each drove in a pair of runs for Montgomery.
The Suns have won six of their last seven games, outscoring opponents 50-33. Jacksonville improved to 21-14 when using the designated hitter. After dropping nine of the first 12 games in the season series to the Biscuits, the Suns have won eight straight over their division rival by a combined score of 44-18 with three shutouts. The Suns are a win away from claiming a series for the first time in three trips to Riverwalk Stadium this season.
Suns starter Matthew Neil allowed and Biscuits starter Shane Dyer did not figure in the decision. Neil allowed six earned runs on eight hits in just 1.2 innings, his shortest outing of the season. Dyer surrendered six runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings of work.
The Suns bullpen combined to pitch 7.1 scoreless innings. Edgar Olmos allowed just two singles in 3.1 innings after taking over for Neil in the second inning. Grant Dayton (2-0) tossed three hitless innings for the Suns in the win. Chris Rearick (2-1) allowed three runs on five hits over two innings in the loss. A.J. Ramos pitched the ninth to earn his 20th save of the season.
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
By Steve Kolbe
It hasn’t happened often, but Suns closer A.J. Ramos was unable to lock down a win for Jacksonville on Friday night at AT&T Field, with the Chattanooga Lookouts scoring the game-tying run in the 10th inning, and an inning later winning in walk-off fashion when left fielder Nick Buss hit a three run home run for a 6-3 victory. All eight of the Suns extra inning games this season have been played on the road, with Jacksonville 4-4 in those games.
The Lookouts have won the first four games of the series by a combined count of 25-11. The Suns are just 3-11 against the Lookouts this season, and have won just two of the nine games played in the Volunteer State.
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
Suns starter Matthew Neil(above left)pitched six shutout innings, and Ben Lasater (above right)drove in both runs with a pinch-hit single in the Suns 2-0 win over the Mobile BayBears. Photo Courtesy: Jacksonville Suns
By Steve Kolbe
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
Jake Smolinski(above left)and Curt Smith (above right)combined to go 5-for-6 with five RBI’s and five runs scored in the Suns 11-7 win over the Montgomery Biscuits August 6, 2012 at the Baseball Grounds. Photo Courtesy: Jacksonville Suns
By Steve Kolbe
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
Graham Taylor earned his third shutout of the season, allowing seven singles over eight innings in the Suns 2-0 win over the Biscuits at the Baseball Grounds August 3, 2012. Photo Courtesy: Jacksonville Suns
By Steve Kolbe
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
The Jackonville Suns walked eight times, including five times in the seventh inning, in a 6-4 win over the Smokies. Four of the Suns runs in the game were scored by batters who were issued a base on balls. Photo Courtesy: Tennessee Smokies
By Steve Kolbe
The Jacksonville Suns used a combination of power and patience at the plate to even their series against the Tennessee Smokies, with a 6-4 win at the Baseball Grounds on Friday night. The Suns improved to 10-9 at home in the second half of the season.
Donnie Webb gave the Suns a 1-0 lead in the second inning, when he launched a solo home run over the right-center field fence off of Smokies starting pitcher Ty’Relle Harris. Webb has hit three of his seven home runs this season against Tennessee pitching, with all three of the round trippers at the Baseball Grounds. Kyle Skipworth and Donnie Webb have accounted for the last seven Suns homers in the last 10 games.
The Suns added another run in the second when Jose Alvarez walked and Danny Pertusati singled to put runners on first and second. Chris Gutierrez then singled to center to drive in Alvarez to increase the lead to 2-0. Suns pitchers have now scored nine runs this season.
Jacksonville doubled the lead in the third inning. Kyle Skipworth singled and went to second on a wild pitch, and that was followed by a walk to Donnie Webb. With two outs, Suns second baseman Alfredo Lopez hit a ground ball to Justin Bour at first, with Skipworth scoring to make the score 3-0. With the bases loaded, Danny Pertusati was hit by a pitch forcing in Webb for a 4-0 Suns advantage.
The Smokies scored twice in the fourth to cut the lead to 4-2. Junior Lake drove in a run with a double, and Juan Apodaca plated a run with a sacrifice fly. Lake has nine hits in the series, including three home runs and four doubles. He has driven in nine runs and scored six times.
Tennessee inched closer in the seventh when Greg Rohan hit a towering solo home run to left field off of Alvarez, and the Suns lead was 4-3. Rohan has hit three of the Smokies nine home runs in the series.
In the home half of the seventh, Smokies relievers Zach Rosscup and Kevin Rhoderick combined to walk five Suns batters, with Josh Schmidt and Alfredo Lopez each forcing in a run with a base on balls to make the score 6-3. The Suns sent eight men to the plate and scored two runs in the inning without the benefit of a hit. The Smokies added a run in the eighth when Lake drove in his second run of the night and the score was 6-4 Suns, but that’s as close as Tennessee would get. The Suns have won six of their last nine home games.
Chris Gutierrez was the only Suns player with two hits in the game. Alfredo Lopez went 0-for-3 but drove in two runs in his Double-A debut. Jose Alvarez reached base twice and scored a run. Josh Schmidt walked to drive in a run in the seventh inning. He has two of the Suns RBI’s by pitchers this season.
Greg Rohan, Juan Apodaca, and Junior Lake each collected two hits for the Smokies. Lake has hit safely in 11 straight games and is 9-for-19 over the last four games. Rohan has hit three home runs in the series against the Suns.
Jose Alvarez (4-5) allowed three runs on six hits in his six innings of work. Two of his four wins this season have been against the Smokies, and Alvarez has given up just three runs in 14 innings in those outings. A.J. Ramos pitched the ninth for his 15th save of the season. Ramos has earned a save in nine of the Suns last 12 victories. Five of his 15 saves this season have been against Tennessee.
The Suns will look to win the series Saturday with the first pitch slated for 6:05 p.m. from the Baseball Grounds. After earning Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors, lefty Graham Taylor (5-8, 4.23) will take the hill for Jacksonville. RHP Nick Struck (11-9, 3.52) will start his 22nd game of the season for Tennessee. Struck leads the league in wins (11) and starts (21), and ranks 7th in ERA (3.52). He is 0-4 against the Jackson Generals and 11-5 against the rest of the league.
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
Kyle Skipworth(above)collected three extra-base hits, including his 12th home run of the season, in the Suns 6-4 victory over the Tennessee Smokies. Photo Courtesy: Jacksonville Suns
By Steve Kolbe
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
Suns starter Graham Taylor(above)allowed one run in seven innings of work to help Jacksonville edge the Mississippi Braves 2-1 at the Baseball Grounds. Photo Courtesy: Jacksonville Suns
By Steve Kolbe
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News
The Braves scored five runs in the ninth inning against Suns closer A.J. Ramos for an 8-5 win at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville July 20, 2012. Photo Courtesy: Mississippi Braves
By Steve Kolbe
The Mississippi Braves scored five runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Suns 8-5 on Friday night at the Baseball Grounds. The Braves won for the first time this season when trailing going into the ninth (1-43). The Suns lost for just the second time when leading heading into the ninth inning (37-2).
The Suns took a 2-0 lead in the home half of the fifth, when Donnie Webb hit a two-run home run to right field off of Braves starter J.R. Graham. It was Webb’s first home run since June 23rd and his sixth round tripper of the season.
Mississippi scored three runs on three hits in the seventh inning against Suns starter Bryan Evans to take a 3-2 advantage. Todd Cunningham drove two of the runs with a double off of reliever Jordan Conley. In the home half of the seventh, the Suns loaded the bases when Kyle Jensen and Danny Pertusati walked, and Jeff Dominguez singled. Donnie Webb then doubled in the gap in right-center to clear the bases and put the Suns in front 5-3.
A.J. Ramos entered the game for the ninth, and for just the third time this season was unable to lock down the win. The Braves took advantage of three walks, and a pair RBI singles by Christian Bethancourt and Joe Terdoslavich to tie the game 5-5. With the bases loaded and two outs, Keenan Wiley hit a ball to center field that glanced of off Donnie Webb’s glove while he was attempting to make the catch, with three runs crossing the plate to give the Braves an 8-5 win.
Only three Suns players had hits in the game. Donnie Webb went 2-for-5 and drove in all five runs. It’s the second-most runs batted in for a Suns player in a game this season (Kyle Skipworth drove in six at Chattanooga May 26th). Jeff Dominguez had three singles, and Chris Gutierrez singled to increase his hitting streak to 15 games. Christian Bethancourt, Joe Terdoslavich, and Jason Christian each collected two hits for the Braves.
Starter Bryan Evans allowed three runs on six hits over six and a-third innings in a no decision. A.J. Ramos (3-1) allowed five runs (2 ER) on two hits in the ninth inning and lost for the first time this season. All three batters he walked in the inning came around to score. Cory Rasmus (2-3) allowed just one hit over two innings to earn the win.
The Suns missed out on a chance to get back to the .500 mark for the first time since June 28, when they were 4-4. Playing at home hasn’t been an advantage lately for the Suns, with just two wins in their last seven games at the Baseball Grounds.
Game three of the series is Saturday from the Baseball Grounds with the first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. LHP Jose Alvarez (2-5, 4.05) will start for the Suns. RHP Gary Moran (3-7, 3.15) takes the hill for the Braves.
Filed under Ahead Of The Curve, Southern League News