May 20, 2023 – Southern League (SL) – Montgomery Biscuits News Release
MONTGOMERY Ala. – The fifth matchup of the series between the Biscuits (20-18) and the Braves (16-21) did not disappoint, with the butter and blue coming back from a 3-1 deficit late to win 5-4 on Saturday night at Riverwalk Stadium.
Nathan Wiles made his first Double-A start for Montgomery due to Sean Hunley being promoted to the Durham Bulls in Triple-A. The Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April was called up on May 18th, leaving a gap in the rotation entering tonight.
Drew Lugbauer opened the second inning strong for Mississippi, hitting his seventh home run of the year over the right field wall to make the score 1-0. Not long after, Andrew Moritz hit a sacrifice fly to put the Braves up by two. John Doxakis took the mound in place of Wiles and prevented the Braves from extending their lead any further.
Matthew Dyer responded in the bottom-frame for the Biscuits, hitting his first Double-A home run of the season 393 ft. and over the right field wall. It was the first RBI for Montgomery since Blake Hunt’s RBI-forceout in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 10-0 win on May 17th.
In the fourth inning, Beau Philip advanced to third after a failed pickoff attempt by Hunt, and Hudson Potts singled to right field to extend the Braves’ lead to 3-1. Two innings later, Alan Rangel was relieved by Jake McSteen after allowing two hits and striking out seven in his seventh start of the season for Mississippi.
The Biscuits broke through with a two-RBI double from Dyer in the seventh to tie the game at three. It was the third RBI for Dyer and the fourth hit of the game for Montgomery, setting the ballgame up for an interesting finish.
The Biscuits fired on all cylinders in the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back solo home runs from Austin Shenton and Hunt, putting the Biscuits up 5-3 entering the ninth inning. It was the second time this season that Montgomery hit back-to-back homers, with the last one coming on April 8th against Pensacola.
Down to their last three outs, the Braves cut the lead to one after Cade Bunnell hit a sacrifice fly into center field. However, the Biscuits were able to get a strikeout and a line-out to cap off the comeback win.
Nelson Alvarez (1-0) was awarded with his first Double-A win of the season and Michael Mercado earned his third save, while Alec Barger (1-1) received his first loss of the season.
The Biscuits and the Braves will close their six-game series on Sunday, May 21, with first pitch scheduled for 3:33 PM CT. A Lil’ Crumbs Hat Giveaway will be included, and it will also be Bark in the Park. The pitching matchup will finish how it started, with Cole Wilcox (0-3) for the Biscuits facing off against Scott Blewett (1-2) for the Braves.
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