Palma's Blast Helps Shuckers Take Opener From Wahoos

An early home run from Alexander Palma was enough to help the Biloxi Shuckers (39-66) take down the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (54-50) 4-2 on Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Biloxi had an early scoring chance go unanswered in the top of the first inning. David Hamilton doubled on the third pitch of the game and two batters later, Mitch Longo singled. The runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch and Thomas Dillard walked, loading up the bases with only one out. RHP Kyle Nicolas (L, 3-2) induced a foul out by Palma and struck out Chad Spanberger to leave the bases loaded.

The Shuckers would convert their base runners in the third inning. Longo started the frame with a single and stole second before Dillard drew a walk. Palma then unloaded on a 2-1 pitch for a three-run homer, his 11th of the season, pushing the Shuckers to a 3-0 lead.

RHP Jesus Castillo (W, 4-8) did not allow a runner to advance into scoring position in the first four innings of his outing but ran into trouble in the fifth. Demetrius Sims led off with a double and Riley Mahan singled to put men on the corners. Connor Justus drove in the first run of the game for the Wahoos with an infield single, but Castillo bounced back with a strikeout of Kameron Misner for the first out of the frame. Peyton Burdick worked a walk to load the bases and J.J. Bleday drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, narrowing the Shuckers’ lead to 3-2. Castillo struck out Lazaro Alonso for the last out in the fifth, stranding the tying run at second base.

Biloxi’s bullpen combined to throw four shutout innings to finish the night. RHP Peter Strzelecki (H, 7) allowed two hits in the sixth inning and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh before LHP Leo Crawford (H, 3) hurled a 1-2-3 eighth with a strikeout.

In the top of the ninth inning, Howell worked a one-out walk and Longo singled to center, his fourth hit of the night, moving Howell to third. Longo then stole second and drew a throw from Wahoos’ catcher Brian Navarreto that sailed into center field, allowing Howell to score, pushing the Shuckers back up a pair at 4-2. RHP J.T. Hintzen (S, 2) struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning for his second save of the season.

Biloxi continues their series against the Wahoos on Wednesday night. LHP Andy Otero (4-0, 1.96) is set to toe the rubber for the Shuckers opposite Wahoos’ RHP Max Meyer (6-1, 2.30) for a 6:35 pm first pitch. The game can be heard locally on Cruisin’ WGCM AM 1240/FM 100.9 and can be seen on MiLB.TV.

Individual tickets are on sale for all 2021 Shuckers home games and promotions for September can be found here. Full Shuck Nation Memberships and Half Shell Shuck Nation Memberships, flex plans and group outings are available by calling 228-233-3465 and selecting Option 3.

ABOUT THE BILOXI SHUCKERS:

The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Shuckers play at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi and are members of the Double-A South. For more information, please visit biloxishuckers.comand follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.