Shuckers Storm Back, Split Series With 6-3 Win

After falling behind in the first two frames, the Biloxi Shuckers (19-40) rallied for six unanswered runs in a 6-3 victory over the Birmingham Barons (31-28) on Sunday evening at MGM Park. With the victory, the Shuckers split their six-game set against Birmingham.

The Barons took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-RBI double from Craig Dedelow and added another run in the top of the second, stretching their advantage to 3-0 going to the bottom of the second inning.

The Shuckers erased the deficit with two big swings in the home half of the second. Luis Castro led off the inning with a no-doubt homer to left, his eighth of the year, to put the Shuckers on the board. Chad Spanberger singled to right with one out and Brent Diaz followed with a two-run blast to left, his fourth home run of the season, to tie the game at 3-3.

Biloxi would take the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning. Alexander Palma doubled to right with two outs against Barons’ LHP John Parke (L, 2-4) and Castro worked a nine-pitch walk to put two men on base. David Fry then laced a double to the right-field corner, driving in both runners to give the Shuckers a 5-3 lead.

RHP Jesus Castillo (W, 1-4) settled into the game after the first two innings, scattering 10 hits over his outing while not walking a batter and striking out one.

The top of the order added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yeison Coca walked to start the inning and Garrett Mitchell reached on a fielding error by Laz Rivera, putting two men on with no outs. Brice Turang then bounced into a fielder’s choice, moving Coca to third, and Palma grounded out to short, plating Coca to build the Shuckers’ lead to 6-3.

RHP Braden Webb (H,1) and LHP Leo Crawford (H,2) each pitched a scoreless inning before RHP Matt Hardy (S, 2) came on to close the game out in the ninth. Hardy allowed back-to-back singles to start the frame but responded with consecutive strikeouts, flipping the lineup back over to Zack Granite. The Barons’ outfielder legged out an infield single, loading the bases for Romy Gonzalez, but Hardy induced a groundout to third to seal the win for the Shuckers.

After a day off on Monday, the Shuckers travel to Montgomery to begin a six-game series with the Montgomery Biscuits on Tuesday. In the opener, LHP Andy Otero (3-0, 1.48) is set to start for the Shuckers against Biscuits’ RHP Tommy Romero (0-0, 1.91) for a 6:35 pm first pitch. The game can be heard locally on Cruisin’ WGCM AM 1240/FM 100.9 and can be streamed on MiLB TV.

Individual tickets are on sale now for all 2021 Shuckers home games and promotions for July 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.