Jackson, Tenn. - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, rallied from a three-run deficit on Friday, beating the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 12-7 at The Ballpark at Jackson.
Jackson, Tenn. - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, rallied from a three-run deficit on Friday, beating the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 12-7 at The Ballpark at Jackson.
The victory by the Generals (12-8) evens the series with Pensacola (15-7) at one game apiece entering Saturday.
Neither starting pitcher had their best stuff tonight, with Jackson right-hander Bo Takahashi being first to falter. Takahashi gave up a pair of extra-base hits in the first inning that led to two runs, and a leadoff double in the second frame paved the way for a third Pensacola score. With no life raft in sight, Takahashi kept afloat by retiring six of the seven men he faced in the third and fourth innings. He departed after 77 pitches with five strikeouts and no walks.
Pensacola's Jorge Alcala (4-1, 5.70 ERA) stifled Jackson over their first two at-bats before the Generals brought their battery back to life. A pair of jumper cables named Drew Ellis and Ryan Grotjohn gave Jackson their juice, as Ellis took a leadoff walk in the third and Grotjohn ripped a first-pitch double down the right field line to put men on second and third. With some crafty maneuvering at third base, Ellis managed to coax Alcala into a balk, allowing Ellis to walk home scott-free with the Generals' first run of the night. Galli Cribbs then bounced a grounder toward the right side of the infield that second baseman Travis Blankenhorn corralled, but with Pensacola's first baseman out of position, Alcala failed to field the throw to first base cleanly, allowing Grotjohn to score while Cribbs advanced to second base. Cribbs would score later in the inning after a groundout and a sacrifice fly from Jamie Westbrook, bringing the Generals square at 3-3.
In the fourth inning, the first three Generals to the plate reached base, with Ellis drawing his second walk to load up the sacks with Ramon Hernandez and Jazz Chisholm. Grotjohn --- who was playing in his second game ever at Double-A and first of 2019 --- drilled a 1-2 offering from Alcala off the right field wall, plating two runs to put the Generals in front and chase Alcala from the hill. Ellis scored later in the inning on a passed ball, with Grotjohn eventually coming home on an Andy Young RBI groundout that put the Generals ahead 7-3 after the fourth.
Bud Jeter (1-1, 7.45 ERA) neutralized the Wahoos in the fifth inning, and the Generals responded with a two-run double by Ellis to go ahead 9-3. Ellis would finish his third consecutive multi-hit game with two hits, two RBI, two walks, and two runs scored, while an RBI single from Grotjohn in the eighth inning made him 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored in his 2019 Jackson debut. Andy Young and Daulton Varsho each picked up multi-hit games, while a hitless Westbrook managed nonetheless to drive in multiple runs for the second night in a row. Jackson was 5-for-15 with men in scoring position.
The bullpen had mixed results behind Jeter, but Michael Kohn (S, 5) once again played the stopper, throwing 1.2 scoreless frames to snuff out some late Pensacola flames. Kohn has now made nine consecutive scoreless appearances to start 2019.
NEXT GENERALS GAME:
6:05 pm CT Saturday (4/27) vs. Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Minnesota Twins)
The Ballpark at Jackson - Jackson, Tenn.
RHP Emilio Vargas (1-0, 2.43 ERA) vs. RHP Sean Poppen (2-0, 2.01 ERA)
Broadcast Link: Jackson Generals Baseball Network
