Call Muscles Barons to 6-4 Win

The Birmingham Barons (51-49) used a powerful hitting performance from Alex Call to get a 6-4 victory over the Tennessee Smokies (50-52) on Tuesday night at Regions Field. Call was 3-for-4 on the night with two home runs in back-to-back innings and four RBI. The win is Birmingham's third in a row and second straight to start the series.

• Moments That Mattered: Bryant Flete led off the bottom of the third inning with a triple and shortly after Call came to the plate and was able to hit an RBI double, scoring Flete and giving the Barons a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth inning Ryan Cordell and Trey Michalczewski led off with back-to-back singles. Flete then came to the plate and was able to hit a RBI single scoring Cordell from third extending the Barons lead to 2-0. In the bottom of the seventh inning Call was able to hit his third home run of the season, tying the game at 3-3 with a solo shot to left field. In the bottom of the eighth, Call was able to hit his second home run of the game over the left field wall, a two-run shot, extending the Barons lead to 6-3.
• He Said it: "I am very comfortable and confident in my swing right now," Call said. "I just try to take what the pitcher's give me and put a good swing on a pitch."
• Turning Point: In the bottom of the seventh inning Zack Collins was able to hit an RBI double off the left field wall that scored Joel Booker from first base, breaking the tie and giving the Barons a 4-3 lead. The run scored gave the Barons a lead, and they wouldn't look back from there.  
• By The Numbers: Brian Clark turned in a good performance on a bullpen day, pitching 3.1 innings with one strikeout, two walks, and no runs. Zach Thompson came on in relief, pitching 2.2 innings, allowed just one hit, with one strikeout and no runs.  Ryan Burr (S, 2) came in in the top of the ninth inning and gave up a run, but rebounded to finish the win and earn the save.
• Quotable:  "The objective is to win and we are playing to hopefully win a championship," Call said. "We have great chemistry and believe in one another so hopefully we can keep this up and bring a championship to Birmingham."
• Facts And Figures: Luis Basabe hit a single in the bottom of the fifth inning, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Call's two home run game is his first multi-homer game of his professional career. Flete added three hits, two runs, and an RBI in the win.
• Up Next: The Barons and Smokies will play game three of the series on Wednesday night at Regions Field with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm. Right-hander Dylan Cease (1-0, 3.74) will make the start for the Barons, while Duncan Robinson (5-2, 3.23) will get the start for the Smokies. Curt Bloom will have the call on 960 WERC News Radio and the iHeart Radio app.