Trent Grisham belted a go-ahead, three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to fuel the Biloxi Shuckers (57-40, 16-11) 8-2 victory over the Tennessee Smokies (50-48, 14-14) on Friday night at MGM Park. The Shuckers are now winners of five consecutive games.The Smokies and Shuckers played to
Trent Grisham belted a go-ahead, three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to fuel the Biloxi Shuckers (57-40, 16-11) 8-2 victory over the Tennessee Smokies (50-48, 14-14) on Friday night at MGM Park. The Shuckers are now winners of five consecutive games.
The Smokies and Shuckers played to a pitcher's duel early on. RHP Thomas Jankins allowed a single run over five innings. After a leadoff double by Trent Giambrone in the top of the fourth, Yasiel Balaguert lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield to put Tennessee up 1-0. RHP Cody Ponce (W, 6-4) followed Jankins and tossed three solid innings of his own. His only blemish was allowing a solo home run to Eddy Martinez in the top of the seventh, his seventh of the season, to make it a 2-0 game.
The Shuckers managed just six baserunners over six innings against starter RHP Duncan Robinson. The best chance for a run against him came in the sixth when Biloxi complied three singles down by just a run. The third knock off the bat of Lucas Erceg went to right field. As Corey Ray tried to score, Martinez threw out his second runner of the game, keeping it 1-0 at the time.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Shuckers broke through against reliever LHP Wyatt Short (BS, 2 & L, 2-2). Tyler Heineman started with a bunt single which was followed by a knock from Clint Coulter. Two batters later, Grisham stepped up and boomed his third home run of the year out to left field, handing the Shuckers a 3-2 advantage. His opposite field shot was the third of the season with all three leaving the yard in that direction.
Biloxi piled on the insurance in the bottom of the eighth. With one out and one on, Coulter muscled a pitch over the left field wall to extend the lead to three. Troy Stokes Jr. then added a pinch-hit sac fly. Ray used his eighth inning opportunity at the plate to get in on the fun. The Biloxi centerfielder roped a pitch back up the middle, landing just in front of Wynton Bernard before it skidded past him, only to roll all the way to the wall. Ray turned on the afterburners and sprinted all the way around the bases to earn his second inside-the-park home run of the season and his 18th overall. The inside-the-parker was the second of the series for Biloxi and fifth for the team on the year, while Ray pulls into a tie with teammate Jake Gatewood for the Southern League lead in long balls.
RHP Daniel Reynolds took care of the ninth inning with ease to seal the 8-2 win.
Having already won the series, the Shuckers look for their sixth straight win on Saturday night. RHP Marcos Diplan (0-1, 3.72) dons the mound for Biloxi against the Smokies RHP Matt Swarmer (1-2, 3.90) with first pitch at 6:35 PM CT. The first 1,500 fans through the gates will receive a Shuckers Misting Fan courtesy of Beau Rivage Resort & Casino.
The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Shuckers play at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. For more information please visit biloxishuckers.com and follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.com. Playoff tickets and single game tickets for the Biloxi Shuckers 2018 season are on sale now and can be purchased at the MGM Park box office or over the phone through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Season tickets, flex plans and group outings are also available and can be reserved by calling 228-233-3465 or visiting www.biloxishuckers.com.
