Elko and Veras Combine for Dominant 10-4 Win Over Rocket City
The Birmingham Barons emerges victorious over Rocket City Trash Pandas in Game 1 by a score of 10-4. The Barons in the victory were carried by a combination of Tim Elko and Wilfred Veras that totaled six of the 10 runs batted in. Birmingham also had some aid from their
The Birmingham Barons emerges victorious over Rocket City Trash Pandas in Game 1 by a score of 10-4. The Barons in the victory were carried by a combination of Tim Elko and Wilfred Veras that totaled six of the 10 runs batted in. Birmingham also had some aid from their pitchers on the mound, however, tonight was all about the two performances at the plate.
The team of Elko and Veras combined for five hits, two runs, six RBI, three doubles and a home run. Elko finished the night 3-5 with a run, three RBI, a double and his third home run as a Baron. Veras finished the night 2-5 with a run, three RBI and two doubles to bring his total to 10 with the Barons.
The game started out with the two foes dealing two three-up three-down innings. However, the Barons and Elko struck first in the top of the second inning.
In the second inning with two-outs and no one on, Elko smacked his third home run as a Baron over the right field wall. The 24-year-olds homer had an exit velocity of 100 MPH and a distance of 379 feet. After Elko broke the scoreless tie, the two teams got back to their respective dominance on the mound.
RHP Cristian Mena did not give up his first hit until the bottom of the third on a double by Mac McCroskey. Mena continued such dominance into the fifth, where he let up his first run.
Before the fifth, the Barons secured one more run from Edgar Quero as he slapped a ball into left field to score Colson Montgomery. Quero’s single extended his on-base streak to 17 games with the Barons. The 20-year-old finished the night 1-3 with a run and an RBI.
Headed back to the fifth, the Trash Pandas scored their first run of the night off a McCroskey ground-rule double to right-center field that scored Bryce Teodosio. Mena escaped the inning with no further damage done by the opposition.
In the top of the sixth inning, Birmingham responded with a two-run frame. The inning was kicked off by Jose Rodriguez as he smacked his lone double of the night. After a Montgomery fly out, Bryan Ramos singled on a line drive to center field to score Rodriguez. Veras a batter later pumped a deep double into center field to score Ramos from first.
Rocket City responded quickly in the bottom of the inning but could only muster one run. The Trash Pandas Kryen Paris knocked his 14th home run of the season over the center field wall to cut the deficit to two runs. That is as close as the home team would get to the Barons all night.
The end of the sixth concluded Mena’s night on the bump. The right-hander finished the night with 6.0 innings pitched with five hits, two runs, one earned run, one walk, one home run and six strikeouts. Mena currently leads all of the Southern league in strikeouts at the age of 20-years-old.
Both teams got shutout in the seventh inning, however, Elko broke the drought in the eighth with his lone RBI double of the night. The University of Mississippi alumni smacked his second double as a Baron into center field to score Ramos and bring Birmingham up by three runs.
In the bottom halves of the seventh and eighth, the Trash Pandas were not just held out of the scoreboard but out of the hit column as well. Barons RHP Chase Plymell and LHP Haylen Green shut the opposition out as they split the innings respectively. Both finished the night with no hits, no runs, one walk and two strikeouts.
In the top of the ninth, the Barons all-but sealed the game scoring five runs on four hits. The scoring in the frame got kicked off by Veras’ second double of the night that scored Terrell Tatum and Rodriguez. The next run was scored on a wild pitch by pitcher Erik Martinez that allowed Montgomery advance to home plate. The final two runs were scored on singles by Elko and Luis Mieses, respectively. The two aforementioned singles scored Veras and Quero, respectively.
In the bottom of the ninth, LHP Jonah Scolaro closed out of the game with his sole inning of the night. Scolaro in the inning allowed two hits, two earned runs, one walk and one home run to go with his one strikeout.
Despite the Barons allowing two runs in the ninth, Birmingham walked away with a dominant victory over Rocket City in Game 1. Wednesday’s Game 2 has the same first pitch time of 6:35 CT and will feature Chicago White Sox No. 5 prospect, RHP Nick Nastrini, on the bump for his fourth start for Birmingham.