Barons Shutout Smokies 1-0 on Wednesday Night

The Birmingham Barons used four pitchers to shut out the Tennessee Smokies 1-0 before 2,170 at Regions Field on Wednesday night. The game lasted one hour and 49 minutes, our fastest nine-inning game this season. The Barons have won five straight games, the last three at Rocket City and the last two against Tennessee.

Starting pitcher Juan Carela (1-1, 2.00) went six innings, giving up three hits, no earned runs, and one walk with a strikeout. Jordan Mikel pitched the seventh inning, giving up only a walk. Caleb Freeman pitched the eighth inning with a strikeout. Garrett Schoenle pitched the ninth inning with a strikeout to earn his second save of the season. This was the Barons' 11th shutout in the 2024 season.

A recent free agent signing of Canaan Smith-Njigba made the difference in tonight's game. In the bottom of the first inning, Smith-Njigba hit a solo home run to right field to give the Barons the early 1-0 lead that stood up the rest of the game. Smith-Njigba had another single and a Wilfred Veras single, the only three hits in the game.

Next, the Barons play game 3 in the six-game series against the Smokies. LHP Tyler Schweitzer (3-4, 4.47) will take the mound for the Barons.