With both starting pitchers out of the game by the end of the fourth inning, the Jackson Generals and Birmingham Barons left the lion's share of the game to be determined by their bullpens.
With both starting pitchers out of the game by the end of the fourth inning, the Jackson Generals and Birmingham Barons left the lion's share of the game to be determined by their bullpens.
What followed was a tightly contested five-frame tug-of-war that the Jackson staff took home, 4-3, for their third straight win.
Joel Payamps (2-0, 3.12 ERA) entered in relief of Jackson starter Taylor Widener in the fifth inning, earning the victory despite allowing a run. Yoan López (S, 2) worked for more than a three-out span for the first time in 2018, going 1.2 innings to close the game while holding off a last-gasp rally by the Barons (6-6). Generals pitchers recorded 16 Birmingham strikeouts, matching Jackson's season high to date and taking over the Southern League lead in strikeouts with 122.
In the field and at the plate, Jason Morozowski earned his stripes with an important outfield assist, an RBI and a pair of hits. Kevin Medrano set the table well from the leadoff spot with a three-hit night, and Jamie Westbrook maintained a torrid pace with a 2-for-5 effort and two runs scored. The Generals (9-2) left eleven men on base, but they created 20 opportunities with men in scoring position on the night to help their chances offensively.
TOP PERFORMERS - Generals
RHP Taylor Widener - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 8 K
OF Jason Morozowski - 2-4, RBI, 1 OF assist
3B Kevin Medrano - 3-5, R RBI, 2B
TOP PERFORMERS - Birmingham
RHP Spencer Adams - 3.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K
2B Trey Michalczewski - 2-4, R, 2 2B
RHP Brad Goldberg - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
BOTTOM 4: Galli Cribbs Jr. leads off with a sharp single to left field, and he makes an aggressive decision, turning hard at first base and heading for second. Cribbs slides in just a head of the tag on the hustle double, and the bang-bang ruling by umpire Brandon Butler at second base leads to a few words of disagreement from Birmingham starting pitcher Spencer Adams. Home plate umpire Matt Bates ejects Adams from the game for his actions, creating a sudden need for a warm-and -ready arm in the Birmingham bullpen. The Generals don't scratch out any runs in the immediate aftermath, but they do eventually score against the Adams replacement, Colton Turner, in the next half-inning.
SCORE: JXN 1, BIR 0
TOP 5: With two outs and a runner at third, Birmingham speedster Tito Polo lines a gapper just out of the reach of the diving Jason Morozowski in right-center field, with the ball rolling all the way to the wall. Morozowski quickly hops to his feet and collects the ball, rifling it in to his second baseman Juniel Querecuto as Polo makes the turn at third base. Querecuto's relay to home plate is slightly off-line, but catcher Alberto Rosario snags it and leaps back across the third-base foul-line to swipe-tag Polo just before he reaches the plate. The outfield assist is Morozowski's first at Double-A and it keeps the Generals within a run, tied 1-1 at that moment.
SCORE: BIR 1, JXN 1
NEXT GAME:
11:05 am CT Wednesday (4/18) at The Ballpark at Jackson (Jackson, TN)
RHP Ryan Atkinson (Generals) vs. RHP Jordan Stephens (Birmingham Barons)
THIS GENERALS HOMESTAND:
April 16-25 (vs. Birmingham Barons & Chattanooga Lookouts)
Dial 731-988-5299 for tickets to see Jackson Generals Baseball!
