BIRMINGHAM - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, weathered a middle-innings charge from the Birmingham Barons and won, 4-3 in ten innings, on Monday at Regions Field.
BIRMINGHAM - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, weathered a middle-innings charge from the Birmingham Barons and won, 4-3 in ten innings, on Monday at Regions Field.
The victory for the Generals (72-61) gives them a series victory over the Barons (63-69), making Jackson winners in each of their last four series.
Generals starter Jon Duplantier traveled unharmed through the first four innings despite stranding runners in both the first and second frames. After Duplantier retired seven batters in a row to reach the fifth inning, a single by Mitch Roman and a two-run homer by Danny Mendick ruined Duplantier's shutout bid, tying the game at 2-2. Duplantier completed the inning while stranding two men on base, ending his evening with eight strikeouts against three hits and four walks allowed. Ryan Atkinson's inning of relief was not his best work, as he allowed a two-out RBI single to Mendick that gave Birmingham the lead.
In a late rescue effort, Miguel Aguilar, Michael Blazek, and Kevin Ginkel (5-0, 1.77 ERA) figured out the Barons' batting order through the ensuing four innings of relief, allowing fewer combined runners on base (3) than their aggregate strikeout total (6). Ginkel in particular impressed, tossing a pair of hit-free innings with four strikeouts. He's now worked 13.0 consecutive scoreless innings in a streak that dates back to August 3, the second streak of that length recorded by Ginkel this year.
Ben DeLuzio, the reigning Southern League Player of the Week, drove in the Generals' first run in the third inning with a single to center field. The 1-0 lead expanded to 2-0 in the fourth inning, when a two-out run-scoring hit by Matt Jones doubled the Jackson advantage. Birmingham fought back with three runs across the fifth and sixth innings, but the departure of left-hander Bernardo Flores from the mound after six innings gave the Generals some energy. Facing Zach Thompson, the Generals plated an unearned run with two outs when Tyler Ladendorf came home on an infield error to make the score 3-3 in the seventh.
Jackson squandered three walks in the eighth inning and got nothing going in the ninth before entering extra innings for the 13th time this year. With Dominic Miroglio at second base, Kevin Medrano grounded out to first base to move the go-ahead run to third base in the top of the tenth. Facing Birmingham's Jake Johansen (1-4, 4.40 ERA), Generals third baseman Marty Herum fouled off a pair of full-count pitches before sending a single to right field to bring home the go-ahead run. The game-winning hit was Herum's fifth of the season and third in August alone, supporting a .349 batting average this month for the sixth-year pro.
NEXT GENERALS GAME:
7:05 pm CT Tuesday (8/28) vs. Birmingham Barons
Regions Field - Birmingham, Ala.
RHP Justin Donatella (6-8, 3.84 ERA) vs. LHP Kodi Medeiros (0-2, 5.19 ERA)
Broadcast Link: Birmingham Barons Radio
UP AND COMING AT THE BALLPARK:
August 30-September 3 vs. Chattanooga Lookouts (AA, Minnesota Twins)
…featuring SEC Night (September 1)!
PLAYOFFS!
Games 1 and 2 of the North Division Series will be held at The Ballpark at Jackson on September 5 and 6.
For tickets and more information about the Generals, dial 731.988.5299
or log on to our ticket page at JacksonGeneralsBaseball.com!
The Jackson Generals, a West Tennessee franchise since 1998, are the Double-A minor league affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2017, The Ballpark at Jackson was named the Professional Sports Field of the Year by the Tennessee Turfgrass Association.
