Guerrero's Grand Slam Helps Tourists Defeat IronBirds

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists defeated the Aberdeen IronBirds 8-3 on Wednesday night behind an early Grand Slam from Luis Guerrero and an excellent starting pitching performance from Cesar Gomez. The victory evened up the current series at one game apiece.

The Tourists loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the second inning. Deury Carrasco earned a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run and Guerrero followed with a 417-foot blast over the centerfield wall to give Asheville a 5-0 advantage.

That was more than enough cushion for Gomez. The right-hander induced weak contact throughout his outing and held the IronBirds scoreless over the first four frames. JC Correa belted a solo Home Run for Asheville in the bottom of the fourth; his seventh of the season.

Aberdeen hit a solo Home Run of their own in the top of the fifth; however, Asheville countered with a two-run shot by Miguel Palma. The backstop has homered in each of his first three games with the Tourists.

Heitor Tokar followed Gomez and pitched very well out of the bullpen. Tokar surrendered a pair of solo Home Runs but he never allowed the visitors to mount a rally. The right-handed reliever struck out six.

Jacob Coats closed the door in the bottom of the ninth by recording a game-ending double-play groundball. Palma, Correa, and Michael Sandle all finished the game with multiple hits while Zach Daniels increased his hitting streak to ten straight games with his second inning single.

Tourists Game Recaps are presented by Jackson Electrical Contractors, Inc