Jimenez Powers Barons Past Biloxi, 4-2

Stephens pitches five strong innings to earn his second win

Eloy Jimenez drove in all four of Birmingham's runs on Saturday. (Jimmy Mitchell)

By Charles Herron

April 28, 2018

After jumping out to an early lead, the Birmingham Barons (11-12) were able to get a 4-2 win behind some timely hitting and resilient pitching to hold off the Biloxi Shuckers (14-9) on Saturday night in front of 7,301 at Regions Field.  Turning Point: In the bottom of the third inning

Turning Point: In the bottom of the third inning with runners on the corners and no outs, top White Sox prospect Eloy Jiménez drove a 3-1 pitch 418 feet over the center field wall for his third home run of the season to put the Barons up 4-0.
He Said It: "The hype around him is completely true. I've never played with anyone like him," Barons pitcher Jordan Stephens said. "He is completely locked in every day."
Facts And Figures: Jimenez finished 1-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Barons to victory. His first inning RBI groundout extended his streak of games with an RBI to five. Over his last seven games, Jimenez has recorded 10 RBI to rank second on the Barons, behind only Seby Zavala .
Moments That Mattered: In the top of the seventh inning with two men on base and two outs, Barons left fielder Jameson Fisher made a tremendous running catch, robbing Lucas Erceg of a hit, and ending the inning to get Burr out of a jam.
By The Numbers: Barons starter Stephens (W, 2-3) earned his second straight win by giving up just two unearned runs on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 5.0 innings. Ryan Burr and Ian Hamilton (S, 4) combined to pitch the final four innings without giving up a run to close out the win.
Quotable: "It's always important to establish the fastball as soon as you can, especially in gaining more consistency with your play and in your starts," Stephens said.
Up Next: The Barons and the Shuckers will play game four of the series on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Regions Field. Left-hander Jordan Guerrero (1-1, 7.20 ERA) gets the nod for the Barons, while right-hander Zack Brown (0-0, 5.14 ERA) will get the start for the Shuckers. Curt Bloom will have the call on 960 WERC News Radio and the iHeart Radio app.