Palma's Grand Slam the Only Offense in 9-4 Defeat

ABERDEEN- The Asheville Tourists made a lot of noise in the top of the first inning on Wednesday night. With two outs and the bases loaded, Miguel Palma fouled off several pitches before launching a moonshot over the left field wall for his second Grand Slam of the season. Asheville was held scoreless the rest of the game and the Aberdeen IronBirds reeled off nine unanswered to deal the Tourists a 9-4 loss.

Asheville’s starting pitcher, Spencer Arrighetti, pitched three scoreless innings before finding trouble in the fourth. Aberdeen plated three runs and had the bases loaded; however, Arrighetti kept the lead intact by retiring the next two hitters.

In the fifth, the IronBirds used a walk, a two-out single, and an error to push the tying run across. The Tourists went to their bullpen in the top of the sixth and that is when the home team broke the game open. A two-out rally that consisted of a hit-by-pitch and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Billy Cook. Aberdeen’s centerfielder then delivered a Grand Slam of his own that put the Tourists behind 8-4. The IronBirds plated their final run of the game in the seventh.

The Tourists were held to only two hits over the final eight innings; a single by Justin Williams in the fifth and a single by Palma in the ninth. Jacob Coats worked 1.1 shutout innings out of Asheville’s bullpen.

Both teams are back in action for Game Four of their seven-game series on Thursday with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05pm ET.

Tourists Game Recaps are presented by Jackson Electrical Contractors, Inc