Rose, Zavala Homers Lift Barons to 7-3 Win

Powerful home runs led the Birmingham Barons (10-11) to a 7-3 victory over the Biloxi Shuckers (13-8), the Southern League South Division's top team, as Matt Rose  recorded his 40^th and 41^st career homers and Seby Zavala  notched his sixth of the season Thursday at Regions Field.

• Turning Points: Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Eloy Jiménez  reached on a throwing error and advanced to second following a walk from Zavala. Rose hammered a 369-foot blast over left field on the next Birmingham at-bat to clear the bases and give the Barons a 4-3 lead.
• He Said It: "That was huge," Birmingham Barons manager Ryan Newman said of Rose's go-ahead homer. "That was a big point in the game that got the momentum back in our favor."
• Quotable: "If you give teams extra bases and extra outs they usually capitalize on it," Newman said. "It happened to us earlier in the game and they used it to their advantage. Then, they made a throwing error with two outs to keep the inning alive, and Matt took care of the rest. When you're given opportunities like that, you have to jump on it."
• Moments That Mattered: After Rose put the Barons in front with his three-run homer, Zavala blasted a 405-foot, two-run rocket over left field, extending the Birmingham lead to 6-3 in the seventh. Rose followed Zavala's homer with a solo shot on the next at bat, building the cushion to a final 7-3 score line.
• By the Numbers: Dane Dunning  (W, 1-0) was the pitcher of record in his Double-A debut, striking out four and walking two while giving up three earned runs on five hits through six innings of work.
• Newman on Dunning: "To be honest, I thought Dane played an outstanding game. We weren't really playing catch behind him, but he kept his composure and battled."
• Facts and Figures: Jimenez recorded his sixth RBI since joining the Barons on April 19, driving Zack Collins home from second base on a line-drive double to right field in the third. Rose's three-run homer was the first three-run shot since Keon Barnum 's on April 13, and the Barons' fifth go-ahead homer of the season.
• Up Next: The Barons return to Regions Field for the second game of the home series against Biloxi. Right-hander Spencer Adams  (1-1, 6.75 ERA) gets the Game 2 start for the Barons while former Baltimore Orioles southpaw Wade Miley (0-1, 6.35 ERA) will toe the robber for the Shuckers. Curt Bloom will have the call on 960 WERC News Radio and the iHeart Radio app.