Tyler Brown, Relievers Throw a Gem in 7-1 Asheville Win

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists’ pitching staff came ready to play on Thursday night. Tyler Brown, R.J. Freure, and Michael Horrell combined to throw nine innings against the Winston-Salem Dash. The trio allowed a grand total of one run in what was arguably Asheville’s best home pitching performance of the season. The offense did plenty of work as well and the Tourists came away with a convincing 7-1 victory.

Brown started the game and matched his season-high with five innings pitched. The right-hander worked out of a little trouble in both the second and third innings to keep the Dash off the scoreboard. With two outs in the fifth, Brown had two baserunners to deal with. Asheville’s manager, Nate Shaver, came out of the dugout and visited with Tyler on the mound. Shaver elected to stick with his starting pitcher and Brown rewarded him by inducing an inning-ending groundout.

The Tourists offense struck early against the Dash. Scott Schreiber plated the game’s first run with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. Asheville then reeled off four straight hits to begin the second inning, including an RBI double by Deury Carrasco and a two-run single from Alex McKenna.

The score remained 4-0 until the bottom of the seventh. Wilyer Abreu drove in Alex Holderbach with a sacrifice fly to centerfield. Cody Orr then ripped a two-out RBI double into the right field corner to plate Abreu. Carrasco followed with another RBI double that gave the Tourists a 7-0 lead.

Freure relieved Brown in the sixth pitched a pair of scoreless innings before running into some trouble in the eighth. Freure hung tough and limited the damage to only one run. Horrell came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and retired all three of the Winston-Salem hitters in order.

Carrasco finished 3-for-4 with three two-baggers. Orr also was 3-for-4 and hit a pair of doubles. McKenna reached base three times with two hits and a walk and Abreu did a little bit of everything at the plate.

The Tourists and the Dash will take the field on Friday night with the series now in Asheville’s favor two games to one. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm.