Mack Homers Again as Wahoos Beat Barons in Fifth Straight Win
Birmingham, Ala. - Joe Mack stayed hot, hitting his seventh homer in his past 12 days, and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos opened an important road series against the Birmingham Barons with a 3-1 win on Tuesday night. Mack hit a two-run blast in the first inning against Jairo Iriarte (L,
Birmingham, Ala. - Joe Mack stayed hot, hitting his seventh homer in his past 12 days, and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos opened an important road series against the Birmingham Barons with a 3-1 win on Tuesday night.
Mack hit a two-run blast in the first inning against Jairo Iriarte (L, 2-4), setting the tone for a night in which the Blue Wahoos kept the high-powered Birmingham offense at bay. Luis Palacios (W, 3-4) led a strong Pensacola pitching effort with 6.0 innings, allowing just an unearned run.
With a late walk-off win for the Chattanooga Lookouts over the Montgomery Biscuits, the Blue Wahoos are 0.5 games ahead of the Biscuits in the first half South Division race with 11 games to play.
Mack, who homered in four straight games last Wednesday through Saturday, handed the Blue Wahoos a lead they would carry the rest of the night with his ninth long ball of the season. After two Pensacola errors gave the Barons a run in the sixth, the Blue Wahoos got insurance in the seventh with a bases-loaded walk to take a 3-1 lead.
Patrick Murphy contributed 2.0 hitless innings of relief before Raffi Vizcaíno (S, 5) worked a perfect ninth for the save.
The five-game winning streak matches Pensacola's longest of the season, and puts them at 32-25 to match their season-high at seven games above .500.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Barons with a matinee on Wednesday. First pitch from Regions Field is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., with a live broadcast beginning at 10:55 on BlueWahoos.com/radio and the MiLB app. Fans can watch Birmingham's video broadcast through Bally Live or with a subscription to MLB.tv.