Thanks to a perfect 5-for-5 batting performance from catcher Carlos Perez and two RBI doubles from White Sox No. 6 prospect Micker Adolfo, the Birmingham Barons coasted to an 11-5 victory over the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Wednesday night.
Perez is the first Barons player to record five hits in a game since White Sox All-Star Tim Anderson finished 5-for-6 at the plate versus the Montgomery Biscuits in May 2015.
Birmingham’s offense was dominant in the win, as eight of nine starters would record at least one hit. The Barons accumulated 15 hits through eight innings of play, which is the team’s third highest mark of the season.
Despite the Barons’ impressive scoring numbers, they wouldn’t find their rhythm on offense until the third inning.
To kick off the bottom of the third, Carlos Perez singled on a line drive to left field for his second hit of the game. In the next at-bat, Micker Adolfo followed by doubling on a live drive to right field, which advanced Perez to third base.
With both Perez and Adolfo in scoring position, Craig Dedelow stepped to the plate and hit a double of his own to left field, scoring both baserunners to give the Barons an early 3-1 lead. Birmingham would extend this lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to an RBI single from Perez.
The Barons led 4-1 after five innings, but in the top of the sixth, Trash Pandas’ second baseman Luis Aviles Jr. would drive in a grand slam to give Rocket City a 5-4 lead.
While the Trash Pandas appeared to have momentum, Birmingham would answer back in the bottom of the inning, as Mitch Roman would score on a sacrifice fly from Joe DeCarlo to tie the score at 5-5.
From this point forward, the Barons would dominate.
Carlos Perez kicked off the bottom of the seventh by singling on a ground ball to center field. Craig Dedelow and Xavier Fernandez would both draw walks in the next two at-bats, loading the bases for third baseman Laz Rivera.
Rivera would single on a ground ball to right field, scoring both Perez and Dedelow to give the Barons a 7-5 lead. Mitch Roman would hit a single of his own in the next-at bat to score Xavier Fernandez, extending the Barons’ lead back to three runs.
Birmingham’s hitting spree continued in the bottom of the eighth, as Romy Gonzalez and Carlos Perez would kick off the inning with two singles. Micker Adolfo made sure to capitalize with his teammates on base, and clobbered a double to right field, scoring both Gonzalez and Perez to push the Barons’ lead to 10-5. Adolfo would score on an RBI single from Laz Rivera to put the cherry on top for Birmingham, who now led 11-5 after eight innings.
The Trash Pandas wouldn’t score again, as the Barons’ offense showed up big to tie this six-game series at 1-1. Reliever J.B. Olson picked up his first win of the season on the mound, giving up only two hits and no runs in 2.1 innings of pitching.
Starter Kade McClure pitched the first four innings and struck out four batters, and Jake Elliott pitched 1.2 innings, allowing four hits and a grand slam.
While Birmingham’s pitching staff could have performed better tonight, the offense certainly picked up the slack. Four Barons (Perez, Adolfo, Gonzalez, Rivera) recorded two hits or more, with Perez’s perfect batting performance leading the charge.
The Barons improve to 32-29 with the victory, and look to take a 2-1 lead in this series versus the Trash Pandas on Thursday night at 7:05 pm CT.
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