BayBears take fifteen inning marathon
BayBears take fifteen inning marathon
By J.P. SHADRICK
MOBILE, AL - Bryan Byrne hit a first-pitch homerun in the bottom of the fifteenth inning, breaking a 3-3 deadlock and leading the Mobile BayBears (37-53, 8-12) to a 4-3 victory over the Jacksonville Suns (43-47, 10-10) in front of 2,361 Monday afternoon at Hank Aaron Stadium.
The series ended split two games a piece. Jacksonville leads the season series eight games to six.
The fifteen inning loss was the second in the last three series, as Jacksonville lost a 2-1 final on June 29 against Chattanooga. As was the case then, the Suns again left 20 runners on base in the loss against Mobile. Ten of the twenty left on base were left from the tenth inning through the
fifteenth.
Clayton Kershaw made his first start since being optioned to Jacksonville from Los Angeles, giving up three runs, two earned, over six innings. The southpaw walked two with four strikeouts and one wild pitch.
Mobile opened the scoring against Kershaw in the second inning, as a Brandon Burgess infield single scored Javier Brito for a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, with two out and the bases loaded, Cyle Hankerd scored on a Kershaw wild pitch to increase the lead to 2-0. On the same play, catcher Lucas May threw wild over the second base bag in an attempt to throw out Burgess, allowing Cesar Nicolas to score for a 3-0 lead.
Jacksonville began whittling away at the deficit in the fifth inning when Shane Justis drove home Adam Godwin on a fielder's choice for a 3-1 score. Ivan DeJesus, Jr. singled home Matt Berezay in the seventh inning to make it 3-2 while knocking Mobile starter Hector Ambriz out of the game.
Ambriz allowed two runs on five hits over six and two-thirds innings.
The Suns tied the game with an unearned run against reliever Vince Bongiovanni in the eighth inning. With two out, Lucas May reached on a throwing error from shortstop Guillermo Reyes. An Adolfo Gonzalez single and Mark Bellhorn walk loaded the bases before a walk of Juan Gonzalez forced home the tying run at 3-3.
The score remained deadlocked as both sides went through depleted bullpens. Suns infielder Adolfo Gonzalez made his fifth appearance of the season, pitching a perfect fourteenth inning, before giving up the Byrne homerun to end the game 4-3 in the fifteenth inning.
Mobile catcher Orlando Mercado (1-0) picked up the win after pitching a scoreless top of the fifteenth inning while Adolfo Gonzalez (0-2) fell in the loss for the Suns.
Suns RH Jesus Rodriguez will face Mississippi Braves RH James Parr Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. from the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville in game one of the series. Fans can enjoy Fifty-Cent Family Feast, and the first 1,000 will receive a Hank Aaron photoball. Tickets are available by calling the Suns box office a (904) 358-2846 or by visiting jaxsuns.com.
