Braves Blow Lead Against Barons: L, 5-4

Matt Esquivel launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the first to stake the Braves to a 4-0 lead only to see Birmingham claw their way back scoring single runs in the third, fifth and seventh. Then in the eighth they scored a pair to take the lead and Ehren Wasserman pitched the final two innings for his 8th save of the season.

The Braves were unable to get anything going in the final eight innings unless there were two outs on the board. They also managaed to get just one runner past second base after the second, and six base runners total.

Braves starter, Daniel Curtis (2-4, 4.70) pitched well but the bullpen let it get away from them as Curtis did not factor in the decision. Barons starter, Ray Liotta retired nine in a row after giving up 4 runs in the first. He also recorded 5 one-pitch outs against the overly aggressive Braves batters.

The Braves continue their five game homestand Wednesday night against the Birmingham Barons at Trustmark Park. The Braves send RHP Sean White (2-3, 5.55 ERA) to the hill, while Birmingham counters with RHP Lance Broadway (4-2, 2.47 ERA) at 7:05. The Braves On Deck Circle powered by Nextel starts off the broadcast at 6:05pm on SuperSport 930. Don't forget to bring your radios Tuesday and tune into AM-930 or 104.3FM exclusively at Trustmark Park.

Check out the Braves Minute here. To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.

BRAVES BITES:
* Only five Braves managed hits, two multi-hit games.
* Barbaro Canizares had his hitting streak end at 7 games…(12-25, .480)
* Matt Esquivel became the first Brave to hit a homer in back-to-back games.
* The Braves fall to 8-8 when scoring first, and 7-4 in one-run games.
* The Braves fall to 2-8 in the first game of a series.
* Heading into Wed night, the Braves are still winless on Wednesdays (0-6).

by
Bryan Eubank