Braves Even Series With Suns: W, 4-3

Joshua Arteaga delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give the Braves a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish in front of a crowd of 9,487 at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Will Startup pitched the ninth for his team-leading fourth save of the year.

Ryan Basner (1-3, 6.60 ERA) picked up the win in relief. Starter Paul Bush (2-3, 4.01 ERA) did not factor in the decision as he left with the game tied 3-3 in the sixth. He retired nine of the last ten batters he faced. Eric Schmitt pitched a perfect eighth to earn his second Hold of the year..

Suns reliever Alvis Ojeda (2-1, 2.25 ERA) lost his first game of the season, giving up Arteaga’s RBI single in the eighth. A night after hitting three homeruns the Braves had 14 hits and all were singles as they outhit the Suns 14-9. The Braves are now 11-0 when leading after eight innings.

The Braves wrap up their ten game road trip Sunday afternoon against the Jacksonville Suns in the series finale. The Braves send RHP Matt Wright (2-2, 3.20 ERA) to the hill, while Jacksonville counters with RHP Spike Lundberg (4-1, 2.76 ERA) at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville at 2:05. The Braves On Deck Circle powered by Nextel starts off the broadcast at 1:05pm on SuperSport 930.

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 To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.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:
* Five Braves had multi-hit games.
* Barbaro Canizares extended his hitting streak to 5 games…(10-25, .400)
* Yunel Escobar extended his hitting streak to 3 games…(7-16, .438)
* Michael Rosamond extended his hit streak to 2 games… (4-10, .400)
* The Braves improve to 9-19 when their opponent scores first.
* The Braves improve to 13-6 when not allowing a homerun.
* The Braves improve to 7-3 in one-run games
* The Braves are now 3-1 on Saturday nights away from Trustmark Park
* The Braves lead the all-time series at The Baseball Grounds, 8-5.
* This is now the fourth time the Braves have won 2 in a row.
* The Braves are 5-4 on the current 10-game road trip.

by
Bryan Eubank