Braves Lose 3rd Straight to D-Jaxx: L, 7-1

The MS Braves continued their struggles with runners in scoring position Friday night as they lost 7-1 to the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx in front of a crowd of 2,760 at Pringles Park. The Braves once again struggled with runners in scoring position finishing the series with 50 baserunners stranded and also going 11-57 with runners in scoring position. The Braves also failed to capitalize on 6 walks issued by D-Jaxx starter Sean Gallagher (2-0, 2.45 ERA) only scoring one of them in the fourth inning.

It started ominously for the Braves as they collected a pair of two-out walks, but failed to score in the first. In five of the nine innings the Braves recorded two outs before collecting anything offensivley. The only positive inning was the fourth where Yunel Escobar walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on a one-out walk of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Luis Hernandez, who finished 3 for 4, drove him in to plate the Braves only run. The Braves also hit into two more double plays running their season total to 73 on the season.

The Diamond-Jaxx got another good offensive outing by Eric Patterson and Brian Doparik as they combined to go 5 for 7 with 3 RBIs.

The Braves will start up a five game homestand at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi as they take on the Birmingham Barons, the AA Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. First Pitch is set for 7:05 PM (CT). It is not known who the Braves will send to the hill, while the Barons counter with LHP Ryan Rodriguez (4-6, 4.61 ERA). The Braves On Deck Circle powered by Nextel starts off the broadcast at 6:05 PM (CT) on SuperSport 930. Don't forget if you're headed to the game then take your radio and tune to 104.3-FM 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 To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.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:
* The Braves fall to 9-5 in the last game of a series.
* The Braves fall to 11-29 when allowing a homerun.
* The Braves fall to 2-3 in the last game of a roadtrip.
* The Braves fall to 4-23 when scoring two or fewer runs.
* The Braves fall to 11-30 when their opponent scores first.
* The Braves have been outscored 51-27 in the third inning.
* Mike Rozema had his three game hit streak end… (5-9, .556)
* Luis Hernandez ended an 0-10 skid with his 3-4 performance.
* The 3-hit game by Hernandez was his third of the season.

by
Bryan Eubank