Saltalamacchia Slams BayBears: W, 11-7

Jarrod Saltalamacchia had his best outing of the season belting two homers and driving in a season high 6 RBIs as the Braves routed the BayBears 11-7 in front of an announced crowd of 3,354 at Hank Aaron Stadium. Salty finished the night 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored, 2HRs and 6 RBIs. He is now 10-30 (.333) since coming off the disabled list with 5 HRs and 10 RBIs along with 11 walks. This marked the first ever series win in Mobile for the Braves.

Matt Harrison (1-2, 4.46 ERA) did not factor in the decision as he was chased by Stephen Smitherman's game-tying 3-run Homer in the 6th. Ryan Basner (4-4, 4.50 ERA) tossed 3.0 innings of relief for his fourth win. Glenn Tucker pitched the ninth and struggled to finish off the game.

The only player not to collect a hit Thursday night were the three pitchers and Luis Hernandez as even the sub, (Josh Burrus in the 6th) went 1-for-2 at the plate. The top five in the order all finished with at least two hits and all 11 RBIs.

The Braves wrap up a five game set in Mobile, Alabama at Hank Aaron Stadium as they take on the Mobile BayBears, the AA Affiliate of the San Diego Padres, in the series finale. First Pitch is set for 7:05 PM (CT). The Braves are scheduled to send RHP Sean White (4-3, 4.17 ERA) to the hill while the BayBears are scheduled to counter with RHP Dirk Hayhurst (2-2, 4.05 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 Hank Aaron Stadium.

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 To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.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 are 3-0 when scoring in 5 innings.
* The Braves improve to 30-19 when scoring first.
* The Braves improve to 28-14 in errorless games.
* The Braves improve to 23-13 when hitting a homerun.
* The Braves improve to 31-0 when leading after eight innings.
* The Braves improve to 29-16 when scoring four or more runs.
* The Braves improve to 11-16 in games decidec by more than 3 runs.

HIT STREAKS (3 games or more):
* Josh Burrus - 3 games… (3-9,.333)

TRANSACTIONS:
*None Today.

by
Bryan Eubank