Braves Lose First Home Series: L, 4-3

The Braves rally came up one run short as they lost their first Southern League Home Series in front of 2,667 at Trustmark Park. With the loss the Braves (29-16) had their lead in the South Division trimmed to 4 games over the Suns and Biscuits. The Braves are now 14-6 at Trustmark Park this season.

Braves starter Kelvin Villa (3-3, 5.36 ERA) made two mistakes as Issmael Salas and Josh Kroeger belted a 3-run and solo homerun respectively to give the Smokies a 4-1 lead. The Braves fought their way back with a run in the 5th and in the 9th but Brandon Jones struck out looking with the tying run at 3rd base to end the game.

Diory Hernandez made his return to Trustmark Park with a 2-for-4 performance while the top two in the order (Loadenthal, and Lillibridge) combined to go 6-for-9 at the plate with a run scored, 2 RBIs and a walk. The other 7 Braves who made plate appearances combined to go 1-for-22 at the plate.

Carl Loadenthal was the Braves Player of the Game as he finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two stolen bases (Leads the League with 16 now).

The Braves will enjoy an off day on Tuesday and then continue their 10-game homestand in Pearl, Mississippi at Trustmark Park as they take on the Montgomery Biscuits, the AA Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, in the first game of their Southern League Series. The Braves On Deck Circle presented by Wendy's will air starting at 6:05pm (CT). The First Pitch will follow at 7:05pm (CT). The Braves are scheduled to send RHP Lance Cormier (0-1, 12.00 ERA) to the hill in second ML Rehab Start, while the Biscuits will counter with LHP Chris Seddon (3-2, 4.50 ERA) who is looking for his fourth victory. Make sure you take your radio to the game and tune to the exclusive Trustmark Park frequency - 104.3-FM.

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 To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.

GAME TIME: 2:44 --- ATTENDANCE: 2,667

BRAVES BITES:
* The Braves fall to 14-6 at home.
* The Braves fall to 10-3 in one-run games.
* The Braves fall to 5-4 in the last game of a series.
* The Braves fall to 6-7 when their opponent scores first.
* The Braves registered 6 more strikeouts on the mound.(Performance Sports Academy K's for Kids Total: $319 to the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital)

ACTIVE HIT STREAKS (2 games or more):
* Ray Serrano - 2 games (2-7, .286)
* Diory Hernandez - 3 games (5-11, .455)
* Brent Lillibridge - 2 games (5-10, .500)

HIT STREAKS ENDED:
* NONE

HITLESS STREAKS ENDED:
* Carl Loadenthal (0-6) - 3rd inning single
* Clint Sammons - (0-13) - 9th inning double

ACTIVE HITLESS STREAKS:
* Van Pope (0-6)
* Mark Jurich (0-4)
* Matt Esquivel (0-8)
* Brandon Jones (0-7)
* Fernando Lunar (0-11) - (DL)

TRANSACTIONS:
* INF J.C. Holt promoted to AAA Richmond
* RHP Zach Schreiber promoted to AAA Richmond
* INF Diory Hernandez promoted from A Myrtle Beach

(Players listed in Italics did not play in this game)

by
Bryan Eubank