Braves Slam Biscuits in Opener: W, 9-1

Josh Burrus belted his 2nd career Grand Slam as a MS Brave to help punctuate a five-run 4th inning s the Braves routed the Biscuits 9-1 in their Southern League series opener in front of 2,675 fans at Riverwalk Stadium.

Matt Harrsion (4-0, 2.14 ERA) tossed 8 scoreless innings before being chased by back-to-back hits to start the 9th. He gave up one-run and scattered 7 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to stay perfect on the year. The run he allowed in the 9th ended a 14 2/3 scoreless inning streak. The Braves (19-7) pushed their lead to 5 games in the South Division over the Suns and Barons and 7 games over the Biscuits and BayBears. The Braves ERA dropped to 2.57 and they remain in first in the Southern League ahead of Birmingham - 2.75 ERA.

The Biscuits (12-14) finally solved Matt Harrison in the 9th inning as Reid Brignac led off with a double and Evan Longoria followed with an RBI single to chase Harrison from the game. Charlie Morton induced a 6-4-3 double play on the first pitch before getting Gabriel Martinez to ground out to Hernandez to end the game on just 4 pitches. Biscuits starter Chris Seddon (2-2, 5.29 ERA) struggled to find the strike zone as he allowed 3 walks and gave up 6 runs in his four innings of work. The Biscuits ran through 4 relievers after that with Evan Meek the only Biscuit to prevent the Braves from picking up a hit.

Matt Harrison was the Braves Player of the Game as he finished the game with 8 innings pitched (Longest outing by a starter this season)and his 4th victory. Other stats - (7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 BK). Every Brave but Van Pope registered a base hit Wednesday night although Pope did pick up two walks. The 5 RBIs by Burrus is a season high for the Braves this year.

Matt Esquivel extended his RBI streak to 4 straight games and he is the current League Leader in Homeruns (T-1st-7 HR), RBIs (22)and Runs Scored (22). The Braves lead the league in ERA (2.57), Shutouts (3), HRs Allowed (10), Opponents Batting Average (.209), Runs Scored (127), Stolen Bases (39).

The Braves will continue a ten-day road trip with a five game set in Montgomery, Alabama at Riverwalk Stadium as they take on the Montgomery Biscuits, the AA Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, in the Second Game of their Southern League Series. The Braves On Deck Circle presented by Wendy's will start things off at 10:05am (CT), while the First Pitch will follow at 10:35am (CT). The Braves are scheduled to send LHP Jo-Jo Reyes (1-1, 3.04 ERA) to the hill still in search of his second win, while the Biscuits will counter with RHP Derek Feldkamp (0-3, 4.21 ERA) who is still looking for his first victory. Make sure you take your radio to the game and tune to the exclusive Hank Aaron Stadium 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: 2:25 --- ATTENDANCE: 2,675

BRAVES BITES:
* The Braves improve to 10-6 on the road.
* The Braves improve to 14-6 when scoring first.
* The Braves improve to 12-2 when hitting a homerun.
* The Braves improve to 13-1 when scoring 4 or more runs.
* The Braves improve to 16-0 when leading after eight innings.
* The Braves registered 4 more strikeouts on the mound.(Performance Sports Academy K's for Kids Total: $203 to the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital)

ACTIVE HIT STREAKS (2 games or more):
* Greg Creek - 3 games - (7-12, .583)
* Josh Burrus - 2 games - (2-7, .286)
* Matt Esquivel - 5 games - (9-17, .529)
* Carl Loadenthal - 7 games - (10-27, .370)
* Diory Hernandez - 8 games - (13-30, .433)

HIT STREAKS ENDED:
* NONE

HITLESS STREAKS ENDED
* Brent Lillibridge (0-8) - Double in the 9th

ACTIVE HITLESS STREAKS (More than 0-4)
* Fernando Lunar (0-11) - Did Not Play

TRANSACTIONS:
* Jarrod Saltalamacchia was promoted to ATLANTA.
* Ray Serrano was activated from the Disabled List.

by
Bryan Eubank