Braves Beat Barons in Extras: W, 6-3 (10)

The Braves knocked off the Birmingham Barons for the 3rd time in extra innings this season as they began their 5-game series with a 6-3 win Thursday night in front of 5,130 fans at Regions Park. With the win the Braves (39-22) still maintained their lead in the South Division at 5 games over the Montgomery Biscuits. The Braves magic number to clinch the first half is at 5 with 9 games remaining. The Barons (27-34) are out of the first half race as they trail the Braves by 12.0 games.

Francisely Bueno (2-2, 3.00 ERA) had good outing as he lasted 7 innings for the first time this season allowing three runs while scattering 5 hits. Charlie Morton (4-3, 3.34 ERA) tossed two scoreless innings of relief to secure the win and Joey Devine struck out the side in the 9th to register his league-leading 15th save of the season.

The Braves offense had no problem getting on the board as they scored 4 in the first inning while seven of the Braves batters had at least two hits. The Braves raised their team batting three more points average to .271 on the season. The D-Jaxx also pounded the baseball picking up 9 unanswered runs after falling behind 4-1 in the first inning. Both teams finished with 16 hits.

J.C. Holt was the Braves Players of the Game as finished 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI. He raised his batting average to .402 on the season and picked up his 8th stolen base.

The Braves will continue a 5-game series in Hoover, Alabama at Regions Park as they take on the Birmingham Barons, the AA Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, in the second 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 LHP Matt Harrison (4-1, 3.43 ERA) to the hill in search of his 5th win, while the Barons will counter with RHP Adam Russell (5-4, 4.04 ERA) who is looking for his sixth victory. Make sure you take your radio to the game and tune to the exclusive Regions Park frequency - 93.1-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 To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.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: 2:59

ATTENDANCE: 5,130
(Home Total - 30 Games - 104,687 --- 3,490 Avg.)
(Road Total - 31 Games - 103,572 --- 3,341 Avg.)
(Season Total 208,259 - 61 Games --- 3,414 Avg.)

BRAVES BITES:
* The Braves improve to 18-13 on the road.
* The Braves improve to 8-5 in 3-run games.
* The Braves improve to 31-12 when scoring first.
* The Braves imrpove to 21-9 when hitting a homerun.
* The Braves improve to 10-3 in the first game of a series.
* The Braves improve to 4-2 in the first game of a road trip.
* The Braves improve to 28-10 when scoring 4 or more runs.
* The Braves improve to 31-10 when not allowing a homerun.
* The Braves registered 8 more strikeouts on the mound.(Performance Sports Academy K's for Kids Total: $460 to the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital)

ACTIVE HIT STREAKS (2 games or more):
* Carl Loadenthal - 13 games (23-52, .442)
* Mark Jurich - 10 games (16-39, .444)
* Clint Sammons - 8 games (11-34, .324)
* Ray Serrano - 8 games (10-24, .417)
* Brandon Jones -5 games (11-23, .478)
* Diory Hernandez - 5 games (9-20, .450)
* Matt Esquivel - 2 games (4-10, .400)

HIT STREAKS ENDED:
* JC Holt - 3 games (8-13, .615)

HITLESS STREAKS ENDED:
* NONE

ACTIVE HITLESS STREAKS:
* Greg Creek (0-7)
* Mike Rozema (0-7)

TRANSACTIONS:
* NONE

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

by
Bryan Eubank