Braves Outshine Suns in Series Opener: W, 7-5

For the first time as a Mississippi Brave, Brandon Jones hit a homerun in consecutive ballgames which helped the Braves knock off the Jacksonville Suns in the series opener front of a an announced crowd of 3,419 fans at Trustmark Park. The Braves (11-15) won their second game in a row for just the third time this half and improved to 53-43 overall. The Suns (18-8) fell out of a tie for 1st place in the South Division with Montgomery while falling to 59-37 overall on the season. The Braves finished 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position (5-for-16 in the series) in the game while the Biscuits finished 3-for-10 in that same category (3-for-10 in the series).

Moises Hernandez (1-1, 8.14 ERA) made it through six innings for the first time in his fourth Double-A start. He retired 10 in a row at one point but struggled and failed to make it out of the seventh inning. Francisely Bueno came in and on 4 pitches induced an inning-ending double play as the Braves held on to a one-run lead. Charlie Morton tossed 1 and 1/3 innings of relief while Sung Ki Jung picked up his first AA save of the season in just his second appearance.

Joey Norrito (6-1, 2.58 ERA) was dealt his first loss of the season as the Braves knocked him around and halted his 4-game win streak. All three relievers that followed (Alexander, Akin and Gonzalez) allowed a run in their outings.

Brandon Jones was the Braves player of the game as he launched his 15th homerun of the season while knocking in his league-leading 74th RBI of the season. It marked the first time that Brandon Jones has hit a homerun in consecutive games as a MS Brave. Jones now has 20 RBIs in the last 11 games.

The Braves will continue a five game set in Pearl, Mississippi at Trustmark Park as they take on the Jacksonville Suns, the AA Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the second game of their Southern League 5-Game 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 will send RHP Tanyon Sturtz in his first Major League Rehab stint and he will be followed by RHP James Parr (3-2, 3.53 ERA) to the hill in search of his fourth win while the Suns will counter with RHP James McDonald (1-0, 1.50 ERA) who is looking for his second 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 To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.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: 3:00

ATTENDANCE: 3,419 (173,416 - 3,770 Home Avg)

BRAVES BITES:
* The Braves improve to 28-18 at home.
* The Braves improve to 4-3 following an off day.
* The Braves improve to 41-18 when scoring first.
* The Braves improve to 29-16 when hitting a homerun.
* The Braves improve to 13-7 in the first game of a series.
* The Braves improve to 40-16 when scoring 4 or more runs.
* The Braves improve to 6-4 in the first game of a homestand.
* The Braves registered 3 more strikeouts on the mound.(Performance Sports Academy K's for Kids Total: $699 to the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital)

ACTIVE HIT STREAKS (2 games or more):
* Diory Hernandez - 2 games (6-10, .600)
* J.C. Holt - 3 games (6-14, .429)
* Van Pope - 4 games (5-16, .313)
* Greg Creek - 5 games (5-15, .333)
* Ray Serrano - 7 games (11-30, .367)
* Carl Loadenthal - 12 games (19-48, .396)
* Brandon Jones - 15 games (24-61, .393) - sets a new season high

HIT STREAKS ENDED:
* NONE

HITLESS STREAKS ENDED:
* Josh Burrus - (0-12) - 5th inning double
* Matt Esquivel - (0-10) - 3rd inning homerun
* Diory Hernandez - (0-11) - 2nd inning single

ACTIVE HITLESS STREAKS:
* Mike Rozema (0-5)

TRANSACTIONS:
* RHP Tanyon Sturtz activated from the Disabled List and added to Major League Rehab.

(Players in Italics did not play)

by
Bryan Eubank