Biscuits Hold Off Barons Rally, 8-5

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Biscuits (66-65) looked to stay hot after winning 12 of their previous 15 games, and they did just that by defeating the Birmingham Barons (45-76) by a score of 8-5 on Tuesday night at Regions Field.

Cole Wilcox (3-8) and Jonathan Cannon (1-2) opened the game strong for their respective teams, with the former holding Birmingham to a single hit over the first three innings and the latter keeping Montgomery off the scoreboard over the first two.

Gionti Turner led off the third with a single and stole second base not long after to put a runner in scoring position with no outs. Following a flyout for Tristan Peters, Dru Baker stepped up with a single to center field that brought Turner in and made the score 1-0.

The next inning started in similar fashion when Mason Auer singled to right field and stole second not long after. It was Auer’s 44th stolen base this year, which is first among active players in the Southern League and stands as the team record for most in a season.

The stolen base ultimately would not matter due to Kenny Piper launching his fourth home run of the season to left-center field. With the lead at three runs in the fifth, Junior Caminero pitched in with a solo-shot of his own to put the Biscuits ahead 4-0.

Caminero’s homer brings his on-base streak up to 32 games, passing John Jaso to take sole possession of the fourth longest streak in Biscuits history. The Rays top prospect is 14 games away from tying the team record set by Hak-Ju Lee during the 2012 campaign.

Wilcox surrendered his first runs of the night during the bottom-frame, with two runs scoring on a triple from Colson Montgomery and another on a single from Bryan Ramos. Both starters finished the inning but were relieved in the sixth with Montgomery leading 4-3.

Heriberto Hernandez capitalized on a leadoff double from Piper by using a sacrifice bunt to extend the lead. The outfielder reached base on a throwing error by Adisyn Coffey and would later score on a single from Gionti Turner to make the score 6-3.

The Barons cut the lead down to a run in the seventh with back-to-back RBI-singles from Ramos and Wilfred Veras. However, Tristan Peters gave the Butter and Blue some breathing room with a two-run single in the next frame, making the score 8-5 with the contest winding down.

Chris Gau entered the game during the final inning and struck out three of his first four batters to secure the victory. Wilcox earned the win and Gau recorded the save while Cannon took the loss as the Biscuits extended their winning streak to five games.

The Biscuits and Barons will resume their series on Wednesday, August 30 with first pitch set for 7:05 PM CT. The featured pitching matchup pits Logan Workman (3-3) against Matt Thompson (4-13) for Birmingham.

The Biscuits return to Riverwalk Stadium for one more regular season series against the Chattanooga Lookouts starting on September 5. The series will include a Fan Design T-Shirt Giveaway on Thirsty Thursday, August 7; Military Appreciation Night presented by Alabama Power & MAX Fireworks on Saturday, August 9; and will close with a 2024 Schedule Poster Giveaway & Bark in the Park on Sunday, August 10.