LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Making his first Triple-A start since August 2, Garrett Baumann struck out seven over 5.2 three-run innings to lead the Gwinnett Stripers (27-27, 65-63) to a 5-3 victory over the Louisville Bats (18-36, 57-70) on Thursday night at Louisville Slugger Field. Gwinnett has won four straight games and leads the series 3-0.
Decisive Plays: The Stripers stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI triple by DaShawn Keirsey Jr., RBI single by Cal Conley, RBI double by Luke Williams, and sacrifice fly by Jose Azocar. That score held all the way until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Bats scored three runs off Baumann on a single by Leo Balcazar coupled with a fielding error by Gwinnett center fielder Lizandro Espinoza to cut it to 4-3. In the top of the ninth, Azocar belted a solo homer (4) for insurance to make it 5-3. Ian Hamilton (S, 9) pitched a perfect ninth to finish the win.
Key Contributors: Baumann (W, 2-3) scattered five hits over his 5.2 innings (3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO), winning with the Stripers for the first time since his Triple-A debut on June 11 at Jacksonville. Relievers Joel Payamps (H, 5), Duncan Davitt (H, 2), Danny Young (H, 1), and Hamilton combined on 3.1 scoreless, one-hit frames. Offensively for Gwinnett, Azocar (1-for-3, homer, 2 RBIs), Keirsey Jr. (2-for-4, triple, RBI), and Williams (2-for-4, double, RBI) all had run-scoring extra-base hits. Balcazar went 1-for-4 with two RBIs for the Bats.
Noteworthy: Azocar’s homer was his first since June 30 at Durham, snapping a drought of 33 games. Hamilton is now 9-for-10 in save chances with Gwinnett this season, posting a 1.69 ERA in those outings. Jim Jarvis went 2-for-5 with a double, extending his on-base streak to 24 games (tied with his own streak from March 27-April 24 for the longest streak by a Striper this year).
Next Game (Friday, August 28): Gwinnett Stripers at Louisville Bats, 7:15 p.m. ET at Louisville Slugger Field. Radio Broadcast: 7:00 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.