MONTGOMERY, AL (July 17, 2026) – The Montgomery Biscuits used a dominant start from Santiago Suarez and a three-run eighth inning to pull away for a 5-1 victory over the Knoxville Smokies on Friday night at DABOS Park.
Knoxville (49-39) struck first in the fourth inning when Andy Garriola lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Alex Ramírez for a 1-0 lead.
Montgomery (42-45) answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning as Theo Gillen belted his first Double-A home run, a solo shot to right field that evened the score at 1-1.
The Biscuits took the lead for good in the fifth. Mac Horvath singled with one out and moved into scoring position before Caden Bodine lined an RBI single into right field to put Montgomery ahead, 2-1.
Suarez took over from there, retiring the final 12 batters he faced while allowing just one run on two hits across seven innings. The right-hander struck out five without issuing a walk to earn his fifth win of the season.
Montgomery added insurance in the eighth inning when Austin Overn singled and later scored on a Brayden Taylor single io left to make it 3-1. Gillen followed two batters later with a two-run double to left, scoring Bodine and Taylor to extend the lead to 5-1.
Gillen paced the offense by going 2-for-3 with his first Double-A home run, a double, and three RBI. Bodine finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Horvath added two hits and scored a run. Overn, Taylor and Émilien Pitre each collected a hit in Montgomery's nine-hit attack.
Suarez (5-3) earned the victory after his seven-inning gem, and Chris Clark tossed two scoreless innings to record his first save of the season.
Luis Martinez-Gomez allowed one run over four innings in a no-decision for Knoxville. Evan Taylor (3-1) suffered his first loss after allowing the go-ahead run in two innings of relief, while Tyler Ras surrendered three runs in the eighth inning.
Tickets are on sale for the 2026 season of Montgomery Biscuits baseball. Fans can purchase tickets for the current homestand against the Knoxville Smokies (Cubs) from July 17-19 by visiting Montgomery Biscuits Single Game Tickets.