Eury Pérez collected his first professional quality start, scattering three singles over 6.0 scoreless innings, as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos defeated the Mississippi Braves 10-2 on Wednesday night.
Pérez (W, 2-1) took advantage of ample run support, including a six-run fifth inning, as he completed six innings for the first time in his career.
The Blue Wahoos got out to an early 2-0 lead in the second against Mississippi starter Freddy Tarnok (L, 1-1), beginning the inning with three straight hits. A Cobie Fletcher-Vance single was followed by a Bubba Hollins double and a JD Orr RBI single to get the first run on the board, and Thomas Jones lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home the second run.
The game was broken open in the fifth inning against Tarnok and AJ Puckett, as Troy Johnston capped a three-hit night with a two-run single to extend the lead to 4-0. Paul McIntosh and Fletcher-Vance hit back-to-back doubles over the head of right fielder Jacob Pearson to bring home three more runs, ultimately stretching the lead to 8-0.
Pérez finished strong, retiring his final five batters, to finish at 82 pitches. His five strikeouts on the night put him at 50 for the season, placing him in a tie atop the Southern League leaderboard.
Andrew McInvale allowed two Mississippi runs in the eighth inning in his season debut, but the Blue Wahoos added two more runs in the eighth on a Victor Victor Mesa RBI single and throwing error to seal their most lopsided win of the season.
With the victory, the Blue Wahoos’ division lead has grown to 3.5 games over Mississippi and Biloxi with 28 to play in the first half.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Mississippi Braves on Thursday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
