Double-A Tennessee scored seven runs in their final two at bats Friday night and topped the Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays) 9-4. Felix Pena picked up his third win of the season after allowing four runs over seven innings with eight strikeouts. P.J. Francescon notched his fifth save with two scoreless innings.
Kyle Schwarber had a good night at the plate. Schwarber went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, a walk, three runs scored and three RBI. Albert Almora walked with one out and was on first base when Schwarber homered in the seventh inning. Schwarber’s two-run homer gave the Smokies the lead for good.
Kyle Schwarber cooled off a little after a hot start. Schwarber is 13-for-46 in his last 14 games with a double and three home runs for a .283/.411/.500 line with a .911 OPS. Schwarber has gone deep twice in his last four games.
With the three-hit performance on Friday night, Kyle Schwarber is hitting .333/.444/.618 in 31 games. Schwarber has 22 walks with 27 strikeouts in 31 games. Schwarber has 34 hits this season, 14 for extra bases … six doubles, a triple and seven home runs.
The other half of the Smokies’ Bash Brothers, Dan Vogelbach was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, two RBI and a run scored on Friday night. Vogelbach is now batting .360/.468/.579 after 32 games with 11 doubles, a triple, four home runs, 24 walks and 25 strikeouts for a 1.047 OPS.
The Smokies have a rather impressive roster that now features Kyle Schwarber, Dan Vogelbach, Albert Almora, Billy McKinney, Jacob Hannemann, Carl Edwards Jr., Corey Black, Willson Contreras, Ivan Pineyro and a rehabbing Tommy La Stella.