I'm in Birmingham for the last two games of the Barons' season, and so here are a few notes from Saturday around Regions Field.
*Pierce George is headed to the Arizona Fall League, joining teammates Caleb Bonemer, Anthony DePino, Colby Shelton and Grant Magill. Other pitchers have yet to be revealed.
George doesn't need the work, as he's thrown 50 games and 63⅔ innings, but his arm is worthy of a showcase.
*Alec Briley hit his 31st homer of the season, and his 30th for Birmingham. Do you know the last player to his 30 homers for the Barons in one season? While I give you a moment to think about it, I'll tell you that when I was asked this question, I felt confident by offering Mike Cameron, but he hit 28 for Birmingham over 123 games in 1996, which was the season that put him on the map.
No, Birmingham's previous 30-homer guy came a year later, when Luis Raven hit 30 over 117 games for the 1997 team. He was 28 at the time, so after that season, he played a year in Taiwan, then came back stateside to Charlotte and hit 33 homers over 139 games for the Knights at The Castle.
*Samuel Zavala drew two more walks on Friday, giving him 13 in nine games in September, and 31 over his last 28 games dating back to the start of August.
Charlotte 10, Buffalo 1 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-2 with two walks.
- Ryan Galanie was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Jaden Woods: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 15 of 24 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 5, Knoxville 2
- Caleb Bonemer walked once and struck out four times.
- Samuel Zavala went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Ryan Burowes was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Mathias LaCombe: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 19 of 32 pitches for strikes.
