MEMPHIS, Tennessee – Tommy Pham, who entered the game as part of a double switch in the top of the ninth inning, singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 11th, helping the Memphis Redbirds avoid a sweep Monday afternoon at AutoZone Park.
In his first at-bat in the ninth inning, Pham laid down a successful sacrifice bunt, and his single through the right side scored Wilfredo Tovar and ended Memphis’ (7-5) four-game losing streak. Oklahoma City (7-5) had taken the first two games of the three-game series, which wrapped up Memphis’ seven-game homestand.
Chad Huffman ended the game 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI, and Patrick Wisdom hit his sixth double of the season, which is tied for second in the Pacific Coast League.
Tyler Lyons went 4.2 innings and gave up two runs on six hits, with four strikeouts and a walk, in his third injury rehabilitation start with the Redbirds. Arturo Reyes was stellar in 3.1 innings of relief, setting down 10 of the first 11 he faced and allowing just one unearned run. Rowan Wick and Sam Tuivailala followed with a combined 3.0 innings of work and did not allow a hit.
Oklahoma City scored twice in the top of the first off Lyons and kept a 2-0 lead until the Redbirds plated three in the bottom of the fifth. Paul DeJong put Memphis on top with a two-out, two-run single that scored Huffman and Luke Voit.
Reyes walked the first man he faced in the top of the ninth, leading to Wick getting the call from the bullpen, and after a sacrifice bunt the following batter reached on an error that scoredBrett Eibner from second and sent the game into extra innings.
Neither team scored in the 10th and Tuivailala threw a perfect 11th, setting up the eventual game-winning inning for the Redbirds. With one out, Tovar singled and moved to second on a groundout, and Pham went the other way with a knock through the right side to finish the contest.
Memphis is now 2-0 in extra-inning games this season. The Redbirds went 5-6 in games requiring extra frames last season.
The Redbirds embark on an eight-game road trip to Colorado Springs and Oklahoma City before returning to AutoZone Park for a five-game series with the Round Rock Express (Rangers) April 27-May 1. The upcoming homestand includes All-You-Can-Eat Thursday, featuring wings, on the 27th, Silky O’Sullivan’s Irish Heritage Night on the 28th, postgame fireworks on the 29th, and Bark In The Ballpark, with Prairie Farms Ice Cream Sunday and kids run the bases, on the 30th. Additional promotions are scheduled to be announced in the coming days.
For information on upcoming promotions, visit www.memphisredbirds.com/promotions. For more information on single-game tickets and ticket mini-memberships, visitwww.memphisredbirds.com/tickets.
