Minor League Game Recap: Jacksonville Suns @ Birmingham Barons

July 25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Logan Morrison (5) during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Suns’ offense came to life in Birmingham as they defeated the red-hot Barons by the final score of 11-1.

The win was fueled by a six run sixth inning that featured home runs by Logan Morrison and Kyle Jensen. For Morrison, he is heating up at the right time, as the Marlins expect to have their first baseman back in the fold for Monday’s contest against the Milwaukee Brewers. For Jensen, the home run was his twelfth of the season, good for the tops in the Southern League.

The Suns fell behind in the fourth inning, as the Barons were able to plate a couple of doubles to take a 1-0 lead off of Suns starter Adam Conley. Conley then allowed a triple to lead off the fourth inning, but was able to pick up two big strikeouts to get out of the inning unscathed.

Conley had a huge outing for the Suns, pitching six strong innings, allowing just one earned run in seven innings. The key for him on the night was his eight strikeouts and zero walks. He threw 101 pitches in the game, 70 for strikes. Conley’s season ERA fell to 4.10 and his impressive 3.58 FIP coming into the game should follow.

The Suns were finally able to break through off Scott Snodgress in the fourth inning on a two run double by Kyle Jensen. Snodgress is one of the top pitching prospects in the Chicago White Sox system. The Suns tacked on one more run in the fifth inning on a Logan Morrison RBI groundout.

The Suns offense really broke out in the sixth inning, scoring six runs and 10 men to the plate. Third base prospect Zack Cox led the inning off with a single and moved to third on a Jacob Realmuto double. A Mark Canha sac fly and a Audy Ciriaco* groundout extended the Suns lead to 6-1.

Outfield prospect Jake Marisnick followed an out with a run scoring double followed by a Daniel Pertusati single extended the lead to 7-1. That’s when the fire works started for the Suns.

Logan Morrison would send a two run homer off of the lights in left field and sent Snodgress to the showers. Kyle Jensen greeted the Santos Rodriguez with a home run of his own to extend the lead to 10-1. Canha added an RBI double in the ninth to extend the Suns lead to 11-1.

In relief of Conley, Bryan Evans pitched three solid innings and racked up six strikeouts in 39 pitches. He lowered his season ERA to 5.82. For the game, the Suns pitchers struck the Barons out 14 times.

*What is it with shortstops in the Marlins organization and cool first names? Just wish one of them could hit well.