bombs away

Seth Loman hit the first home run of the Mississippi Braves’ 2014 season on Saturday night, helping the M-Braves beat Mobile 4-2. Trustmark Park doesn’t give up a lot of bombs — 32 by M-Braves hitters all of last season — but Loman, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound left-handed hitter, is a player who could hit a few. In eight previous pro seasons, he had 110 homers, including 25 in one season in A-ball. The one Loman hit Saturday he pulled over the visitors bullpen in right-center, where the ball seems to carry better than it does to left. … Former M-Braves standout Yunel Escobar, who just signed a contract extension, hit his first homer of the season on Saturday in Tampa Bay’s 5-4 win over Texas. … Southern Miss alumnus Brian Dozier belted his first bomb of the season in Minnesota’s 7-3 win over Cleveland. That was former Jackson Mets infielder Ron Gardenhire’s 1000th win as manager of the Twins. … Ex-Mississippi State star Paul Maholm allowed a home run on Saturday, a three-run blast by Pablo Sandoval that boosted San Francisco to a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maholm took the loss in his first start for L.A. … And a blast from the recent past: Former M-Braves star Jeff Francoeur homered in his debut for Triple-A El Paso (San Diego Padres) on Thursday night. P.S. Weir’s Roy Oswalt and ex-Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman signed one-day contracts with Houston and retired as Astros in a pregame ceremony at Minute Maid Park on Saturday. Oswalt and Berkman led Houston to the 2005 World Series, the high water mark for the franchise.