ebb and flow

First, the good news. The Mississippi Braves’ slumbering bats suddenly perked up on Tuesday night, when they scored a season-high nine runs to beat Jackson (Tenn.) at Trustmark Park. Now, the bad news. Staff ace Tyrell Jenkins was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett. Jenkins, 5-5 with a 3.00 ERA, deserved to go (just as the team’s best hitter, Mallex Smith, deserved to go at the end of the first half). But the M-Braves’ chances of winning a second-half title took another blow. Perhaps Steve Janas, a 6-foot-6, 198-pound right-hander promoted last week from Class A Carolina, can help soften this latest one. Janas, who starts tonight against the Generals, was dominating the Carolina League at 5-0 with a 0.49 ERA. The former Kennesaw (Ga.) State star threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his Double-A debut at Biloxi on July 3. That extended a scoreless streak he carried over from Carolina to 28 2/3 innings. The M-Braves are threatening the Southern League record for lowest slugging percentage in a season, but as they demonstrated in Tuesday’s 9-1 victory, small ball can work, especially at the spacious TeePee. Of their 13 hits, 12 were singles. All eight hits in their six-run sixth inning were singles. Every player in the lineup had at least one hit, another good sign for a team that needs some. At 6-6, the M-Braves are just a game out of first in the SL South.