more bad news

The Mississippi Braves stumble home from a 2-8 road trip and who do they find waiting for them at Trustmark Park? Montgomery. Not good. Rosters have turned over many time since these teams first began playing each other in 2005, but the Biscuits have maintained some kind of hex over the M-Braves. Mississippi’s record vs. Montgomery is 46-71. At the TeePee, it’s 24-33. Remember the M-Braves’ very first game back in 2005? They lost at Montgomery. Home debut that same year? They lost to Montgomery. (And the Biscuits’ Shairon Isenia hit the first home run in the TeePee.) First playoff appearance in 2007? They lost in the first round to Montgomery. Must be something about that wacky biscuit logo that upsets the M-Braves’ systems. And the M-Braves (4-11 overall) have enough problems right now. They’re hitting just .240 as a team and are next-to-last in the Southern League in scoring. And while the starting pitching has been solid, the bullpen, outside of Jaye Chapman (0.00 ERA), has had issues. Rowdy Hardy has a 3.86 ERA but is 0-2. The other relievers’ ERAs are plain ugly: Luis Avilan 4.82, Richard Sullivan 5.59, Benido Pruneda 7.71 and Billy Bullock 12.71. Bullock has the only save. The Biscuits are just 5-10, plagued by a pitching staff that has been rudely battered about (6.21 ERA). The Tampa Bay affiliate always seems to be loaded with prospects, and this club has a few. Starter Matthew Moore is rated the Rays’ No. 2 prospect by Baseball America, and former No. 1 overall draft pick Tim Beckham, a shortstop, is also in the system’s top 20. Montgomery’s best hitter is Daniel Mayora (.314, three homers, 12 RBIs). Game 1 of the five-game series is tonight at 6:05.