on the brink

The Mississippi Braves were wounded and backed into a corner earlier this week. Having already lost their highest-rated prospect (Dansby Swanson to promotion in mid-August) and one of their top power hitters (Jacob Schrader to injury) down the stretch, the M-Braves lost sparkplug Ozzie Albies to a season-ending injury during Game 1 of the Southern League South Division playoff series. Then they lost the game to Pensacola in the bottom of the ninth, stung by an error and two walks. But things can change quickly in the postseason, and here are the M-Braves today, leading the series 2-1 and aiming to win it in Game 4 at Trustmark Park. Pick a hero; there have been many. In Game 2 on Thursday, Patrick Weigel was brilliant on the mound and Carlos Franco mashed a three-run homer in a 5-0 victory. Back at the TeePee on Friday, the M-Braves used four pitchers and 17 hits to crush the Blue Wahoos 9-2. Mallex Smith, a 2015 M-Braves star back on a big-league rehab assignment, provided three hits and three runs. Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Kade Scivicque, acquired in a recent trade with Detroit, went 4-for-4 with an RBI. Franco, now 6-for-11 in the series, and Joey Meneses added three hits each, and Keith Curcio, a recent call-up from Class A Carolina, hit an inside-the-park home run. The spotlight is now on right-hander Lucas Sims, Atlanta’s first-round pick in the 2012 draft who gets the start tonight. Sims, still a highly rated prospect, is 36-36 with a 3.91 ERA in an uneven minor league career. It’s a huge game for many reasons. A lot of people, in Atlanta and elsewhere, are paying attention. A berth in the SL Championship Series — where the M-Braves haven’t been since 2008 — is on the line, and there’s nothing like celebrating on your home field. If there is a Game 5, the series goes back to Pensacola. … Meanwhile, in Lawrenceville, Ga., on Friday, former Mississippi State star Tyler Moore hit a grand slam to help the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves pound Columbus 11-1 in the International League playoffs. Ex-Ole Miss standout Chris Ellis, who began this season in Mississippi, threw seven shutout innings for the G-Braves, who lead the series 2-1.