Chad Huffman hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Memphis Redbirds a 4-3 win over the Las Vegas 51s in the opener of a four game series on Saturday in front 13,729 fans at AutoZone Park.
It was the 12th last at-bat win and second in three nights for the Redbirds (56-59), which has won six of their last seven at home.
First baseman Jamie Romak 2-for-4 with a double and runs scored. Outfielder Mike O'Neill had recorded a hit for his fourth consecutive game in Triple-A.
Jamie Hoffman blasted his seventh home run of the season over the left field wall to give Las Vegas a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth.
The Redbirds rallied to go ahead at 3-1 in the next frame as Jamie Romak smoked his team-leading 28th double to begin the inning. Romak advanced to third on a Chad Huffman single and scored on a Ryan Jackson sacrifice fly. After Justin Christian singled, Travis Tartamella extended his hitting streak to six games with an RBI base hit to score Huffman. Scott McGregor followed with an RBI sacrifice bunt down the first base line, scoring Christian.
Las Vegas trimmed the lead to 3-2 with another run in the sixth. Kirk Nieuwenhuis opened with a single and easily scored from first as Ruben Tejada doubled down the left field line.
The 51s manufactured the tying run in the top of the eighth inning. After Tejada worked an inning-opening walk to chase McGregor from the game, Wilmer Flores moved Tejada to third with a single off reliever Eric Fornataro. Zach Lutz brought home the tying run with an RBI groundout.
McGregor worked seven innings for the second straight start, yielding three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in a no-decision.
Fornataro allowed his only inherited runner to score with 2/3 of an inning pitched. Sam Freeman got pinch hitter Eric Campbell to ground out to third to end the jam. He stranded the go-ahead runner at second base and picked up his team-leading seventh win. Fernando Salas worked around a hit to convert his sixth save and preserve the win.
Matt Fox allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts in six innings. Sean Henn (2-5) was charged with the loss.
Two highly-regarded pitching prospects will battle at 6:05 pm CT on Sunday night at AutoZone Park as the Redbirds and 51s continue their series. Right-hander Michael Wacha (5-2, 2.48) will start for Memphis against Las Vegas righty Rafael Montero (2-3, 4.32).
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