BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Fresh off their first half championship in the Southern League North Division, the Knoxville Smokies started the second half of the season with a 5-3 road win against the Birmingham Barons.

Adam Garriola continued his monster season as he belted his 14th home run of the season, his ninth double, and drove in two runs. Connor Shultz had five strikeouts but also walked six batters in 3.1 innings on the mound. Erian Rodriguez (2-2) had three K’s to get the win and the Smokies continue to get production from a number of their closers as Tyler Schlaffer got his first save of the season. He is the ninth different Knoxville pitcher to notch a save in 2026.

Garriola got things going with a solo shot in the top of the second. Ed Howard scored on an Alex Ramirez ground out in the third and Garriola made it a 3-0 affair with his RBI double that plated Karson Simas. Jefferson Rojas’s sac fly to get Devin Ortiz home took the score to 4-0 but the Barons cut the lead to a single run with three runs in the home half of the fourth with the biggest damage coming on a two-run double by Jeral Perez.

Any thoughts of a comeback were dashed when Owen Ayers mashed his 13th dinger of the season into the Alabama night in the seventh inning that made the final tally 5-3. Ayers is batting .312 this season.