BACK ON TOP: Biscuits head to Birmingham holding slight edge in division standings

Dru Baker scores the first run in Montgomery’s 6-1 win over Mississippi on Sunday. The Biscuits go on the road to Birmingham this week holding first place in the division standings. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

After an entire season of chasing front runners, the Biscuits finally took over first place in the Southern League South Division on Friday by posting the second of four straight wins while Biloxi was completing a four-game skid.

But can they hold on through the remainder of the season?

Just 18 games remain in the second half of the Southern League season. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos beat out Montgomery for the first-half title, leaving Montgomery and Biloxi battling for the second-half title. 

Each team has three series remaining. Montgomery travels to Birmingham this week before hosting Chattanooga for six games next week. Biloxi travels to Tennessee this week and then heads to Birmingham next week.

Montgomery and Biloxi meet in MGM Park on Sept. 12 for a six-game series that will likely determine the second-half championship.  

“We’re definitely trying to make a playoff push,” Biscuits outfielder Tristan Peters said.

The Biscuits spent much of August chasing the Shuckers, winning six games in Pensacola in mid-August but still trailing Biloxi by a game. The Biscuits finally climbed to the top of the mountain on Friday, beating the Mississippi Braves 9-0 while the Shuckers were losing their fourth straight game to the Blue Wahoos.

After both teams won on Saturday, Montgomery captured the final game of the series with Mississippi, 6-1, while Biloxi and Pensacola were rained out. As a result, the Biscuits (29-22) hold a 1.5-game lead over the Shuckers (27-23) entering the final three series as the two teams battle for a spot in the Southern League playoffs. 

Should the Blue Wahoos manage to regain first place, the second-half winner will be the team that finishes in second place.

The Biscuits are chasing their seventh consecutive berth in the Southern League playoffs (counting the 2021 season when it was renamed Double-A South), the best postseason stretch by any of the teams in the league. This despite a revamped lineup that has seen three of the Biscuits’ pitchers promoted to Triple-A Durham in the last couple of weeks along with most of their starting lineup.

Sunday’s series finale with Mississippi included a lineup of three players that started this season in Montgomery (Mason Auer, Heirberto Hernandez and Evan Edwards), two players that were promoted from Single-A Bowling Green in May (Junior Caminero and Gionti Turner) and four that were promoted from Bowling Green over the last three weeks -- outfielder Dru Baker, designated hitter and first baseman Bob Seymour, shortstop Jalen Battles and catcher Jeffry Parra.