Tyler Colvin isn’t having any trouble with Carolina Mudcats pitching.
The Tennessee Smokies’ slugger out of Clemson blasted a three-run homer in the fourth inning – tying a Southern League record with a hit in his 11th consecutive at bat before failing in his next plate appearance – to lead his team to an 11-1 rout on Sunday.
That was the visiting Mudcats’ fourth straight loss.
Carolina scored its run in the first on a Todd Frazier triple before the dam broke.
Zach Ward lasted just three innings in his Mudcats debut, giving up six runs on eight hits.
Chris Kelly then came on for two innings and gave up five runs on seven hits.
Jeremy Papelbon (4-4) picked up the victory.
Frazier, who had two hits after enduring a 1-for-19 slump coming into the contest, led Carolina’s five-hit offense.
The Mudcats are now 6 ½ games behind the first-place Chattanooga Lookouts in the North Division.
Tom Cochran (3-3, 3.24) will start Monday’s 7:15 contest against the Smokies’ Andrew Cashner (1-1, 1.09).
The Mudcats’ transactions list continued to grow, as catcher Chris Denove has been promoted to Louisville to make his Triple-A debut, while fellow catcher Jake Long is up from Sarasota.
