Baby Cakes continue winning ways with ninth-inning comeback over Express

METAIRIE- Shut out for eight innings on Thursday night, the New Orleans Baby Cakes battled back to score three times in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Round Rock Express, 3-2.

New Orleans clinched a sixth consecutive series win at home for the first time in franchise history. The ‘Cakes are 15-5 in their last 20 games at the Shrine.

Neither team scored for the first seven innings as starters Scott Copeland and Clayton Blackburn dueled. With two outs in the eighth, Drew Stubbs roped a single to right-center and Jurickson Profar followed with a home run over the center field fence to put Round Rock on top, 2-0.

It was Profar’s seventh of the year, and ended the night for Copeland, who retired 13 of 14 batters at one point in the middle innings.

The ‘Cakes still trailed by two entering the bottom of the ninth, when Christian Colon led off with an infield single against Tayler Scott and Peter Mooney doubled to put the tying run on base. One out later, Profar allowed Austin Nola’s slow grounder to slip beneath his glove and both runners scored to knot the score.

Scott struck out Steve Lombardozzi, but a wild pitch let Nola race from first to third. Eury Perez, whose 10th-inning single gave the ‘Cakes a walk-off win against Albuquerque last week, hit a slow chopper to first that Will Middlebrooks was unable to corral as Nola trotted home with the winning run. It was the Baby Cakes’ first hit in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Perez collected three hits for the second game in a row and is hitting .367 in 12 contests since joining New Orleans.

Keyvius Sampson (5-3) picked up the victory with 1 1/3 innings of relief, while Scott (0-1) suffered the blown save and the loss.

The Baby Cakes will go after their first series sweep of the season in Friday’s finale. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.