First-inning homer sets up Smokies for 10-4 win over Barons in Knoxville
The series has major Southern League North implications for the first half of the season, as the Smokies and Barons are neck and neck in the division.
The Knoxville Smokies returned home to Covenant Health Park on May 5 in dominant fashion, taking the first of six games against the Birmingham Barons by a score of 10-4. The Smokies and Barons each entered the game with a 13-14 record, vying for second place in the Southern League North. Whichever team takes this series will break what has been a back-and-forth battle in the first half of the 2026 season.
Knoxville kept Birmingham scoreless through five innings and led by as many as seven runs. Wilfred Veras doubled for the Barons in the sixth inning and put three runs on the board. A Jeral Perez single helped narrow the gap to 7-4 later in the inning, but Birmingham’s scoring stopped there.
Knoxville's 10-run game kept Birmingham at a comfortable arm's length all night. A two-run home run from Jefferson Rojas got the scoring started in the first inning, and a Karson Simas homer added two more Smokies runs in the second. Knoxville finished the night with 11 hits, drawing seven walks and striking out five times.
Birmingham finished with seven hits, five walks and nine strikeouts at the plate. The Smokies will be back at Covenant Health Park on Wednesday, May 6 for another 7 p. m.