Chattanooga, TN - Ryan Minor drove in five runs to lead Carolina past first-place Chattanooga 9-4 at Bell South Park on Sunday afternoon.

Minor (HR, 2, 3-5, 2-2b, 2r, 5rbi, k) doubled twice and hit a two-run homer in the third inning to assist Carolina (11-18) in breaking its five-game losing streak.

The Mudcats scored five runs in the first inning, sparked by a two-run homer by Chip Ambres (HR, 2-3, r, 2rbi, w), which followed Minor's two-run double.

The game was delayed by rain for 70 minutes in the fifth inning with the Mudcats leading 8-3. Starting pitcher Bill Murphy (ND, 4ip, 5h, 3r, 3er, 0w, 2k) could not continue after the delay, and registered a no-decision.

Ryan Baker (W, 4-1, 3.2ip, 5h, 1r, 1er, 1w, 2k) earned the win, working 3 2/3 innings for the Mudcats. Pat Flury (ND, 1.1ip, 0h, 0r, 1w, 1k) pitched the final 1 1/3 innings.

Andy Rohleder (HR, 1, 1-3, 2r, rbi, s, w) swatted a solo homer in the seventh, his first in Double-A.

The Lookouts scored three times in the first against Murphy as the winds blew out upwards of 20mph before the delay.

Jason Stokes (2-3, 2r, s, w, gdp) had two hits for Carolina. Six-game hitting streaks of both Rex Rundgren (0-4, 2k, e) and Jeff Inglin (0-3, r, 2w, k) were halted.

The Mudcats moved to within 8 1/2 of the Lookouts (19-9) ahead of the series finale on Monday night. Trevor Hutchinson (5-6, 5.65) starts against Chattanooga's Rich Gardner (1-1, 2.79) at 7:15 PM ET.

Carolina 5 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 9 10 2 5
Chattanooga 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 x - 4 10 3 7

WP - Baker (4-1)
LP - Nelson (1-2)
S - None.

HR - Ambres (10), Denorfia (4), Minor (2), Rohleder (1)

Time: 2:45
Att: 2,534

Notes: Carolina's five-game losing streak was the longest in the Mudcats' two-year affiliation with the Florida Marlins... Stokes sacrificed in the first inning, his first sacrifice bunt as a professional. Stokes went 1,222 at-bats and into his 330th game without one... The Mudcats' five-run first inning was the largest offensive inning since scoring seven runs in the third inning on July 4, 2004 at Five County against the Jacksonville Suns. Carolina dropped that game 14-11... Rohleder's first Double-A homer went into the teeth of a changing wind, blowing in from left in the seventh inning. Rohleder's blast was accomplished before relatives from his hometown of Ferdinand, Indiana, a town of only 2,500 people... Minor's five RBI were two more than he had amounted in his first nine games with Carolina. Minor had three RBI in his opening 28 at-bats. Carolina's single-game record for RBI is six, achieved six times, most recently by Matt Holliday in 2002. Minor batted in the seventh and ninth with a runner on base, but did not produce a run. Pat Magness drove in five runs against Tennessee on May 24, 2004 for the shared team-high with Minor. Magness was released two weeks ago, and now is playing in the Carolina League with the Kinston Indians, an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.

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