Bethancourt Extends Hitting Streak, Clemens Tosses Another Gem, and Lynchburg Sweeps A Doubleheader To Highlight Saturday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Christian Bethancourt hit a double to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, Paul Clemens picked up a win while throwing 8 shutout innings, and the Lynchburg Hillcat poured on the offense to sweep a doubleheader.

Gwinnett Braves 6, Buffalo Bisons 1 - Game 1

• Jose Constanza LF 2-4, .308 AVG
• Matt Young CF 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB, SB (7), .266 AVG
• Brandon HIcks SS 1-3, HR (5), 2 RBI, .239 AVG
• Erik Cordier 4.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA

Matt Young did a little bit of everything tonight, doubling in the 1st run of the game in the 1st inning, walking and stealing in the 3rd, and singling in the 5th. Brandon Hicks cracked out his 5th homer of the season, and while he's struggled some since being sent down from Atlanta, striking out in 36 percent of his at bats, he's also shown a fine power stroke, as 8 of his 17 hits have gone for extra bases, good for a .522 slugging percentage. Erik Cordier made his first start of the year with Gwinnett, and it was a solid one, shutting out the Bisons while only allowing 1 hit, though he did walk 3 and didn't manage to make it out of the 5th because he's still on a pitch count. Cordier has a seriously impressive arm, so if he can get back to full strength this summer he could factor into Atlanta's plans later in the season.

Gwinnett Braves 1, Buffalo Bisons 3 - Game 2

• Wilkin Castillo C 2-3, RBI, PB (5), .245 AVG
• Yohan Flande 4 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 4.29 ERA

A 3 run 2nd inning for Buffalo, with one of those runs scoring on a Wilkin Castillo passed ball, sealed the loss for the G-Braves. Castillo was the offensive bright spot for the team, rapping out 2 hits, including a top of the 2nd RBI single. An intersting note is that Jeff Fiorentino played all 3 outfield positions in this game.

The teams play another doubleheader Sunday, with Todd Redmond and Steven Shell facing the ridiculously named Bisons.

Mississippi Braves 3, Tennessee Smokies 0

• Myke Jones CF 2-4, .316 AVG
• Donell Linares 3B 1-3, HR (4), 3 RBI, .293 AVG
• Paul Clemens 8 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K, W (4), 2.08 ERA
• Billy Bullock 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (4), 5.79 ERA

Paul Clemens added another fantastic chapter to his breakout season, picking up his 4th win of the year while shutting out the Smokies over 8 innings. He's allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in all but 1 of his starts, and for the year he has a 2.08 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP, while allowing 6.1 hits per 9 and striking out 7.8 per 9. His only real blemish has been his control, as he's allowing 3.7 BB/9, but that's in line with the 3.9 BB/9 rate he'd put up in his career before this season. Donell Linares picked a great time to hit a 3 run homer, knocking it out in the top of the 9th, setting up the win for Clemens and giving Billy Bullock an opportunity for his 4th save and seventh straight scoreless appearance. Since returning from his DUI suspension, Myke Jones has gone 8-15 with 5 walks.

The M-Braves are off Sunday and Randall Delgado will take the mound Monday against the Mobile Baybears.

Lynchburg Hillcats 10, Potomac Nationals 5 - Game 1

• Todd Cunningham CF 2-5, HR (2), RBI, .294 AVG
• Andrelton Simmons SS 3-4, .323 AVG
• Adam Milligan DH 2-4, HR (7), 4 RBI, .261 AVG
• Joe Terdoslavich 1B 2-3, RBI, BB, .255 AVG
• Shawn McGill C 3-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI, .333 AVG
• Zeke Spruill 7 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 K, W (3), 4.06 ERA

The HIllcats offense exploded in this one, as they rapped out 14 hits and scored 10 runs. Adam Milligan led the way, driving in 4 runs, 2 of them coming on a 6th inning homer, his second consecutive game with a dinger. Shawn McGill had 3 hits and drove in 3 runs. The 27 year old has played well in limited time with the HIllcats, hitting .333 with a .896 OPS in 36 at bats. Todd Cunningham also homered, and while he couldn't match his hot start to the month, May has still been great for him, hitting .359 with a .873 OPS after hitting just .200 with a lowly .553 OPS in April. Zeke Spruill allowed 5 earned runs, but he managed to pick up the complete game win (in the Minor Leagues doubleheaders are played as a pair of 7 inning games). May hasn't been as kind to Spruill, who has put up a 5.27 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in the month, after allowing a 1.71 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP in April. His BB/9 went from 6.4 in April to 8.3 in May, which isn't a huge jump, and his walks actually decreased, from 1.7 in April to 1.1 in May. The big difference in the 2 months is that thhits he's given up in May have led to runs scoring, which, for whatever reason, wasn't happening in April.

Lynchburg HIllcats 7, Potomac Nationals 2 - Game 2

• Joe Terdoslavich DH 2-4, 2B, .261 AVG
• Joe Leonard 3B 1-1, 3 BB, .250 AVG
• Braeden Schlehuber C 1-3, HR (4), 2 RBI, .276 AVG
• Kyle Davis 2B 1-2, HR (1), RBI, BB, E (4), .127 AVG
• Dan Jurik 4 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 2.08 ERA
• Matt Frevert 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, W (1), 0.00 ERA

Matt Frevert had been the scheduled starter, but he ended up working as a reliever, pitching a perfect 5th and 6th innings, striking out 3 and picking up the win in his first game in the Atlanta organization. The 24 year old was a 28th round selection in the draft by the Cardinals, and in 131 career innings (all pitched in relief), the righty has a 13-3 record, a 2.89 ERA, and a 1.14 WHIP. Dan Jurik started instead, his first of the season, and allowed 1 run over 4 innings. In 17.2 innings between Rome and Lynchburg, the 23 year old has a 1.53 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Joe Leonard reached base all 4 times he came to the plate, with a single and 3 walks, and 7 of his 19 walks for the season have come in his last 7 games. For the night, Joe Terdoslavich was 4-7 with a double, a walk and an RBI. Braeden Schlehuber had a nice return from the DL, hitting his 4th homer of the season.

The Hillcats and P-Nats will play another doubleheader Sunday afternoon, with Arodys Vizcaino and Cory Rasmus scheduled to pitch for Lynchburg.

Rome Braves 7, Lexington Legends 3

• Christian Bethancourt C 1-5, 2B, .272 AVG
• Edward Salcedo SS 1-4, HR (4), 2 RBI, .266 AVG
• Chris Garcia 1B 2-3, HR (4), RBI, BB, .346 AVG
• Bobby Rauh CF 2-4, RBI, .167 AVG
• Ryan Weber 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K, W (1), 2.60 ERA
• Steve Kent 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 7.21 ERA

Christian Bethancourt extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a double. Edward Salcedo played his last 2 games at third base, and went 2-7 at the plate with 5 errors. Tonight he moved back to shortstop, played errorless ball, and hit his 4th homer of the season. Chris Garcia also hit his 4th homer of the season, and the 23 year old has really hammered the ball for Rome, hitting .346 with a .984 OPS in 78 at bats. Ryan Weberpicked up the win in a quality start, and Steve Kent was good in relief, tossing 2 scoreless innings.

Rome returns home Sunday to face the Augusta Greenjackets, and Ronan Pacheco will get the start.