Gattis Continues To Steamroll The SAL, Shell And Buchter Have Solid Debuts, and Lynchburg Sweeps Another Doubleheader To Highlight Sunday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Evan Gattis extended his hitting streak to 9 games, pitchers Steven Shell and Ryan Buchter had solid outings in their first games in the Braves organization, and Lynchburg swept its second doubleheader in as many days.

Gwinnett Braves 3, Buffalo Bisons 5 - Game 1

• Jeff Fiorentino LF 2-4, 2B, .400 AVG
• Stefan Gartrell RF 1-3, 2B, RBI, .281 AVG
• Brandon Hicks SS 1-2, RBI, BB, .254 AVG
• Todd Redmond 5 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 2.87 ERA

In his last 5 starts, Todd Redmond had only allowed 4 earned runs in 32.1 innings, but he gave up 5 earned in only 5 innings today. Still, the 26 year old righty, who already has 2 solid AAA seasons under his belt, is having a fine year, with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 59.2 innings. Jeff Fiorentino had a fine day, with 2 hits, including a double.

Gwinnett Braves 1, Buffalo Bisons 2 - Game 2

• Matt Young LF-CF 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB, .269 AVG
• Mauro Gomez 1B 2-4, .331 AVG
• Steven Shell 4 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 3.86 ERA

Steven Shell only gave up 3 hits in his Braves debut, unfortunately 2 of them were solo home run, one of them to former Braves farmhand Michael Fisher. Matt Young reached base 3 times out of the leadoff position, and he's been on a nice roll in his last 10 games, hitting .294 with a .351 OBP in that span. Mauro Gomez had 2 hits in this game, but he's cooled off after his torrid start. He hit .413 with a 1.103 OPS in 80 April at bats, but followed that up by hitting .265 with a .808 OPS in 98 at bats in May.

Gwinnett returns home Monday with top prospect Julio Teheran on the mound to face the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

Mississippi Braves - Off

The M-Braves return home Monday to face the Mobile Baybears and Arodys Vizcaino will make his AA debut.

Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Potomac Nationals 2 - Game 1

• Todd Cunningham CF 2-3, 3B, 2 SB (8, 9), .294 AVG
• Phil Gosselin 2B 3-3, RBI, BB, .310 AVG
• Willie Kempf 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 3 K, W (3), 7.36 ERA
• Ryan Buchter 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, SV (1), 0.00 ERA
  

Phil Gosselin had a perfect day, reaching on a walk and 3 singles, and extended his hitting streak to 7 games. During that streak he's hit .481 with a 1.163 OPS. Todd Cunningham also had a great game, with 2 hits, including a triple, and 2 steals. Willie Kempf allowed 10 baserunners in only 5 innings, but he managed to let only 2 of them score, picking up his 3rd win of the season. Ryan Buchter made his first appearance with the Braves organization after being acquired from the Cubs in exchange for Rodrigo Lopez, pitching 2 scoreless innings for the save.

Lynchburg Hillcats 5, Potomac Nationals 2 - Game 2

• Adam Milligan LF 1-2, BB, .260 AVG
• Joe Terdoslavich 1B 2-3, HR (11), RBI, .264 AVG
• Barrett Kleinknecht 3B 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, .313 AVG
• LV Ware RF-LF 1-3, HR (3), RBI, OF Assist, .275 AVG
• Blaine Sims 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K, W (1), 2.11 ERA

The Hillcats won their 4th game in 2 days, as Baline Sims made his 1st start of the year, picking up his 1st win while allowing 2 runs over 5 innings. Joe Terdoslavich cracked out his 11th homer of the season as part of a 2 hit day. Adam Milligan only has 7 walks on the season, but 5 of them have come in his last 8 games. Barrett Kleinknech drove in 2 runs on a double. LV Ware accounted for 2 runs on the day, one on a solo homer and the other when he threw out a runner at home.

Lynchburg heads to Salem Monday. They haven't announced their starter yet.

Rome Braves 4, Augusta Greenjackets 1

• Matt Lipka SS 1-4, 2B, RBI, .256 AVG
• Edward Salcedo 3B 1-3, BB, SB (9), .267 AVG
• Evan Gattis C 2-4, 2B, HR (3), 2 RBI, .432 AVG
• Aaron Northcraft 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K, W (2), 1.50 ERA
• Tom Berryhill 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
  

Aaron Northcraft made his first start of the season, a day after his 21st birthday, and it was a good one, as he picked up a win, striking out 5 over 5 innings. Tom Berryhill had a fine season debut, pitching 2 perfect innings. Evan Gattis continues to punish baseballs, extending his hitting streak to 9 games with a double and  a homer. Edward Salcedo reached base twice, exending his hitting streak to 4 games, and stole his 9th base of the season. Matt Lipka hit his 8th double of the season, and all of those doubles have come in May. You'd think the increase in pop would lead to better numbers overall, but after hitting .273 with a .347 OBP and a .620 OPS in April, Lipka's numbers have fallen to a .243 average, ..274 OPS, and .589 OPS in May.

Rome faces Augusta Monday afternoon, with Carlos Perez scheduled to take the mound.

DSL Braves 4, DSL Angels 8 (5/28/11)

• Luis Caballero 2B 2-4, BB, .500 AVG
• Jose Morel CF 1-2, 2 BB, E (1), .500 AVG
• Mauricio Cabrera 3 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 6.00 ERA
• Elvin Garcia 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA

The Dominican Summer League began with such little fanfare that I didn't even realize the team played its first game Saturday until TC user Mr. Sanchez pointed it out. The team had a scheduled off day Sunday, so I'll recap the game I missed from Saturday. Mauricio Cabrera was the Braves' most high profile international signee last season, and the 17 year old Dominican made his professional debut yesterday, pitching 3 innings and allowing 4 runs, only 2 earned, to sign. He's the top player to watch this summer in the DSL. Luis Caballero had a nice start to the season, with 2 hits and a walk. The 19 year old Panamanian second baseman hit .212 with a .538 OPS in 33 DSL at bats last season. Aside from Cabrera, other names to look for all summer are soon to be 18 year old Abraham Espinosa, a Panamanian right handed pitcher, 18 year old Spanish catcher Victor Velazquez, and 19 year old Dutch outfielder Ruben Rijkhof. The team's youngest player is 16 year old catcher Pastor Chevez, who is one of 8 players on the team born in 1994, and the oldest player on the team is Cuban right hander Ernesto Verrier at an ancient 26 years old.