All the big boys got their hitting sticks out tonight as all the full season teams scored 5+ runs tonight. A couple of standout offensive performances took center stage with both Stefan Gartrell and Gerry Rodriguez homered twice to lead the offensive attacks. Julio Teheran turned in a nice game and Arodys Vizcaino continued to make adjustments at AA.
Buffalo Bisons 1, Gwinnett Braves 7
- Ed Lucas 2B - 2-4, 2 2B, K, .222 Avg
- Stefan Gartrell LF - 4-4, 2 2B, 2 HR(10), 5 RBI, .287 Avg
- Julio Teheran 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 2.26 ERA, 107 PI
I guess thats not a bad slump buster for Gartrell. He was hitless in his last three games coming into today - then he went crazy-go-nuts on some baseballs. That is probably about as good an offensive performance as you will see. And the craziest part about it? Someone else in the organization almost matched it tonight! Julio Teheran was excellent again getting 71 of his pitches across for strikes and inducing a few ground balls for good measure.
Mike Minor will make his return to AAA tomorrow after a brief (but successful) stint in Atlanta.
Mississippi Braves 11, Montgomery Biscuits 3
- Mycal Jones CF - 0-4, RBI, 2 BB, .279 Avg
- Tyler Pastornicky SS - 3-5, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB(13), .304 Avg
- Donell Linares 3B - 2-6, HR(5), 3 RBI, .291 Avg
- Arodys Vizcaino 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 5.54 ERA
Myke Jones and Tyler Pastornicky might be the best 1-2 punch in the Southern League at the moment. Both guys can get on base in a variety of ways and once they are there they can cause a lot of havoc. I still can't express how excited I am that Jones has turned into a walk machine. Arodys Vizcaino had a nice recovery game after having a rough first start in AA. I love that our 'forgotten man' pitching prospect would probably be the best prospect in nearly every organization in baseball.
Look for a bounce back game from Randall Delgado tomorrow against The Biscuits.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6, Lynchburg Hillcats 8
- Phil Gosselin 2B - 3-5, 3 2B, RBI, .284 Avg
- Gerry Rodriguez 1B - 3-4, 2B, 2 HR(5), 3 RBI, K, .271 Avg
- David Hale 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K, 5.84 ERA
Another good offensive game for a Braves farm team with Phil Gosselin and Gerry Rodriguez providing the offensive explosion the team needed to overcome some poor pitching. Gosselin has been quietly coming around the past couple of weeks. In his last 10 games he is hitting .441 with five doubles, nine RBI, and seven walks against just three strikeouts. His overall numbers have him up to a .774 OPS. In May he posted a .790 OPS. I think he may be figuring this hitting thing out.
Matt Crim takes the mound against the Pelicans tomorrow at 2 PM.
Rome Braves 5, Charleston RiverDogs 4
- Matt Lipka SS - 2-5, RBI, K, .249 Avg
- Edward Salcedo 3B - 1-3, HR(7), BB, K, .275 Avg
- Chris Garcia DH - 2-4, HR(5), 2 RBI, .337 Avg
- Carlos Perez 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 4 K, 5.77 ERA
Carlos Perez's struggles continue on the mound but tonight the Braves had their rally caps on and pulled out the win in the ninth inning. Edward Salcedo hit his fourth homer in eight games and has his OPS back over .800 for the season. His bat has looked very good so far this year. Chris Garcia continues to make the pitchers in the league look like children -of course compared to him most of them are children.
David Filak will attempt to right the ship in the first game in a series against Kannapolis.
DSL Braves 2, DSL Nationals 9
- Abraham Espinosa 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.27 ERA
Espinosa had a nice bounce-back start after a rough first outing. This kid is supposed to be the first of the next big wave of Latin American pitching prospects but I really don't like the strike out numbers he isn't putting up. I know he is just 18 years old but I feel like he should be getting some more swings and misses. He does get a lot ground outs so maybe that makes up for the lack of Ks.