Atlanta Braves Prospect Christian Bethancourt Ejected in Win By Lynchburg and Gwinnett Walks Off in 11th

There were some fireworks in Lynchburg and Gwinnett tonight but they were of differing types with Gwinnett winning in dramatic fashion and Lynchburg having to use their DH on the field. Cory Harrilchak remained hot for Mississippi and Kyle Kubitza is making the adjustments to pro ball. 

Norfolk Tides 3, Gwinnett Braves 4 - 11 Innings

• Diory Hernandez, 3B 1-5, RBI, .205 Avg
• Mike Minor 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R(1 ER), 2 BB, 7 K, 3.09 ERA
• Juan Abreu 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.99 ERA
• Jairo Asencio 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1.57 ERA
• Dustin Richardson 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 4.50 ERA

Big time lefty starters Mike Minor and Brian Matusz were the headline for this game and they didn't disappoint with Matusz holding the Braves scoreless through seven innings of work and Minor racking up the strikeouts bu allowing a couple of runs through six. As good as those two were the Braves bullpen was ridiculous. Abreu, Asencio and Richardson recorded 11 of their possible 14 outs via the K. Richardson gave up the go ahead run in the top of the 11th inning but the Braves struck back for two in the bottom of the inning with Diory Hernandez knocking a 3-1 single into the left field corner for the game winning hit. 

Tennessee Smokies 2, Mississippi Braves 5

• Dan Nelson, 3B 3-3, .297 Avg
• Mycal Jones, CF 1-3, 2B, .223 Avg
• Cory Harrilchak, RF 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .246 Avg
• Luis Avilan 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 5.13 ERA

Cory Harrilchak is starting to get the hang of AA. He started the year with a respectable .757 OPS in April but then tanked in May with a .468 mark. He rebounded a little in June at .694 but in July he has really caught fire. Coming into tonight's game he had an .864 OPS with as many walks as strikeouts and a slugging percentage of .500. Now I don't ever expect him to hit for tons of power, but he is a solid defensive outfielder and when he is playing his game he gets on base and has a little speed. He will probably be a fourth outfielder with some doubles pop. 

Winston-Salem Dash 2, Lynchburg Hillcats 6

• Phil Gosselin, 2B 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, K, .283 Avg
• Joey Terdoslavich, 1B 1-4, 2B, RBI, K, .270 Avg
• L.V Ware, CF 1-3, 2B, RBI, 2 K, .245 Avg

The Hillcats halted their five game losing streak behind strong pitching from Blaine Sims. Sims has posted a 3.07 ERA with the Hillcats largely by relying on a lot of groundballs. Phil Gosselin contributed a couple of RBI tonight and continues his strong bat work over the last month. Christian Bethancourt was ejected from the game in fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire after Sims issued a four pitch walk. The only other catcher on the roster, Logan McGill was the DH tonight so he had to vacate the DH spot and take over catching duties forcing the pitcher to hit in Bethancourt's spot. 

Rome Braves 3, Greeneville Drive 2

• Edward Salcedo, 3B 1-4, RBI, SB(14), .277 Avg
• Robert Hefflinger, LF 2-4, RBI, K, .277 Avg
• Aaron Northcraft 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 2.77 ERA

Aaron Northcraft has been a nice surprise for the R-Braves this season. He has kept them in most of his games and tonight he was rewarded with his first win in nine starts. He relies on a heavy sinker that generates a lot of groundballs and he has put up a similar line of peripherals to what you see from Tim Hudson or last year's Derek Lowe. He has limited batters to less hits than I would expect but his strikeouts are low and his walks are high. If more hits start falling in then I think his luck is going to change a bit. The offense didn't get going until late but they put together just enough to pull out the win. 

Danville Braves 6, Burlington Royals 7

• Kyle Kubitza, 3B 3-4, BB, K, 2 SB(4), CS(2),  .274 Avg
• Edison Sanchez, 1B 1-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB(1), .281 Avg

Brandon Drury didn't play tonight so I don't really even know how to go about this. Actually an old man-crush of mine resurfaced in Edison Sanchez. Sanchez has played sporadically this season - partially because of William Beckwith being so good at the same position and I would suspect he has had some sort of lingering injury just by the way they have played him. Kubitza is starting to show off his abilities after a couple weeks of adjustment. His bat is the most interesting one I think we have drafted in the last two years. 

GCL Phillies 3, GCL Braves 1

There isn't much to say about this one. The Braves managed just two hits on the game and the pitching was solid but unspectacular. Daniel Lopez has still not allowed a run this season and he is still 24 and in the GCL. 

DSL Braves 7, DSL Blue Jays 3

• Daniel Castro, 2B 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, .217 Avg
• Emmanuel Daniel 3-5, 2B, BB, .308 Avg
• Oriel L Caicedo 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R(0 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, .97 ERA

In a box score nightmare Oriel R Caicedo relieved his brother Oriel L Caicedo. The LC is having a phenomenal year and maybe the best from a Braves DSL pitcher since Andy Otero destroyed the DSL as a 17 year old two seasons ago. He doesn't have the same strikeout rate that Otero had but his sub 1.00 WHIP and good groundball rate help him dominate the competition. Offensively this was an explosion from the D-Braves. The have scored more than six runs just six times this season. Emmanuel Daniel continues to be the best hitter on this team though 19 is just a tad old for me to get excited about. Especially when Edward Salcedo is the same age.