Chipper Begins Rehab and Gattis Slugs Out 2 Homers For the Second Straight Game To Highlight Saturday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Chipper Jones began his rehab with Rome, Evan Gattis hit 2 home runs for the second straight day, Chase Larsson also hit 2 home runs, and Julio Teheran's turn in the rotation was wasted by rain and umpire incompetence.

Gwinnett Braves 0, Norfolk Tides 0, suspended after 1 inning

In a game that never should have been started, Julio Teheran struck out 2 in a scoreless 1st inning before the game was suspended due to torrential downpour. The game will be resumed tomorrow as part of a double header, though Teheran's turn through the rotation was wasted because of the poor decision making by the umpires to start the game in the first place.

Mississippi Braves 7, Jacksonville Suns 2

• Myke Jones CF 3-5, .236 AVG
• Ernesto Mejia 1B 1-5, HR (16), RBI, .299 aVG
• Brett Oberholtzer 6 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 K, W (8), 3.70 ERA
• Arodys Vizcaino 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.81 ERA

Myke Jones had a 3 hit day, and in his last 10 games, he's hit .342 with a 1.037 OPS. Brett Oberholtzer picked up his 8th win of the year by allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, over 6 innings. Since the All-Star break, the left has a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP in 40 innings.

Lynchburg Hillcats 7, Salem Red Sox 3

• Marcus Lemon LF 4-5, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, .271 AVG
• Andrelton Simmons SS 2-5, 2B, RBI, BB, SB (14), .304 AVG
• Joe Leonard 3B 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB, .257 AVG
• Christian Bethancourt C 3-5, 2B, RBI, .269 AVG
• LV Ware CF 2-4, 2B, .239 AVG
• Chris Masters 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K, W (6), 3.23 ERA
• Andrew Wilson 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2.61 ERA

Marcus Lemon had a great day as the leadoff hitter, reaching on 4 hits, including a double, and a walk. Over his last 8 games, the 23 year old has hit .363 with a .945 OPS. Christian Bethancourt had a 3 hit day, and in his last 4 games he's gone 7-15 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Joe Leonard had a pair of hits, including a double, and in his last 3 games he's 6-12 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and a walk. LV Ware also had a pair of hits, and he's 4-8 with 2 doubles and a RBI in his last 2 games. Andrelton Simmons might have seen his 12 game hitting streak end yesterday, but he got right back on the horse with a pair of hits today, and July has been his best month of the year, with a .350 average, .398 OBP, and a .848 OPS. Chris Masters allowed just 1 run over 6 innings, striking out 6, and over his last 3 starts he has a 1.42 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. Andrew Wilson whas excelled since the All-Star break, with a 0.82 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 9.8 K/9 in 11 innings over 9 appearances.

The Hillcats are off on Sunday before they begin a series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Monday when David Hale will get the start.

Rome Braves 7, Kannapolis Intimidators 11

• Chipper Jones DH 0-2, BB, .000 AVG
  
• Evan Gattis C 3-5, 2 HR (15, 16), 3 RBI, .303 AVG
• Tommy La Stella 2B 3-4, .253 AVG
• Caleb Brewer 5.1 IP, 9 ER, 10 H, 4 BB, 3 K, 5.26 ERA
• Carlos Perez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 4.98 ERA

Chipper Jones made a rehab start tonight for Rome, but he wasn't even close to the biggest story of the game, as catcher Evan Gattis followed up yesterday's 2 homer game with another 2 homer game. In his last 2 games, Gattis is 5-9 with 4 homers and 8 RBI, and during his 8 game hitting streak he's hit .424 with a .939 slugging percentage and a 1.363 OPS. Chipper had a walk in 3 plate appearances. Tommy La Stella had a 3 hit day, and over his last 5 games he's gone 9-17 with 2 triples. Caleb Brewer was a SAL All-Star this year, but since his perfect inning in the All-Star game he's struggled mightily, with a 10.30 ERA and a 1.86 WHHIP in 32.1 innings since the break.

Chipper Jones is scheduled to play again for Rome on Sunday in the series finale against Kannapolis.

Danville Braves 8, Burlington Royals 3

• Kyle Kubitza DH 2-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI, .290 AVG
• Brandon Drury 3B 1-2, 2 RBI, BB, .350 AVG
• Chase Larsson LF 2-4, 2 HR (2, 3), 2 RBI, .239 AVG
• David Filak 5 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 8.53 ERA
• John Cornely 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K, W (1), 2.08 ERA

Chase Larsson showed the kind of pop he had in college, clubbing out a pair of home runs. Over his last 7 games, he's hit .333 with a 1.084 OPS. Kyle Kubitza his a pair of doubles, and over his last 10 games, he's hit .359 with a .994 OPS. After struggling for much of the year, David Filak had a decent start, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned over 5 innings while striking out 5. Hopefully he can take some positive momentum into his next start. John Cornely picked up his first professional win by pitching his 4th straight scoreless appearance. Durning that stretch, he's thrown 7 innings and struck out 12 while only allowing 2 hits and 2 walks.

GCL Braves 0, GCL Tigers 1

• Kirk Walker 3B 2-4, .290 AVG
• Felix Marte RF 1-3, 2B, .266 AVG
• Eduardo Castillo 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 3.73 ERA

Eduardo Castillo had a phenomenal start, shutting out the Tigers over 7 innings while striking out 5 and allowing just 4 hits. The 20 year old Dominican has a 3.73 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 4 K/BB in 31.1 innings this year. Felix Marte had a double in 3 at bats today, extending his hitting streak to 5 games, going 8-16 with 2 doubles, a homer, 3 RBI, and 3 walks in that span.

DSL Braves - Off