Barrett Kleinknecht homered for the second straight day to help the Hillcats to a come from behind victory.
Brandon Drury extended his hitting streak to 17 games, Shawn Bowman had a walkoff single for Mississippi, back-to-back homers by Barrett Kleinknecht and Gerry Rodriguez earned Lynchburg a come from behind win, and Danville was eliminated from the playoffs.
Gwinnett Braves 2, Durham Bulls 1
- Stefan Gartrell DH 2-2, 2 BB, .265 AVG
- Mauro Gomez 1B 3-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, .292 AVG
- Todd Redmond 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 9 K, W (10), 2.91 ERA
- Cory Gearrin 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1.79 ERA
- Jairo Asencio 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, SV (24), 1.39 ERA
With the win, the G-Braves pull to within 2.5 games of Durham in the South Division, and find themselves tied with Lehigh Valley for the Wild Card. Todd Redmond became the second G-Brave with double digit wins, allowing 1 run over 6 innings, striking out 9, his second highest total of the season. Since the All-Star break, Cory Gearrin has a 0.90 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, 4 saves, and 28 strikeouts in 20 innings. Jairo Asencio picked up his league leading 24th save of the season, and he's also dominated since the break, with a 0.90 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, 9 saves, and 26 strikeouts in 20 innings. Mauro Gomez used a 3 hit day to extend his hitting streak to 7 games, and during that span he's gone 16-32 with 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 7 RBI. Stefan Gartrell had his third straight 2 hit game, going 6-11 with a homer and 5 RBI in those games.
Yohan Flande will try to get the G-Braves closer to the playoffs as he takes on the Bulls Tuesday.
Mississippi Braves 3, Birmingham Barons 2
- Dan Nelson 2B 2-4, .315 AVG
- Cory Harrilchak RF 2-4, .260 AVG
- Shawn Bowman 3B 2-4, RBI, .150 AVG
- Aaron Shafer 8 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 4.38 ERA
- Billy Bullock 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, W (3), 4.53 ERA
Despite starting the year hitting .278 with a .780 OPS and 8 homers in 180 at bats for Gwinnett, Shawn Bowman was demoted to Mississippi, where his season took a sharp downturn, as he missed most of July and August with a leg injury, and was just 1-16 with 7 strikeouts in his first 5 games for Mississippi. He did his best to turn things around tonight, with a 2 hit day that included a walkoff single, driving in Ed Lucas to secure an M-Braves victory. Cory Harrilchak has had his own struggles this season, but a 2 hit day extended his hitting streak to 5 games, and he's gone 9-21 in those games. Aaron Shafer had another solid start, allowing 2 runs over 8 innings, and in his last 3 starts he has a 2.04 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 22 innings.
Tomorrow, Jose Lugo will face the Barons in the M-Braves' final home game of the season.
Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Kinston Indians 2
- Andrelton Simmons SS 2-4, 2B, .305 AVG
- Christian Bethancourt C 1-4, E (8), .273 AVG
- Barrett Kleinknecht 2B 2-3, 2B, HR (6), RBI, .220 AVG
- Gerry Rodriguez 1B 1-3, HR (10), RBI, .219 AVG
- Gary Moran 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 2.53 ERA
- Andrew Wilson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.63 ERA
- Eliecer Cardenas 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (7), 0.83 ERA
Barrett Klienknecht and Gerry Rodriguez hit back-to-back home runs in the 7th inning to seal the come from behind victory for the Hillcats. It was Klienknecht's second homer in as many days. After hitting .290 with a .749 OPS, 5 homers and 35 RBI in 238 at bats between Danville and Rome in 2010, the 23 year old has struggled in 2011, with a .231 average, .644 OPS, 10 homers, and 42 RBI in 373 at bats between Rome and Lynchburg. A lack of a position might be one reason for his decline; in 159 career games in the field, he's played 79 at third, 34 at second, 10 at shortstop, and 34 at first, a position he'd never played before this year's Spring Training. Rodriguez's homer extended his hitting streak to 8 games, and during that span he's gone 10-27 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 8 RBI, though he's also struck out 10 times in those games. Andrelton Simmons broke a 0-9 skid with a 2 hit day, including his 32nd double of the year. Christian Bethancourt extended his own hitting streak to 7 games, and he's gone 12-31 with a double and 8 RBI during that span. Since the All-Star break, Eliecer Cardenas has a 0.62 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, 3 saves, and 28 strikeouts in 29 innings.
Chris Masters takes the mound on Tuesday as the Hillcats start a 4 game series against the Potomac Nationals.
Rome Braves 6, Kannapolis Intimadators 1
- Matt Lipka SS 2-4, RBI, BB, E (13), SB (26), .238 AVG
- Chris Garcia 1B 2-4, RBI, .320 AVG
- David Rohm RF 2-4, 2B, HR (7), 3 RBI, .282 AVG
- Robby Hefflinger LF 2-4, 2B, .261 AVG
- Aaron Norhtcraft 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 4 K, W (6), 3.47 ERA
- Jarrett Miller 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 4.97 ERA
- Gus Schlosser 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2.02 ERA
Matt Lipka reached base 3 times and stole a base for the fourth straight game. In his last 8 games, he's gone 8-28 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, 5 BB, and 6 steals, though he's struck out 8 times in those games. David Rohm hit hist 29th double of the year and his 7th homer, and in his last 10 games he's hitting .447 with a 1.159 OPS, 4 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 5 RBI. Aaron Northcraft picked up his 6th win of the year by only allowing 1 run over 6 innings, pitching around the 5 wakls he allowed. In his last 3 starts, the 21 year old has a 2.45 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. In 33 innings between Danville and Rome, Jarrett Miller has truck out 51, good for a 13.9 K/9 rate. Gus Schlosser hasn't allowed a run in his last 7 appearances, striking out 12 over 11 innings.
Ronan Pacheco will face the Intimidators on Tuesday.
Danville Braves 1, Bluefield Blue Jays 5
- Brandon Drury DH 1-4, 2B, RBI, .346 AVG
- Kurt Fleming CF-LF 2-4, .242 AVG
- David Filak 4.2 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 5.06 ERA
- Joe Lucas 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 2.10 ERA
With their loss, Danville was eliminated fro m the playoffs. Brandon Drury extended his hitting streak to 17 games, and he's gone 30-76 with 9 doubles, a homer, 15 RBI, and 2 walks, though in the last 3 games he's just 3-13. Still, the streak has covered 29% of his at bats on the season and is undoubtedly the reason why he's the league leader in hits and batting average. Kurt Fleming was the only other Danville player with a hit, rapping out 2 to snap a 1-12 slump over his last 6 games. David Filak's defense let him down, as he was credited with 2 unearned runs, and over his last 3 games he's been saddled with 9 unearned runs. Despite having a poor year, a 6.14 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP in 104 innings between Danville and Rome, the 21 year old finished strong, with a 1.14 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 23.2 innings over his last 5 starts.
AJ Holland will start Danville's season finale on Tuesday.


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