Ernesto Mejia and Joey Terdoslavich homered for Gwinnett, David Hale and Cody Martin had great starts, Tommy La Stella had another fine game, and Fernando de los Santos had a walkoff single for Rome.
Gwinnett Braves 8, Toledo Mud Hens 3
- Ernesto Mejia DH 2-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, .269 AVG
- Joey Terdoslavich 3B 2-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, .233 AVG
- Jose Yepez C 1-2, RBI, 2 BB, .258 AVG
- Todd Redmond 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 K, W (2), 3.04 ERA
- Erik Cordier 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 4.66 ERA
- Jason Rice 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1.80 ERA
Joey Terdoslavich drove in a pair of runs with his third homer of the year, extending his hitting streak to 4 games, going 6-16 during that span. Ernesto Mejia also hit his third homer of the year, snapping an 0-8 skid in his last 2 games. Jose Yepez reached base 3 times tonight, and the 30 year old catcher has a .410 OBP in 10 games played this year. Todd Redmond picked up his second win with a quality start, striking out 7 and walking 2. He's been a K machine this year, averaging 11.5 strikeouts per 9 innings this season, a huge jump over the 7.5 K/9 he's averaged in his first 3 AAA seasons. The strikeouts are even more impressive when coupled with a nearly identical walk rate, 2.7 BB/9 this season, compared to 2.6 for the rest of his AAA career. Erik Cordier moves to the bullpen with Jair Jurrjens joining the team, and he tossed 2 scoreless innings. The 26 year old righty still struggled with his control, walking 2, and he's averaging 8 walks per 9 innings this season. Jason Rice made his fourth straight scoreless appearance, striking out 4 over 5 innings in that span.
Tomorrow afternoon, Jair Jurrjens will make his first start with Gwinnett since being sent down from Atlanta.
Mississippi Braves 1, Huntsville Stars 2, 10 innings
- Todd Cunningham RF 2-5, SB (1), .269 AVG
- Andrelton Simmons SS 1-3, RBI, BB, .284 AVG
- David Hale 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 4.78 ERA
- Chris Masters 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 4.96 ERA
- Cory Rasmus 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.46 ERA
- Billy Bullock 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.93 ERA
Andrelton Simmons drove in Mississippi's lone run with a third inning single, breaking an 0-7 slump in his last 2 games. Todd Cunningham had 2 of the team's 3 hits tonight, and stole his first base of the season. In his last 8 games, he's gone 10-33 with an RBI, and 2 walks. David Hale continued his inconsistent ways, following up his last start, a poor one that saw him allow 7 runs over 5.2 innings, with a great start tonight, allowing just 1 run over 6 innings, striking out 5 and walking 1. Hale has been dominant with the bases empty, limiting hitters to a .113 average, but once he allows a runner to reach he struggles, allowing a .412 average against with runners on and a .429 average against with runners in scoring position. After starting in his first 4 appearances, Chris Masters pitched out of the bullpen today, tossing a scoreless inning. Cory Rasmus pitched 2 scoreless innings and he's struck out 12 over 12.1 innings this season, posting a 1.46 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP.
Chris Masters was scheduled to start tomorrow, but he pitched in relief tonight and the M-Braves have yet to name a starter. It's possible that Luis Avilan may be activated from the disabled list.
Lynchburg Hillcats 5, Frederick Keys 1
- Tommy La Stella 2B 3-5, 2B, HR (2), 3 RBI, .352 AVG
- Edward Salcedo 3B 1-4, 2 RBI, .278 AVG
- Chris Garcia 1B 1-3, BB, SB (1), .324 AVG
- Cody Martin 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 K, W (3), 3.38 ERA
- Caleb Brewer 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 5.40 ERA
- Ryan Weber 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 5.40 ERA
Tommy La Stella drove in 3 runs with his second homer of the year, part of a 3 hit day. In his last 8 games, he's gone 11-30 with 4 doubles, a homer, 9 RBI, and 5 walks. Edward Salcedo drove in a pair of runs with a first inning single, snapping an 0-10 stretch over his last 3 games that saw him strike out 7 times. Chris Garcia reached base twice for the third straight game, and he has a .432 OBP on the season. Nick Ahmed had an awful day at the plate, striking out in all 5 of his plate appearances. Cody Martin picked up his third win of the season by limiting the Keys to 1 run over 6 innings. He's been a little wild lately, walking 9 in 10.1 innings over his last 2 starts, but he's also struck out 13 in that same period. For the season, he's averaging 11.7 strikeouts per 9 innings and 5 walks per 9. After allowing 6 runs over 7 innings in his first 3 appearances, Caleb Brewer has notched 2 scoreless appearances in a row. He's still struggling with his control though, walking 6 in 10 innings. Ryan Weber has had little trouble with control, walking just 1 in 10 innings over 8 appearances, while striking out 9
Gus Schlosser will start the series finale tomorrow.
Rome Braves 6, Kannapolis Intimidators 5, 12 innings
- Elmer Reyes SS 3-6, 2B, .241 AVG
- Kyle Kubitza 3B 1-4, 2 BB, E (2), .286 AVG
- Fernando de los Santos 2B 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, .241 AVG
- Nick DeSantiago C 2-4, .196 AVG
- Felix Marte RF 1-5, 2B, 3 RBI, .224 AVG
- Navery Moore 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, 2 K, 3.32 ERA
- Wilson Rivera 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.00 ERA
- Ryne Harper 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.00 ERA
- Cole Rohrbough 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, W (1), 4.15 ERA
Fernando de los Santos hit a walkoff single in the bottom of the 12 to seal an extra inning victory for the R-Braves. He also reached twice on walks, continuing a nice stretch that has seen the 22 year old Dominican go 10-28 with 3 doubles, 4 RBI, and 2 walks in his last 8 games. Felix Marte drove in a pair of runs with a sixth inning double, and drove in another with a groundout in the eighth. Despite his productive day, the 21 year old outfielder is struggling this year, hitting .224 with a lowly .555 OPS and striking out in 46% of his at bats. Nick DeSantiago snapped a 0-11 skid with a 2 hit day, but he's also struggling with strikeouts, fanning in 34% of his at bats. Navery Moore was a bit wild, allowing 5 walks, but limiting the Intimidators to 2 runs over 5 innings. Walks have plagued him this year, as he's allowing 7.6 per 9 innings. Wilson River continues to be a strikeout machine, as the former outfielder fanned 2 in 2 scoreless innings tonight, his fourth straight scoreless appearance, giving him 14 in 9 innings on the season. Of course, River has nothing on Ryne Harper, who struck out 3 in 2 innings tonight, giving him 23 in 12 innings on the season, a phenomenal 17.3 K/9 rate.
AJ Holland will take on Kannapolis Sunday afternoon.