Cody Martin picked up his league leading 9th win and was helped by an explosive Lynchburg offense, Mississippi swept a doubleheader with the help of Joe Leonard's 5 RBI, Brandon Drury and Feilx Marte continued their hot hitting, and Lucas Sims was unhittable in the GCL.
Gwinnett Braves 6, Durham Bulls 5
- Jose Constanza LF 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB, E (4), .315 AVG
- Christian Marrero RF 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, .241 AVG
- Stefan Gartrell DH 3-4, 2 2B, .241 AVG
- Luis Durango CF 1-3, BB, SB (30), OF Assist, .277 AVG
- Yohan Flande 6.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 3.83 ERA
- Jaye Chapman 2.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K, W (3), 2.93 ERA
Jose Constanza reached base 3 times and extended his hitting streak to 12 games. During that stretch he's gone 21-51, a .421 average, with a .906 OPS, 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 4 walks. Stefan Gartrell hit just .167 with a .445 OPS in the month of June, and struck out in 26 of his 78 at bats, but he's gotten July off to a good start, going 6-16 with 2 doubles, a homer, and a RBI in 5 games so far. Luis Durango stole his league leading 30th base of the season, and the next closest is Indianapolis' Chase d'Arnaud with 23 steals. Yohan Flande had allowed 5 earned runs in 19.1 innings over his last 3 starts, but he allowed 4 earned in 6.1 innings tonight. Jaye Chapman picked up his third win of the year with his fourth straight scoreless appearance, giving him 7 strikeouts in 8 innings over that span.
Julio Teheran will start the series finale tomorrow afternoon.
Mississippi Braves 5, Birmingham Barons 4, Game 1
- Tim Smith LF 2-3, .315 AVG
- Todd Cunningham DH 1-3, .308 AVG
- Joe Leonard 3B 1-3, 2 RBI, .271 AVG
- Ian Gac 1B 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, .248 AVG
- Gary Moran 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 3.08 ERA
2 of Gary Moran's 3 earned runs were allowed by Ryan Buchter after he inherited them in the sixth inning. Moran has been fairly solid over his last 4 starts, allowing 7 earned runs in 23.2 innings while striking out 10 and walking 4.
Mississippi Braves 3, Birmingham Barons 1, Game 2
- Tim Smith DH 1-3, .315 AVG
- Joe Leonard 3B 1-3, HR (5), 3 RBI, .272 AVG
- Ian Gac 1-2, 2B, BB, .250 AVG
- Brent Leach 4.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 2.45
Joe Leonard's first inning 3 run homer was all the offense the M-Braves would need to finish off the sweep. Leonard combined to go 2-6 with 5 RBI in the doubleheader. Tim Smith combined to go 3-6 in the 2 games, making him 6-13 in his last 4 games. Ian Gac combined to go 2-5 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI in the doubleheader. Brent Leach made his first start of the season, and made it a good one, tossing 4.1 no-hit, shutout innings, allowing 3 walks and striking out 5. The 29 year old lefty had allowed 3 earned runs in 6.2 innings while striking out 9 in his first 5 appearances with the M-Braves.
Ben Sheets will make his second start for the M-Braves tomorrow night.
Lynchburg Hillcats 14, Winston-Salem Dash 1
- Myke Jones CF 3-5, 3 2B, 2 RBI, BB, .259 AVG
- Nick Ahmed SS 2-6, 2B, 2 RBI, .265 AVG
- Tommy La Stella 2B 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, .271 AVG
- Adam Milligan LF 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, .250 AVG
- Edward Salcedo 3B 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, E (24), .271 AVG
- David Rohm DH 2-5, 2B, RBI, BB, .234 AVG
- Cody Martin 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 K, W (9), 3.13 ERA
- Ryne Harper 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0.55 ERA
Cody Martin earned his league leading ninth win tonight by allowing just 1 earned run over 7 innings, striking out 8 and allowing just 2 hits and no walks. Since the beginning of June, the 22 year old has a 1.95 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and 33 strikeouts in 27.2 innings in 5 starts and 2 relief appearances. Ryne Harper struck out 2 in 2 scoreless innings, and since joining the Hillcats he has a 0.55 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, 2 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 16.1 innings over 9 appearances. Myke Jones rapped out 3 doubles and walked tonight, and he's reached safely in each of his last 6 games, going 6-24 with 3 doubles, a triple, 5 RBI, and 5 walks. Nick Ahmed extended his hitting streak to 6 games, and over that span he's gone 9-30 with 5 doubles, a triple, and 4 RBI. Tommy La Stella's 3 hit day made him 5-8 in his last 2 games. Adam Milligan had a 2 hit, 2 walk, 2 RBI day, and in his last 8 games, he's gone 11-33 with 3 doubles, 2 homers, 5 RBI, and 3 walks. In his last 4 games, Edward Salcedo has gone 8-16 with 3 doubles, 4 RBI, and 2 walks. David Rohm reached base 3 times, and in his last 10 games he's hitting .324 with a .889 OPS.
JR Graham will face the Dash tomorrow.
Rome Braves 4, Greenville Drive 5
- Kyle Kubitza 3B 1-4, 2B, RBI, BB, .256 AVG
- William Beckwith DH 2-3, RBI, BB, SB (8), .300 AVG
- Brandon Drury 1B 1-3, BB, .216 AVG
- Jarrett Miller 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 4.01 ERA
Brandon Drury reached base twice tonight and extended his hitting streak to 5 games. During that streak he's gone 8-17 with 2 doubles, a homer, 2 RBI, and 2 walks, and in his last 10 games, he's hitting .455 with a 1.136 OPS, 3 doubles, a homer, 8 RBI, and 2 walks. William Beckwith filled up the stat sheet, with a pair of hits, a RBI, a walk, and a steal. Over his last 10 games, the 21 year old is hitting .308 with a .830 OPS, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 9 RBI, and 2 steals. Kyle Kubitza is also doing well over his last 10 games, hitting .306 with a .405 OBP, a .849 OPS, 2 doubles, a homer, 5 RBI, 6 walks, and 3 steals. Jarrett Miller had only allowed 4 earned runs in 15 innings over his previous 3 starts, but he allowed 3 earned in just 5 innings today. He did managed to strike out 5, giving him 46 strikeouts in 42.2 innings this season, a 9.7 K/9 rate.
Ryan Weber will face the drive Sunday afternoon in the series finale.
Danville Braves 6, Princeton Rays 3
- Aris Alcantara 1B 2-4, 2B, HR (2), 2 RBI, .321 AVG
- Felix Marte RF 2-4, .403 AVG
- Blake Brown CF 1-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, .194 AVG
- Casey Kalenkosky DH 2-4, 2B, HR (2), RBI, .243 AVG
- Williams Perez 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K, W (2), 3.86 ERA
- Alex Wilson 2.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1.69 ERA
- Nathan Hyatt 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, SV (2), 3.00 ERA
Felix Marte rapped out a pair of singles to bring his average to a cool .403 through 62 at bats. In his last 6 games, the 21 year old has gone 11-26 with a double, 3 homers, and 11 RBI. Aris Alcantara doubled and hit his second homer of the year, extending his hitting streak to 7 games. During that span, the 22 year old Dominican has gone 12-33 with 6 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 8 RBI. Blake Brown hit his third homer of the year, making him 3-8 in his last 2 games. Casey Kalenkosky hit his second homer in his last 3 games, making him 4-12 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 3 RBI in that span. Williams Perez made his first start of the season, allowing 3 earned runs in 5 innings. The 21 year old Venezuelan righty had only allowed 3 earned runs in 9 innings in his first 4 appearances. Alex Hyatt picked up his second save of the year by striking out 2 over a scoreless inning, giving him 8 strikeouts in 5 innings over 4 appearances.
Ernesto Silva will face the Rays tomorrow afternoon.
GCL Braves 2, GCL Blue Jays 3, Game 1
- Jose Peraza SS 2-3, BB, 2 E (6, 7), .318 AVG
- Cody Livesay CF 1-3, RBI, BB, .367 AVG
- Tyler Tewell DH 1-3, RBI, .280 AVG
- Luis Madrid 2B 2-3, .257 AVG
- Lucas Sims 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 1.29 ERA
- Chad Rodgers 1.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 6.35 ERA
- Abraham Espinosa 3 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 6.75 ERA
Jose Peraza reached base 3 times and extended his hitting streak to 6 games, going 7-23 with 3 RBI, 2 walks, and 2 steals during that span. He also made his sixth and seventh errors in just his twelfth game at shortstop, but a high number of errors are to be expected from superior athletes playing short in the low minors. Cody Livesay drove in a run and reached twice, extending his own hitting streak to 6 games, going 7-19 with RBI and 3 walks during that stretch. Lucas Sims was perfect today, striking out 4 of the 6 hitters he faced. In 7 innings over 3 appearances, the 18 year old righty has allowed 2 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 10. Chad Rodgers continued his comeback from Tommy John surgery, allowing 1 unearned run while striking out 3 over 1.2 innings. In his second appearance he allowed 4 earned run in just 0.2 innings, but in his other 5 appearances he hasn't allowed an earned run in 5 innings and has struck out 6 while walking 3 and allowing 3 hits.
GCL Braves 4, GCL Blue Jays 9, Game 2
- Luis Madrid 2B 1-3, 2B, BB, .263 AVG
- Joey Menses RF 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, .236 AVG
- Robinson Arno 1B 2-4, 2B, RBI, .318 AVG
- Bryan de la Rosa C 2-4, RBI, E (4), .250 AVG
- Shae Simmons 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
Luis Madrid combined to go 3-6 with a double and a walk in the doubleheader, making him 5-10 in his last 3 games. Joey Menses snapped a 1-10 skid over his last 3 games by rapping out a double and a triple today. Robinson Arno stayed hot, rapping out 2 hits, including a double, and driving in a run. Over his last 3 games, he's gone 4-10 with a double, 2 homers, 4 RBI, and a walk. Bryan de la Rosa is 3-6 in his last 2 games after going 0-10 in his previous 5 games. Shae Simmons made the first start of his professional career, and tossed 2 shutout inning despite allowing 3 walks. In 7 innings over 4 appearances the 21 year old, who was selected in the 22nd round this year, has struck out 8, walked 5, and allowed just 1 hit and no runs.
The Braves are off on Sunday before taking on the Tigers in Lakeland on Monday.
DSL Braves 10, DSL Brewers 12
- Johan Camargo SS-3B 2-5, 2 2B, RBI, SF, 3 E (7, 8, 9), .299 AVG
- Miguel Rivero RF 2-5, OF Assist, .300 AVG
- Juruengelo Tielman 3B 2-4, 2B, RBI, SB (1), 2 E (1, 2), .200 AVG
- Eugenio Diaz C 2-4, 2B, RBI, .419 AVG
- Ibrahim McKenzie 1B 3-5, .255 AVG
- Iosif Bernal LF 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, .255 AVG
- Adrian Rivero 3.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Juruengelo Tielman, a 19 year old out of Curacao, had 2 hits and a RBI and stole his first base of the season. In his last 3 games, he's gone 4-12 with 2 doubles. Johan Camargo, a 18 year old Panamanian, snapped a 0-7 slump with a 2 double day, but he also committed 3 errors. Miguel Rivero, a 18 year old Venezuelan, went 2-5, making him 4-8 in his last 2 games. Eugenio Diaz went 2-4 with a double and a RBI, giving the 17 year old Venezuelan a .419 batting average, a .970 OPS, and 5 RBI in 31 at bats. Ibrahim McKenzie, a 18 year old Panamanian, had 3 hits, making him 9-32 with 2 doubles, a triple, and a RBI in his last 7 games. Iosif Bernal had a pair of doubles and 3 RBI, and the 17 year old Panamanian is now hitting .255 with a .827 OPS, 5 doubles, a homer, 11 RBI, and 3 steals in 51 at bats. Adrian Rivero, a 21 year old Cuban lefty, made his second professional appearance, striking out 3 over 3.2 shutout innings.