Gwinnett Braves: 15 vs. Norfolk Tides: 0
- José Constanza, LF: 3-4, BB, RBI (4), .244
- Phil Gosselin, 2B: 3-6, RBI (5), .459
- Tommy La Stella, DH: 2-4, 3 RBI (6), .281
- Ernesto Mejía, 1B: 2-5, BB, 2 RBI (14), E (1, throwing), K, .333
- Joey Terdoslavich, RF: 2-5, BB, 2B (3), RBI (3), K, .227
- Todd Cunningham, CF: 2-4, .196
- Edward Salcedo, 3B: 3-4, HR (2), 2 2B (4), 3 RBI (7), BB, E (3, throwing), .275
- Christian Bethancourt, C: 1-4, 2B (1), RBI (4), BB, .219
- Sean Kazmar, SS: 3-4, 2 RBI (3), .462
- Cody Martin: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 9 K, 1 BB, 3.55 ERA
- Atahualpa Severino: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 2.84 ERA
- Luis Vásquez: 1.2 IP, H, 2 K, 2 BB, 6.43 ERA
Did I just list the stat lines for every single G-Brave that played against Norfolk last night? Yes, yes I did. Talking Chop's #8 prospect Cody Martin pitched a gem for Gwinnett, striking out 9 Tides while walking only one and surrendering two hits. Severino and Vásquez combined with Martin to shut out Norfolk, but the offense was the real story last night. The
Baltimore Orioles' top pitching prospect,
Kevin Gausman, took the mound for Norfolk, and Gwinnett beat him up. He departed after surrendering a 4th inning home run to Edward Salcedo, finishing only 3 innings of work while giving up 4 runs and 7 hits to Gwinnett. Christian Bethancourt also notched an extra base hit off of Gausman, doubling off of the left-center field wall in the 4th. Every Gwinnett starter had a hit, and all had multiple hits outside of Bethancourt. Not only did Salcedo go deep off of Gausman, but he also notched two doubles and a single against Norfolk's bullpen, albeit with an error in the field. Simply put, this was a dominating performance by the G-
Braves, and the fact that it was against Baltimore's top hurler down on the farm makes it even better. I'll let Dan sum it up succintly:
Mississippi Braves: 3 vs. Huntsville Stars: 2 (8 innings), Game 1
- Matt Lipka, CF: 2-4, 2B (3), RBI (4), .220
- Emerson Landoni, 2B: 1-3, BB, K, GW RBI (6), .314
- Seth Loman, 1B: 2-3, .333
- Robby Hefflinger, LF: 1-3, 2B (2), RBI (2), K, .167
- Elmer Reyes, SS: 1-2, HBP, 2B (1), .500
- Aaron Northcraft: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 6.00 ERA
Venezuelan second baseman Emerson Landoni beat the Stars with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 8th inning in Pearl in the first game of Tuesday evening's double dip. The sinkerballer Aaron Northcraft made his first start of the season on a pitch count after returning from a thumb injury suffered during Spring Training and was a little rusty, walking 3 batters and giving up 2 runs in 3 innings' work, although that's to be expected given the amount of time he was sidelined. This was a rather uneventful game, but Matt Lipka had a multi-hit performance including a bunt double (yeah, he's fast) and an RBI, and Robby Hefflinger and Elmer Reyes also produced two-baggers against Huntsville pitching. Ryan Weber, John Cornely, and Ronan Pachecho combined for 5 innings of scoreless relief.
Mississippi Braves: 1 vs. Huntsville Stars: 5 (7 innings), Game 2
- Matt Lipka, CF: 1-3, 2 SB (5), R, .227
- Emerson Landoni, 2B: 0-1, 2 BB, E (1), .306
- Joe Leonard, 3B: 1-3, .231
- Cedric Hunter, RF: 1-2, BB, CS, .217
- Jason Hursh: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 K, 3 BB, 2.57 ERA
- Chasen Shreve: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K, 3.00 ERA
- Carlos Pérez: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 1 K, 4 BB, 19.29 ERA
The M-Braves dropped the second game of the doubleheader 5-1 in another abbreviated affair. Jason Hursh took the loss for the Braves, as he was rather ineffective in his third start of the young season, yielding 4 runs (2 earned) while walking 3 and striking out 3 in just four innings of work. Carlos Pérez had yet another disastrous outing, as he was unable to complete the game's final inning, managing to get only two outs while walking four Stars and giving up a run. His horrific start to the season is a major red flag after he put together a fantastic campaign for Lynchburg in 2013 and earned himself a spot on Atlanta's 40-man roster. He's walked an almost unbelievable 11 batters in just 2.1 innings of work in four appearances. I don't know what to think of this, other than that Pérez may be dealing with a major mechanical problem that needs to be fixed. His future outings are certainly something to keep an eye on. Lipka was the only real offensive highlight for Mississippi, who rested many of their normal starters, scoring the Braves' only run and swiping a couple of bags.
Lynchburg Hillcats vs. Wilimington Blue Rocks: PPD
The same wet weather system that forced the cancellation of the Braves' game in Philadelphia tonight forced the postponement of the Hillcats-Blue Rocks game for this evening. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow evening beginning on 5:05 PM ET. Mauricio Cabrera and Wes Parsons will start in Game 1 and Game 2, respectively
Rome Braves: 5 vs. Lexington Legends: 3
- Jacob Schrader, 1B: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, .250
- Joey Meneses, DH: 2-4, R, .293
- Victor Reyes, RF: 1-2, BB, RBI (3), .289
- Carlos Franco, 3B: 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (3), SB (1), K, .147
- Bryan De La Rosa, C: 2-4, RBI (2), K, .185
- Chuck Buchanan: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 1.20 ERA
- Yean Carlos Gil: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K, BB, 0.00 ERA
After taking a beating last night, Rome rebounded with a 5-3 win over Lexington on Tuesday evening. Big lefty Chuck Buchanan had another strong outing, and has now struck out 18 batters while walking just 3 in 15 innings of work on the year. Carlos Franco hit a solo homer off of Lexington's Alex Black, his first of the season, and also swiped a bag earlier in the game. Bryan De La Rosa and Joey Meneses each had multi-hit games for Rome, who didn't manage any extra-base hits outside of Franco's homer. Yean Carlos Gil had a nice long relief outing after taking over for Buchanan in the 6th inning, striking out 3 and giving up zero hits in 3 innings' work. After a loss like last night's, it's nice to see Rome rebound with a come-from-behind wind over the Legends.