Gwinnett Braves at Charlotte Knights: PPD
A low pressure system brought rain to the Carolinas throughout much of the day on Friday, and the G-Braves-Knights game became Mother Nature's casualty.
This is notable because it pushes Mike Minor's final rehab start, which was originally scheduled for tonight, back to tonight. Reports have indicated that Minor was to be added to the Braves' starting rotation either on Wednesday, April 23rd versus the Miami Marlins or on Friday the 25th against the Cincinnati Reds. Now, given that Minor will be pitching on Saturday, it appears almost a given that his season debut will come on the later date against Cincinnati. No make-up date has been announced for the Knights-Braves game as of this time.
Mississippi Braves: 0 vs. Huntsville Stars: 13
- Matt Lipka, CF: 2-4, .255
- Cedric Hunter, LF: 2-3, 2 2B (2), BB, .241
- Seth Loman, 1B: 1-4, 2B (2), 3 K, .271
- Kyle Kubitza, 3B: 0-2, K, .194
- Gavin Floyd: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 6 K, BB, 7.71 ERA
- Ryne Harper: 1.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 K, 6.75 ERA
Yikes. Mississippi put up a bit of a stinker in their last game before a 10-game road trip starting on Saturday night in Montgomery, losing 13-0 to the Stars on Friday night. Gavin Floyd made another rehab start for the M-Braves, and cruised through three innings, retiring the first nine batters of the game in order, striking out two of those batters. Floyd experienced a minor hiccup in the fourth inning, in which he gave up two singles and allowed a run to score on a passed ball by Braeden Schlehuber. The fifth inning was the real bugaboo for Floyd, as he loaded the bases by allowing two singles and a walk, and proceeded to hit a batter, allowing a second Huntsville run to score. Floyd was then lifted from the game after throwing 80 pitches, 49 of which were strikes. Floyd's control and command still seem to leave a bit to be desired as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, so I think it's reasonable to expect him to spend a bit more time rehabbing before he appears in the bigs, especially considering the surprising start of Aaron Harang. Offensively, Mississippi didn't do much. However, Cedric Hunter had a nice game with a pair of doubles, and Matt Lipka rapped a couple of singles as well.
Lynchburg Hillcats: 7 vs. Potomac Nationals: 6 (12 innings)
- José Peraza, 2B: 2-5, RBI (4), SB (9), .286
- Kyle Wren, CF: 2-6, 2B (1), 2 SB (11), 3 K, .267
- Kevin Ahrens, 3B: 1-6, GW HR (2), 3 K, .235
- Tyler Tewell, C: 3-5, K, .289
- Will Skinner, RF: 2-4, 2B (3), BB, K, .204
- Daniel Castro, SS: 2-5, K, .298
- Andrew Waszak: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K, 9.53 ERA
- Zach Jadofsky: 3 IP, H, ER, 3 K, 5.00 ERA
- Nate Hyatt: 2 IP, 4 K, 1.29 ERA
- Brandon Cunniff: 3 IP, H, BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA
Lynchburg won a wild one at Calvin Falwell Field on Friday night to open their series against Potomac, 7-6. The Hillcats prevailed on a walk-off solo shot courtesy of third baseman Kevin Ahrens in the bottom of the 12th inning. José Peraza and Kyle Wren both had nice offensive performances at the top of the lineup, with both contributing a pair of hits. Peraza swiped a bag, and Wren outdid him by swiping two. Peraza and Wren have already combined for 20 stolen bases in just 15 games. Tyler Tewell, Will Skinner, and Daniel Castro also contributed with multi-hit games. Despite starter Andrew Waszak's poor start, Zach Jadofsky, Nate Hyatt, and Brandon Cunniff combined to throw 8 innings of one-run relief with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Cunniff picked up the win after throwing three fantastic innings, in which he struck out four Nationals and allowed only two baserunners.
Rome Braves at Charleston RiverDogs: PPD
The same rain that canceled Gwinnett's game up in Charlotte washed out Rome's game in Charleston on Friday night.
Rome and Charleston will play two tomorrow night.