(41-49) Gwinnett Braves 4, (41-50) Charlotte Knights 6
- Omar Infante, 2B: 2-5, .353/.389/.412
- Rio Ruiz, DH: 0-3, RBI, .272/.363/.380
- Matt Lipka, CF: 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, .247/.300/.420
- Aaron Blair, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 4.26 ERA
The GBraves offense produced 5 players who recorded multiple hits in the game, but could only scratch 4 runs out against the Knights. Matt Lipka has started to heat up at the plate, and has 11 hits in the month of July. In his last 5 he has 5 extra base hits and has an .886 OPS this month. Ronnier Mustelier had hit safely in 5 straight, with 9 hits, 2 home runs, and a double in that time.
Aaron Blair’s return trip to AAA has not gone too well so far, as he allowed 3 more runs for a total of 14 in his 4 starts since demotion. Today was a struggle at times for Blair, but the 2 consecutive walks to start the 2nd inning make his start look a lot worse than it was. After being staked to a 4-3 lead after a comeback effort from the offense, the GBraves allowed 3 runs in the 7th inning to fall down 6-4. Maikel Cleto closed it out with a perfect 8th and 2 strikeouts.
Next Game: 7/10 vs (41-50) Charlotte Knights @ 2:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Rob Wooten (2-1, 1.80 ERA)
CHA: Chris Volstad (5-7, 4.67 ERA)
(42-43) Mississippi Braves 6, (40-46) Mobile BayBears 7 F/12
- Ozzie Albies, 2B: 1-6, HR, 2 RBI .386/.457/.543
- Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-5, 2B, .276/.341/.423
- Johan Camargo, SS: 2-5, BB, .263/.305/.363
- Max Povse, SP: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 6.75 ERA
The MBraves seemed poised to run away with this game early as a 5 run 4th inning gave them a 6-0 lead over the BayBears. However, over the next 8 innings they recorded 2 hits, and the BayBears were able to overcome the deficit. Ozzie Albies homered from the left side of the plate for the first time in his career, scoring Johan Camargo. Albies now has hits in 8 straight games, and he’s hit safely in 9 of the 10 games since his demotion. The home run was Albies first since May 18.
Max Povse’s 1st AA start began strong, as he was pitching a shutout through 4. It started to roll downhill for Povse in the 5th, when he allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, but escaped with 2 runners on. He allowed a leadoff home run in the 5th. Then recorded 1 out before allowing a double and being pulled. David Peterson allowed that inherited run and a run of his own to score before getting out of the inning. In the 8th AJ Minter allowed his first professional run, and that tied the game. The Braves held Mobile scoreless until the 12th, when Steve Kent loaded the bases with 1 out and allowed a sac fly to lose the game.
Next Game: 7/10 vs (40-46) Mobile Baybears @ 6:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
MIS:Jed Bradley (4-3, 4.37 ERA)
MTG: Josh Taylor (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
(36-51) Carolina Mudcats 6, (45-38) Potomac Nationals 5
- Sal Giardina, C: 2-5, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, .230/.275/.328
- Isaias Tejada, 1B: 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, .273/.333/.614
- Chris Withrow, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 K, 3.52 ERA
The Mudcats fell behind 3 separate times in this game, but were able to come back each time. After falling behind 2-0 early, they strung together 3 extra base hits in a row to tie the game in the third. The Mudcats again found themselves down in the 7th, this time by just a run, and tied the game on Isaias Tejada’s single. The big inning came in the ninth, when the Mudcats, trailing 5-3, scored 3 runs to take the lead. The big hit came off the bat of Sal Giardina, a go ahead 2 out, 2 run double.
Chris Withrow put together another one of his weirdly consistent but never really impressive starts, getting the quality start for the Mudcats. He was relieved after 6 by Taylor Lewis, who allowed 2 runs in his 2 innings of work. Both of those were unearned, so his streak of innings with no earned runs allowed was extended to 24. Sean McLaughlin pitched a scoreless 9th, earning his 3rd save in 3 games in July.
Next Game: 7/10 vs (45-38) Potomac Nationals 6:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
CAR: TBD
SAL: Whit Mayberry (1-0, 2.25 ERA)
(36-50 Rome Braves 7, (46-41) Hickory Dickory Crawdocks 6
- Ray-Patrick Didder, CF: 3-4, SB, Outfield Assist, .266/.377/.368
- Darien McLemore, 2B: 3-4, .750/.750/.750
- Carlos Castro, DH: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, .237/.283/.548
- Oriel Caicedo, SP: 3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 5.60 ERA
Rome had to make a big comeback to win this one after falling behind 6-1 early. They scored a run each in the 5th and sixth, and scored 2 in the 7th to pull back within 1. The first run scored on a bases loaded walk, after the Crawdads loaded the bases with an intentional walk following a wild pitch. Then, with Leudys Baez up, Hickory unleashed another wild pitch and Alejandro Salazar scored the winning run. Carlos Castro hit his Braves minor leagues-leading 11th home run, despite only 32 hits on the season.
With Max Fried now on the DL with a blister, Oriel Caicedo has slid into his spot. Caicedo started with a scoreless first, but allowed 1 run in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd to give Hickory the lead. He then allowed 2 straight singles to start the 4th, and a 3 run home run that led to his removal from the game. Grayson Jones worked 3 scoreless innings in relief of Caicedo, and was followed by a scoreless inning from Eric O’Flaherty. Corbin Clouse earned the win in his first Low A game, going 2 scoreless.
Next Game: 7/10 vs (46-41) Hickory Crawdads 7:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Touki Toussaint (2-5, 4.50 ERA)
HIC: Peter Fairbanks (4-3, 4.96 ERA)
(7-9) Danville Braves 8, (6-10) Kingsport Mets 10
- Ramon Osuna, 1B: 2-4, 2 RBI, .286/.340/.357
- Matt Gonzalez, LF: 3-5, 2 3B, RBI, .273/.322/.400
- Isranel Wilson, RF: 0-5, .190/.261/.333
- Jaret Hellinger, SP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 5.50 ERA
The Braves played well enough on offense to win most games, but couldn’t quite overcome the early 9-0 deficit they were faced with. Brett Cumberland went hitless, and has just 4 hits in his first 8 professional games. Bradley Keller was recently demoted from Rome, and had a triple and an RBI in his first game with Danville.
Jaret Hellinger has struggled at the offset this season, and has begun to walk more batters after limiting them last season and the start of this season. Hellinger was relieved by Dalton Carroll, who allowed 2 runs in his 1.1 of work. Evertz Orosco pitched the only clean innings of the game, with 3 scoreless from the 6th-8th. Zach Rice finished out the game with a run in 1 inning of work. He has walked 6 batters in his 5 innings this season.
Next Game: 7/10 vs (6-10) Kingsport Mets 4:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
DAN: Luis Gamez (2-1, 1.42 ERA)
KNG: Thomas Kzapucki (0-1, 0.54 ERA)
(5-9) GCL Braves 1, (4-9) Pirates 5 F/10
- Cristian Pache, CF: 0-3, BB, .269/.309/.365
- Randy Ventura, RF: 2-4, RBI, .314/.367/.353
- Derian Cruz, SS: 0-4, SB, .333/.333/.519
- Kyle Muller, SP: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2.08 ERA
Errors undid the GCL Braves today, as their 5 committed led to all 5 of their runs allowed being unearned. The offense scored a run in the 3rd, but was shut down for the next 7 innings and only scored 1 run in total. Derian Cruz went hitless for just the second time in his 12 pro games, and Cristian Pache went hitless for his second straight. Randy Ventura had 2 hits and an RBI leading off for the Braves, and now holds a 5 game hitting streak. Ventura leads the Gulf Coast League with 7 stolen bases.
Kyle Muller got the start for the GCL Squad, and allowed just 1 unearned run. He didn’t walk anyone for the first time in his early career, and struck out 3. Tucker Davidson pitched 3 scoreless innings, struck out 5 batters, and didn’t walk any. In 9.1 innings this season Davidson has allowed 1 run, 0 walks, and struck out 12. The big inning came in the 10th, when under the hand of Gilbert Suarez 4 unearned runs scored on the GCL Braves.