(4-8) Rome Braves 2 @ (5-7) Augusta GreenJackets 5
- Austin Riley, 3B: 0-4, 2 K, .244/.277/.444
- Matt Tellor, 1B: 2-4, HR(1), 1 2B, .179/.179/.308
- Jonathan Morales, C: 1-4, .405/.405/.476
- Mike Soroka, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 runs (3 ER), 1 BB, 6 K, 2.40 ERA
Rome continues to struggle in the early going of the season in terms of wins and losses as they fell to the GreenJackets 5-2. Mike Soroka didn't have his best stuff on this evening, but still battled to keep Rome in the game. An ugly 2 base error from Ray Patrick Didder cost Soroka an unearned run and turned an ok situation in to a bad one. He also struck out 6 in 5 innings while walking just one, so there is no real cause for alarm. Taylor Lewis had a good outing in relief, which is somewhat newsworthy as he had struggled to begin the season.
On offense, the Braves could simply not get anything going. They had a bases loaded opportunity late in the game, but Austin Riley grounded in to a double play which officially ended his 8 game hitting streak as well. Jonathan Morales did his thing with yet another hit to keep his average above .400. The bulk of Rome's offense came from Matt Tellor, who hit a solo homer as well as a double, while the other RBI came courtesy of Alejandro Salazar in the 9th inning.
Next Game: 4/19 @ 7:05 PM at Augusta. Probable Starters: Rome - Patrick Weigel, Augusta - Michael Santos
(8-4) Salem Red Sox 6 @ (6-6) Carolina Mudcats 4
- Dansby Swanson, SS: 3-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 2B, SB (4), .367/.426/.510
- Braxton Davidson, RF: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, .205/.275/.273
- Ryan Lawlor, SP: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 3 K, 2.84 ERA
- Chase Johnson-Mullins, RP: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA
Salem and its loaded roster gave Carolina trouble as the Mudcats fell 6-4. Ryan Lawlor managed to limit the damage, but his control was not good (6 walks in 3.2 innings..ouch) and he was forced from the game before the end of the 4th inning. Zack Bird did not fair much better as he gave up 3 runs in 2.1 innings of work. Carlos Salazar is an very intriguing arm along with Chase Johnson-Mullins who both appeared in this game. Johnson-Mullins still has yet to give up an earned run and Salazar has struck out 12 in 4 relief appearances this year.
On offense, several Mudcats had good nights. Keith Curcio had his typical strong night in the leadoff spot with a couple of hits, while Dansby "Dansbae" Swanson continued his assault on high-A with 3 hits including a double while getting his 4th stolen base as well. Based on his play as well as the play of Ozzie Albies in Double-A, the Braves are going to have some difficult promotion decisions coming up sooner rather than later. Braxton Davidson had a couple of hits as well with a double and 2 RBIs to try to get his season going.
Next Game: 4/19 @ 7:00 PM hosting Salem. Probable Starters: Carolina - Matt Withrow, Salem - Travis Lakins
(4-8) Chattanooga Lookouts 3 @ (3-9) Mississippi Braves 5
- Ozzie Albies, SS: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 2B, 2 runs, .327/.389/.449
- Willians Astudillo, C: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 run, .278/.316/.333
- Levi Hyams, 1B: 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, .231/.286/.346
- Chris Ellis, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1.56 ERA
Mississippi used a strong showing from Chris Ellis and a big night from Levi Hyams to take down Chattanooga 5-3. Ellis was excellent through 6 innings, issuing zero walks and giving up just 3 hits. For a pitcher who has a history of control issues, this was a welcome sight. After Victor Mateo failed to get an out in relief and gave up 2 runs, Matt Marksberry came in and restored order to lock down the win.
To the shock of basically no one at this point, Ozzie Albies continues to do work out of the leadoff spot in Mississippi. He added a double, walk, and 2 runs scored to his impressive season thus far and seems to have recovered nicely from the injury that cost him the last month of the season in 2015. Levin Hyams reaped the benefits of Ozzie hitting in front of him with a pair of doubles and 3 RBIs. Willians Astudillo still refuses to go down on strikes and added two more hits to improve his average to .278 on the year.
Next Game: 4/19 @ 7:00 PM CST hosting Chattanooga. Probable Starters: Mississippi - Sean Newcomb, Chattanooga - David Hurlbut
(7-5) Durham Bulls 5 @ (9-3) Gwinnett Braves 4
- Rio Ruiz, 3B: 1-4, .310/.370/.476
- Chase d'Arnaud, RF: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 runs, .279/.311/.442
- Reid Brignac, 2B: 3-5, 2 RBI, .317/.420/.317
- Mike Foltynewicz, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 3.00 ERA