(10-3) Gwinnett Braves 7, (7-6) Durham Bulls 2
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Ronnier Mustelier, LF: 3-4, RBI, .400/.424/.467
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Rio Ruiz, 3B: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .348/.400/.522
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Emilio Bonifacio, CF: 2-3, BB, RBI, .375/.417/.438
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Aaron Blair, SP: 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, 1.42 ERA
Gwinnett got it done again behind a dominant performance by Aaron Blair and 7 run offensive output headlined by 2 three-hit games. The best of those was from Rio Ruiz, who after a dismal 2015 season is tearing up International League Pitching this season. Ruiz is now 10th in the league with a .922 OPS, and is 4th in the league with 16 hits. Ronnier Mustelier has been tearing the cover off of the ball since his GBraves debut, and has pushed his batting average over .400 for the season. Catcher Ryan Lavarnway had a 2 hit game with a double and is now hitting .325/.400/.425 on the season.
The story from the game was Aaron Blair's near perfect 7 innings. In the first 6 innings of the game Blair retired each and every Bulls batter that came to the plate, and at one point struck out 6 batters in a row. He allowed a walk in the 7th inning but left the game still having not given up a hit with 10 strikeouts and only one walk. He ended with 87 pitches, and so may have had one more inning, but was pulled in favor of Madison Younginer. Despite not being on the 40 man roster Blair is right on the precipice of getting called up to Atlanta, and after 3 strong performances has begun to state an even larger case for himself.
Next Game: 4/20 vs (7-6) Durham Bulls @ 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Tyrell Jenkins (1-0, 2.00 ERA)
DUR: Austin Pruitt (0-1, 1.38 ERA)
(4-9) Mississippi Braves 7, (4-9) Chattanooga Lookouts 4
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Ozzie Albies, SS: 3-4, .358/.414/.472
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Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-3, BB, .286/.357/.469
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Willians Astudillo, C: 2-4, .300/.333/.350
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Sean Newcomb, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 2.40 ERA
Mississippi is starting to play better after a terrible start to this season, and they were helped in this one by a rare 2 home run game by the team. Dustin Peterson homered in the 4th inning and Levi Hyams homered in the 8th. Ozhaino Albies extended his on base streak to 12 consecutive games, and now sits 2nd in the SL with a .358 average and 5th with an .886 OPS, all while being the youngest player in the league by far. Willians Astudillo went 2-4 with no strikeouts and has now gone 147 consecutive plate appearances without striking out.
Sean Newcomb had a performance that was a little good and a little bad. He was difficult to make contact to giving up only 3 hits while striking out 7, but the wildness was again a factor with 4 walks. On the day, 60 of his 96 pitches were strikes. Stephen Janas relieved Newcomb for 2.1 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) without striking out anyone. Mauricio Cabrera came in to lock down the save and looked good in an inning and two-thirds worth of work. He struck out 2 batters, walked 1, and didn't allow a hit.
Next Game: 4/20 vs (4-9) Chattanooga Lookouts @ 11:35 AM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Rob Whalen (1-0, 3.60 ERA)
CHA: Aaron Slegers (0-1, 3.60 ERA)
(6-7) Carolina Mudcats 5 vs. (9-4) Salem Red Sox 6
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Dansby Swanson, SS: 1-4, 2B, 2 BB .358/.433/.509
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Braxton Davidson, RF: 0-6, .180/.246/.240
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Omar Obregon, 2B: 4-6, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, .333/.385/.479
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Matt Withrow, RP: 3.1IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. 0.00 ERA
The Mudcats could not overcome the Red Sox in this one, eventually falling 6-5 in 12 innings after Yoan Moncada was hit by a pitch to allow in the go ahead run. It was another good day for Dansby Swanson, who added 1 to his now MILB-leading 8 doubles. He also was walked twice, once intentionally. It was not a good day for Braxton Davidson or Jordan Edgerton, both of whom finished 0-6.
It was a busy day for the Mudcats staff as they used 6 pitchers, 3 who went 3 or more innings. Starting out was Matt Withrow, who was very good in his 3.1 IP as made obvious by the above stat line. He was relieved by Wes Parsons, who did not fare so well in his 3 innings and allowed 4 earned runs. Sean McLaughlin also went 3.1 without allowing a run, striking out 1 batter and walking 1 with 3 hits allowed. Evan Phillips is the pitcher who got the loss in the game after he hit Moncada, but the run was unearned due to an error by Jordan Edgerton.
Next Game: 4/18 vs (7-4) Salem Red Sox 11:00 AM ET
Probable Starters
CAR: Max Povse (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
SAL: Jalen Beeks (1-0, 0.84 ERA)
(4-9) Rome Braves 2, (6-7) Augusta GreenJackets 3
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Ray-Patrick Didder, CF: 1-4 .342/.444/.553
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Ronald Acuna, DH: 1-4, RBI, SB, .269/.321/.288
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Austin Riley, 3B: 0-3, RBI, .229/.255/.417
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Patrick Weigel, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2.12 ERA
Rome took a brief lead in the 7th inning of this one, but weren't able to hold on to it and lost 3-2. Ronald Acuna stole his 5th base of the year, and is now 5-5 on stolen base attempts though for right now his bat is still catching up to A ball. Jonathan Morales was riding a 5 game hitting streak coming into play today but was unable to extend that, and Austin Riley continued his struggles at the plate. Rome had only 1 extra base hit on the day and it was by Lucas Herbert, who also knocked in a run with that hit
The offensive production was lackluster, but Patrick Weigel again impressed in his 3rd start. He touched 97 on the gun, and was able to control the ball well and flash good offspeed stuff. He pitched seven solid innings only allowing 2 runs while striking out 6 batters. Dalton Geekie came in to relieve him in the 8th, and after a solid first inning allowed the walk off base hit to seal the win for Augusta
Next Game: 4/18 at (6-7) Augusta GreenJackets @ 10:35 AM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Max Fried (0-0, 1.64 ERA)
AUG: Phil Bickford (0-2, 5.19 ERA)