(10-6) Gwinnett Braves 5, (7-8) Charlotte Knights 8 F/10
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Chase D'Arnaud, CF: 3-5, 2B,
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Rio Ruiz, 3B: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, .368/.419/.579
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Sean Kazmar, SS: 3-4, 2B, .317/.356/.512
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John Gant, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 3.68 ERA
Gwinnett had a few chances to win this game from the Knights, but let leads slip away in both the 9th and 10th inning. The GBraves went into the 9th up 4-1, but after 2 home runs were forced to extra innings. They took the lead in the 10th inning, but fell victim to a walk off grand slam. The big blow of the game was Rio Ruiz's bomb in the 4th, his second of the year. Ruiz is now 6th in the International League in Batting Average (.368), Slugging (.579), and OPS (.998). Sean Kazmar went 3-4 with a double and is now hitting .317 on the season.
(The ball hits at the highest point of steps and ricochets to where fans converge)
John Gant had his best start in AAA, with 6 great innings allowing 1 run and striking out 7 batters. International League hitters are batting .157 with 18 strikeouts in 14.2 IP versus Gant this season. Rob Wooten came into the game today having not allowed a run on the season, but quickly changed that narrative by giving up a lead off home run. He allowed another home run 2 batters leader and left having blown the save without recording an out. David Peterson was able to record 2 outs, but after an Intentional walk to load the bases, he allowed a walk off grand slam.
Next Game: 4/23 vs (7-7) Columbus Clippers @ 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Mike Foltynewicz (1-1, 3.00 ERA)
COL: Ryan Merritt (0-2, 4.22 ERA)
Note: Foltynewicz may not start, as he is a possible candidate to be called up to Atlanta in place of Williams Perez.
(6-10) Mississippi Braves 5, (11-4) Biloxi Shuckers 0
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Ozzie Albies, SS: 0-2, 2 BB, .339/.414/.435
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Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-4, RBI, .267/.338/.417
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Willians Astudillo, C: 1-4, RBI,
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Stephen Janas, SP: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3.46 ERA
Lucas Sims was a late scratch for Mississippi (possible call up to Gwinnett), but the bullpen filled in nicely in his absence and shut down the First place Shuckers. The offense staked the Braves to an early lead with 5 runs in the first inning, and though they did not score any more that was all they needed. Even starting pitcher Andrew Thurman got in on the action with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Despite his 0-2, Ozhaino Albies walked twice to extend his on base streak to 15 games. He currently sits in 7th in the Southern League in On Base Percentage.
Andrew Thurman started for Mississippi in place of Sims, and did his best impression striking out 6 batters in 3 innings. It has been a tough start to the season for Thurman, but this was by far his best performance. The same goes for Stephen Janas, who relieved Thurman and earned the win for the game. He pitched 5 shutout innings and allowed only 2 baserunners while striking out 4. Mauricio Cabrera closed it out with a scoreless inning and a strikeout.
Next Game: 4/20 vs (4-9) Chattanooga Lookouts @ 11:35 AM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Chris Ellis (2-0, 1.56 ERA)
CHA: Jorge Ortega (0-1, 1.54 ERA)
Since Willians Astudillo's last strikeout
275 days
40 Games
57 Braves Losses
45 Hits
124 At bats
152 Plate appearances
6 MLB No Hitters
95 Nick Markakis hits
90 Lucas Sims strikeouts
(7-9) Carolina Mudcats 6 at (8-8) Myrtle Beach 3
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Dansby Swanson, SS: 1-3, BB .344/.425/.531
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Braxton Davidson, DH: 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI .197/.271/.311
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Omar Obregon, 2B: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .339/.381/.475
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Enderson Franco, RP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. 9.00 ERA
Braxton Davidson contributed nicely to the Mudcats win last night, with a mammoth home run the opposite way. He also added another RBI double to his tally, and now has 7 RBI on the season. Dansby Swanson had an average line by his standards, drawing a walk and getting a hit, and has now hit in 7 of his last 8 games. The real streak belongs to Omar Obregon, who has now hit safely in 13 consecutive games. He has 5 multi hit games in that stretch and is one of the leading hitters in the Carolina League. He is 5th in batting average, with Dansby Swanson checking in at 4th on that list.
(the ball went over the bleachers)
The rain shortened game limited the amount of pitchers Carolina used today, and those that did play were really just okay. Enderson Franco went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts to lower his ERA to an even 9. He was relieved by Zack Bird, who managed to pitch an inning and a third scoreless despite walking 3 batters. Evan Phillips rounded out the night with a scoreless two-thirds of an inning, and has yet to allow an earned run this season.
Next Game: 4/23 vs (8-8) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
CAR: Ryan Lawlor (1-0, 2.84 ERA)
SAL: Jake Stinnett (1-0, 3.27 ERA)
(5-11) Rome Braves 3, (5-11) Asheville 11
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Ray-Patrick Didder, RF: 2-5, 3B, RBI .353/.450/.569
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Ronald Acuna, CF: 2-5, RBI, SB, .300/.364/.367
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Austin Riley, 3B: 0-4, .230/.262/.443
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Touki Toussaint, SP: 5 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 12.66 ERA
Rome was thoroughly smoked in this game by Asheville, with top pick Brendan Rodgers burning Touki Toussaint for a home run. The typical names did well for Rome offensively, Ray-Patrick Didder again recording a multi hit game. Didder is now 8th in the South Atlantic League in OPS. Ronald Acuna again impressed, and showed off the wheels with a stolen base. He has now stolen all 6 bases he has attempted this season, and dating back to last season has successfully stolen 18 of his last 19 attempts in 49 games. Jonathan Morales and Justin Ellison also added hits on the day.
The concern for Rome now has to be on Touki Toussaint, who has just been horrifically bad in his first 3 starts. The most concerning thing isn't the numbers, rather the stuff. He has seen a dip in his velocity that will raise eyebrows and probably lead to some further evaluation.
#Braves prospect Touki Toussaint topping out at 91. 88-90 w/ FB. :(
— Chris Blessing (@C_Blessing) April 22, 2016
Caleb Beech was solid in his 2 innings of relief. He allowed a run on two hits, but struck out 3 batters and walked none. Taylor Lewis gave up 2 runs in his inning of work, and finally Bladimir Matos closed it out with a clean inning.
Next Game: 4/23 vs (5-11) Asheville Tourists @ 6:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Mike Soroka (0-1, 2.40 ERA)
ASH: Parker French (1-1, 1.59 ERA)