Gwinnett Braves 4, Durham Bulls 2
- Ozzie Albies, SS: 1-3, HR, .309/.371/.461
- Adonis Garcia, LF: 1-4, 2B, 1 RBI, .356/.408/.711
- Rio Ruiz, 3B: 0-3, 3 K, .262/.338/.369
- Tyrell Jenkins, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 3.02 ERA
Ozzie Albies went deep in a three run first inning as Gwinnett defeated Durham 4-2. Shae Simmons pitched the first inning of this game and loaded the bases before striking out the side preventing any actual damage. Tyrell Jenkins would take over from there with 6 strong innings giving up just 2 earned runs. His peripherals continue to be a bit concerning, but all the guy does is get outs and succeed at each level so its hard to argue with the results. He could see time in Atlanta sooner rather than later. Sean Burnett and Chris Withrow combined for 2 scoreless innings of relief.
On offense, Ozzie brought out the big wood with a legit shot to left center. Ozzie has 4 home runs in his minor league career, 3 of which have happened in the last month and a half or so. So basically he is going to be Jose Altuve (just kidding....kinda). Adonis Garcia had himself another hit and has now hit safely in all 12 games he has played in AAA. It may be time to start worrying about Rio Ruiz a little bit as he has just 4 hits in his last 10 games while striking out 12 times over that span. We are still dealing with small sample sizes here, but he needs to make some sort of adjustment because this recent stretch has been strikingly similar to his 2015 season.
.309/.371/.461 on the season for Ozzie after this HR yesterday. pic.twitter.com/gYvrgNPxB5
— Braves Reddit (@BravesReddit) May 19, 2016
Next Game: 5/19 hosting Charlotte @ 7:05 PM
Probable Starters: Gwinnett - TBA, Charlotte - Chris Volstad
Mississippi Braves 2, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3
- Dansby Swanson, SS: 1-4, run, BB, .308/.413/.493
- Matt Lipka, CF: 2-5, 2B, .248/.320/.365
- Brandon Barker, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 2.00 ERA
Brandon Barker was great, but Jason Hursh let a late lead slip as Mississippi lost to Pensacola 3-2. Barker continues to have the best season that no one is giving credit for as he sports a 2.00 ERA in 9 appearances (8 starts). He does seem to gas a bit after 5-6 innings, but he is missing bats and is really good about locating his average stuff and changing velocity in smart ways. Sadly, Jason Hursh gave up the lead late with some help from a passed ball and a flair that managed to drop. So instead of a 2-0 win, Mississippi would go home the losers 3-2.
Next Game: 5/19 at Mobile @ 6:35 PM
Probable Starters: Mississippi - Andrew Thurman, Mobile - John Omahen
Carolina Mudcats 0, Potomac Nationals 2 - Game One
Carolina Mudcats 0, Potomac Nationals 3 - Game Two
- Keith Curcio, RF: 2-5, .277/.331/.394
- Joey Meneses, 1B: 0-6, .321/.379/.481
- Zach Quintana, SP: 4 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 4.73 ERA
Carolina was swept in a doubleheader by Potomac by final scores of 2-0 and 3-0. The pitching for Carolina was perfectly reasonable as both Enderson Franco and Zach Quintana both kept Carolina in their respective games. Quintana clearly did not have his best stuff while allowing 9 baserunners in 4 innings of work but he pitched out of trouble well. Enderson Franco was more of the same with 10 baserunners in 5 innings but managed to only allow 3 earned runs. Chase Johnson-Mullins did not appear in either game as he is still recovering from an ankle injury but in theory should be back in a few days at most.
There is really not much to talk about on offense as Carolina only managed 8 hits total in the doubleheader with Keith Curcio being the only player to have hits in both games. Its worth noting that Braxton Davidson did not play in either half of the doubleheader. Its unclear as to what the reason for him sitting could be, but given his struggles this season a day of rest couldn't hurt.
Next Game: 5/19 at Potomac @ 7:05 PM
Probable Starters: Carolina - Wes Parsons, Potomac - Phillips Valdez
Rome Braves 8, Columbia Fireflies 5
- Ray Patrick-Didder, CF: 3-4, 2 runs, SB(10), .288/.385/.410
- Lucas Herbert, C: 2-5, 1 RBI, 2 runs, .213/.281/.287
- Austin Riley, 3B: 1-4, 2B, BB, 1 RBI, .242/.301/.394
- Patrick Weigel, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Rome used a 6 run second inning to jump out to a big lead and defeat Columbia 8-5. Patrick Weigel had himself a decent day on the mound with 5 innings of 2-run ball. Allowing ten baserunners including 4 walks is less than ideal though, and Weigel has shown a bit of a propensity for free passes of late. Bladimir Matos struggled a bit with a pair of earned runs, but Alex (AJ) Minter came in and pitched 1.2 scoreless to secure the win. Minter has yet to give up an earned run in his 5 appearances this season.
On offense, it was good to see Austin Riley back in the lineup and he jumped right in with an RBI double. He would also walk in the game. Ray Patrick-Didder was Rome's top offensive performer with three hits and his 10th stolen base of the season. Lucas Herbert has quietly been improving at the plate of late, batting .278 over his last ten games to help bring his offensive back towards respectability. Jonathan Morales had a hit...in other news the sky is blue.
Next Game: 5/19 hosting Augusta GreenJackets @ 7:00 PM
Probable Starters: Rome - Max Fried, Augusta - TBA