(57-71) Gwinnett Braves 2, (71-58) Rochester Red Wings 3
Box Score
Rio Ruiz, 3B: 0-4, .271/.356/.398
Brandon Snyder, RF: 1-4, HR, RBI, .331/.364/.446
Stephen Janas, SP: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.74 ERA
Bradley Roney, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 3.13 ERA
Gwinnett smacked 2 solo home runs in the game, but had no other offensive production and could not overcome the early 3-0 deficit the Red Wings left them with. After a stellar performance in yesterday’s rain-shortened game Rio Ruiz struggled to an 0-4 game. Emilio Bonifacio had a hit in the game, and he has been on fire in his last 16 games hitting .404/.507/.526 with 10 stolen bases in that frame.
Stephen Janas was forced into action for Gwinnett after the scheduled starter John Gant was promoted, and made his first start of the season. Janas struggled early allowing 3 runs in the first 2 innings, but settled down to pitch the next 2 scoreless. Bradley Roney took a lot of pressure off the bullpen with a career-high 7 strikeouts in 3 fantastic inning, also his first 0 walk outing since July 28. Shae Simmons closed out the game with a perfect 9th, striking out 2 batters. The bullpen as a whole pitched 5 innings, struck out 11 batters and only allowed 3 baserunners.
Next Game: 8/22 vs (71-58) Rochester Red Wings @ 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Chris Ellis (4-4, 6.27 ERA)
ROC: Andrew Albers (9-6, 3.64 ERA)
(67-56) Mississippi Braves 3, (69-56) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 6
Box Score
Ozzie Albies, 2B: 1-5, RBI, .322/.396/.443
Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-4, .290/.349/.443
Connor Lien, CF: 1-2, 2B, BB, .237/.323/.422
Lucas Sims, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 2.45 ERA
Mississippi struggled in the last 4 games of the series with the first half champion Blue Wahoos, dropping 3 of 4, but still hold a commanding 5 game lead in the South and have the Elimination Number down to 11. Mississippi got off to a good start in the second inning, with a single that scored 2 runs by Stephen Gaylor to give them a 2 run lead. The Blue Wahoos fought back late in the game, and Mississippi was unable to match them though. Joseph Odom had 3 hits in this game, and has heated up significantly after a tough start in AA and is now hitting .390 in August. Dustin Peterson has 1 hit in each of his last 5 games, and has hit safely in 14 of his last 16. That late season slump has not hit him yet, and he has enjoyed a phenomenal season.
Lucas Sims limited contact through his 6 innings, striking out 7 and allowing 1 run on just 3 hits. He struggled with his control, with 60 of his 105 pitches for strikes, 4 walks and a hit batter. He still gave the team a lead when he left, but the bullpen struggled. Evan Phillips allowed 4 baserunners and a run when he was pulled, and David Peterson allowed a run of his own and 2 of Phillips to score and give Pensacola a 5-2 lead in the 8th. Peterson allowed another run to score in the 9th before Philip Pfieffer was able to shut the door, but the damage was done for Mississippi.
Next Game: 8/22 @ (62-62) Biloxi Shuckers 7:40 PM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Patrick Weigel (10-4, 2.51 ERA in Low A Rome. First AA start)
BLX: Luis Ortiz (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
(60-65) Rome Braves 4, (61-63) Asheville Tourists 2
Box Score
Ray-Patrick Didder, CF: 1-4, .275/.389/.383
Austin Riley, 3B: 1-4, HR (16), 2 RBI, .261/.317/.455
Carlos Castro, 1B: 2-4, HR (14), 2 RBI, .259/.296/.490
Kolby Allard, SP: 8 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 3.86 ERA
Rome has made a huge late season surge, and a 4 game winning streak and come-from-behind victory leaves them a half game back of first place of Augusta who has lost 5 straight (but has a game in hand). Despite the pitching keeping Asheville well in hand for most of the game, Rome still found themselves down 2-0 going into the 9th. After a lead off double by Kevin Josephina, Austin Riley hit an opposite field homerun to tie it up, his 16th of the year. 3 batters later, Carlos Castro broke the tie with his 14th of the year, driving in Jonathan Morales and giving Rome the lead they would need for the win. After a terrible mid season slump, Morales has now hit in 5 straight games. Justin Ellison only got one at bat as a pinch hitter, but singled and extended his hitting streak to 7 games.
Kolby Allard made the pitching half of this recap short and sweet, with 8 innings of strong and efficient pitching and only 2 runs allowed in one of the best hitters parks in the minor leagues. Allard allowed a run in the opening inning, but shut the Tourists down until the first batter of the 8th homered. Allard only threw 90 pitches, and 66 of those were strikes. Devan Watts closed the game wout with a scoreless inning, something the Braves have gotten used to as he has a 1.17 ERA with Rome this season and 0.93 overall.
Next Game: 8/22 @ (61-63) Asheville Tourists 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Max Fried (7-6, 3.86 ERA)
ASH: Jesus Tinoco (3-6, 5.32 ERA)
(27-28) Danville Braves 4, (32-24) Bluefield Blue Jays 7
Box Score
Cristian Pache, CF: 1-4, .319/.347/.435
Ramon Osuna, 1B: 1-4, 2B, .321/.377/.504
Derian Cruz, SS: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, .220/.230/.339
Cameron Stanton, SP: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2.67 ERA
All runs for both teams were scored in the 6th and 7th innings, and Danville was unable to match firepower with the Blue Jays. Cristian Pache had another hit in this one, and after seeing his 8 game hitting streak snapped has hit safely in each of his last 2. Marcus Mooney extended his team-leading hitting streak to 7 with a double and an RBI. The most encouraging performance has been from Derian Cruz, who has shaken off the bad start after his promotion and has 7 hits in his last 4 games.
Cameron Stanton shut Bluefield down over 4 innings, allowing just 2 baserunners. In his 5 starts this season he has allowed runs in only one of them and has a 1.35 ERA. Luis Mora allowed the first runs of the game and let Bluefield take the lead on a 2 run home run from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Zach Rice imploded to allow 4 runs in the 7th, and the game was out of reach at that point for the Braves. Bladimir Matos pitched 2 scoreless innings, and has hopefully begun rounding back into form with Danville and has a 0.75 ERA down there.
Next Game: 8/22 vs (32-24) Bluefield Blue Jays 7:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
DAN: Ian Anderson (0-0, 3.52 ERA)
BLU: Jose Espada (1-4, 5.80 ERA)
