Gwinnett Braves 1, Charlotte Knights 3
Box Score
- Dustin Peterson, LF: 2-4, BB, .295/.353/.346
- Carlos Franco, 3B: 2-4, HR, RBI, .216/.266/.324
- Kris Medlen, SP: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Kris Medlen continued to pitch well as he tries to return to the majors, but the offense for Gwinnett faltered and the Braves fell 3-1. Given the arm troubles that Kris Medlen has had to endure in recent history, he has been pitching very well during his rehab. His fastball still looks live and beyond some rust command-wise which is to be expected (especially later in his starts), he does not look too far removed from the pitcher he was when he was with the Braves. He currently sports a 3.29 ERA in 5 rehab starts in 2017 with 20 Ks and 10 BBs in 27.1 innings.
There wasn’t much going on on offense for Gwinnett as Carson Fulmer held them largely in check. Gwinnett’s lone run came from a solo shot from Carlos Franco. This was a welcome development for Franco as he has certainly struggled since his promotion to Gwinnett to the tune of a .590 OPS in his 21 games there. Franco, Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, and Kyle Kubitza all had two hit games but Gwinnett failed to capitalize on their scoring chances, going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
Mississippi Braves 2, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 6
Box Score
- Kade Scivicque, C: 1-4, 2 RBI, .286/.333/.379
- Luis Valenzuela, 2B: 1-3, 2B, BB, run, .279/.319/.407
- Andres Santiago, SP: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
Tough game for Mississippi as Andres Santiago struggled in his AA debut and the Braves’ bats were largely silent as they lost to Pensacola 6-2. This was not a banner effort from Andres Santiago as he was promoted in order to fill the vacancy left by Kris Medlen’s promotion. He struggled to find the strike zone and miss bats, which is a less than ideal combination of things to have happen while on the mound. The Mississippi bullpen was pressed into action early and did well with the notable exception of Rex Brothers, who is also trying to make his way back to the majors, as he gave 2 earned runs in just an inning of work.
Mississippi had a lot of trouble on offense as a rehabbing Homer Bailey looked excellent on the mound. The lone bright spot for the Braves came off the bat of KAde Scivicque as he laced a two-run single in the 6th inning which temporarily brought the deficit to just two runs. No Mississippi batter had more than one hit and only Luis Valenzuela had an XBH in the game when he doubled in the 6th inning. Ronald Acuna was held hitless in his second straight game.
Florida Fire Frogs 10, Clearwater Threshers 3
Box Score
- Anfernee Seymour, RF: 3-5, 3 runs, BB, .323/.400/.374
- Austin Riley, 3B: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 3 runs, BB, .257/.321/.414
- Tyler Pike, SP: 6.1 IP, 10 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 6 K, 2.20 ERA
The Fire Frogs offense woke up in a big way in this one, backing yet another strong start from Tyler Pike as the Frogs ran away with this one 10-3. Now sporting a 2.20 ERA in 12 starts at high-A, Pike has been excellent all year long. In 11 of his 12 starts this season, he has given up 3 earned runs or less and he has held opposing batters to just a .223 average against him. He should be nice line to be promoted to Mississippi. Corbin Clouse continued his excellent work out of the bullpen of late with his 12th straight scoreless relief appearance. Devan Watts closed out the game with another strong outing and he currently stands as one of the best relief prospects (along with other members of the Fire Frogs roster including Clouse) in the Braves system.
On offense, there was a lot to like as four different players had multiple RBIs in the game and 7 of the 9 lineup regulars recorded hits. The heart of the order did a lot of the heavy lifting including Austin Riley who, after a slump from the end of May through the first week of June, seems to be back on track. He connected for his 9th home run of the season and reached base three times on the evening. Anfernee Seymour continues to have a great year at the plate and he has 6 hits in his last 3 games.
Rome Braves 2, Asheville Tourists 0
Box Score
- Randy Ventura, RF: 2-4, .338/.378/.376
- Kurt Hoekstra, 3B: 2-4, .243/.299/.349
- Ian Anderson, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 4.15 ERA
In the battle of first round picks between Ian Anderson and Riley Pint, Ian Anderson emerged victorious as he pitched an absolute gem as Rome defeated Asheville 2-0. For Ian, his success or failure starts with his ability to get ahead of batters and throw first pitch strikes. He was on tonight as he mowed through Asheville as he gave up just 3 singles. Both of his walks came in the second inning with two outs, but he struck out the next batter to escape the little trouble he found himself in on the evening. Thomas Burrows and Brandon White closed the game out with 3 innings of scoreless relief to secure the shutout.
There was not much going on on offense in this pitchers duel, but Rome made the most of their chances thanks to a healthy dose of speed in the lineup. One run scored thanks to an error and another scored when Asheville’s catcher caught Randy Ventura stealing 2nd but Kevin Josephina took advantage of their attention being elsewhere and sprinted home. Cristian Pache stole his 16th base on the season while Ventura had two hits, but was caught stealing twice. Brett Cumberland’s lengthy on-base streak came to an end as he went 0-4 with a strikeout.
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