Gwinnett Braves 4, Norfolk Tides 3 - F/6 (Weather)
- Ozzie Albies, 2B: 1-3, .273/.324/.419
- Rio Ruiz, 3B: 0-3, K, .257/.299/.438
- Aaron Blair, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 5.09 ERA
The weather that has been wreaking havoc of late (and causing me to recap seven games today...remember me) cut this game short with Gwinnett emerging victorious by the score of 4-3. Aaron Blair rebounded from a tough start to pitch well in this game despite the less than optimal conditions. Blair’s strikeout numbers have been up and down this season with this game being on the down side. That said, he limited hard contact, the guys behind him made some good plays to keep things from getting out of hand, and Blair made his pitches when they counted to keep Gwinnett ahead.
Ozzie Albies continues to get on-base in almost every game and set the table at the top of the order. He is still really good. Kyle Kubitza and Sean Kazmar had multi-hit games for Gwinnett and Matt Tuiasosopo hit the lone extra-base hit for Gwinnett with a home run to left center in the bottom of the second inning. Rio Ruiz went hitless in his return to Gwinnett after a tough stint in the majors.
Mississippi Braves 0, Biloxi Shuckers 2 - Game One
- Ronald Acuna, LF: 3-3, .318/.376/.459
- Travis Demeritte, 3B: 0-3, .239/.321/.427
- Tyler Pike, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Mississippi Braves 9, Biloxi Shuckers 11 - Game Two
- Kade Scivicque, C: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs, .278/.328/.370
- Connor Lien, RF: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs, .212/.291/.359
- Max Fried, SP: 0.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 6.54 ERA
Mississippi played a very strange doubleheader against Biloxi in which they were swept by the scores of 2-0 and 11-9. In the first game, Tyler Pike pitched very well after a pretty disastrous debut for Mississippi. Unfortunately, the offense didn’t show up and he took the loss in the game. Max Fried, on the other hand, did not pitch well at all and failed to escape the first inning. His stuff has simply not passed the eye test this year and reports seem to confirm that. Word is his velocity is down and it is clear that his breaking ball does not have anywhere the same bite or shape that it did in 2016. The results have been particularly pronounced against righties who are batting .290 against him this season.
On offense, Ronald Acuna did Ronald Acuna things as he recorded 3 hits in the first and had a hit and a walk in the second game. In the second game (where neither team really felt like pitching it seems), Mississippi had four players with multi-hit games with Sal Giardina, Jared James, Kade Scivicque, and Connor Lien getting gold stars. While Fried did not pitch well, he did have an RBI single to help his own cause if you are looking for a silver lining.
Florida Fire Frogs 1, Fort Myers 2
- Alex Jackson, C: 2-3, .291/.357/.545
- Ray-Patrick Didder, RF: 1-4, 3B, run, .216/.332/.308
- Andres Santiago, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 5.66 ERA
The offense struggled in this one and, despite a strong outing from Andres Santiago and the pitching staff, the Frogs fell by the score of 4-3. Santiago has bounced around the farm system this year and done basically anything the org has asked of him, so it was nice to see him have a strong start. Josh Graham and Sean McLaughlin came in and pitched 3 innings of scoreless relief to keep the game close.
It was another tough offensive game for the Fire Frogs, but some good things did happen. Alex Jackson recorded his first hits since returning from the disabled list after the All-Star break. Ray-Patrick Didder scored the lone run for the Frogs on a sac fly from Austin Riley after he stretched out a triple in the first inning. Braxton Davidson had a very Braxton game, going 0-1 with two walks and a strikeout.
Rome Braves 4, Asheville Tourists 3 - F/10
- Austin Bush, 1B: 2-3, HR, RBI
- Marcus Mooney, SS: 2-5, 2 2B, run, .236/.316/.268
- Jeremy Walker, SP: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 4 K, 5.30 ERA
Rome was triumphant in extra innings again as they defeated Asheville by the score of 4-3. Jeremy Walker was excellent for Rome as he pitched into the 7th inning and gave up just two runs with only one of those being earned. Walker has been pretty inconsistent this year, but it is worth noting that he does have seven starts this season in which he has given up two runs or less. The bullpen did give up a run to force extra innings before Joe Rogers came in and secured the save in extras for Rome.
On offense, Austin “Man Mountain” Bush has had a strong debut for Rome to say the least. He hit a 420 foot shot in the 7th inning for his first professional home run and now has extra-base hits in each of his first two games as a pro. Cristian Pache extended his hitting streak to six games while Marcus Mooney cracked a pair of doubles. The decisive run was from a two-out RBI single from Anthony Concepcion in the top of the 10th.
Danville Braves 6, Elizabethton Twins 7 - Game One
- Isranel Wilson, CF: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 runs
- Bradley Keller, LF: 1-3, HR, RBI
Danville Braves 2, Elizabethton Twins 0 - Game Two - F/6
- Nick Shumpert, 3B: 3-3, 2B, RBI
- Drew Lugbauer, C: 1-3, 2B, RBI
Danville’s opener was rained out, so they started their season with a doubleheader that they split with Elizabethton by the scores of 6-7 and 2-0. Bradley Keller hit the first home run of the season for Danville in the second inning with Isranel Wilson following suit just a few batters later. Nick Shumpert had himself a game with three hits in game two of the doubleheader. The second game of the doubleheader got called in the 6th inning due to rain, making the estimated rainfall around Braves affiliates this week at roughly 12 feet.