(58-60) Gwinnett Braves 7, (46-72) Louisville Bats 3
Ronald Acuna, RF: 2-5, 2B, HR, RBI, .333/.403/.567
Rio Ruiz, 3B: 1-4, RBI, .241/.316/.425
Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-4, 2B, .265/.332/.343
Kris Medlen, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 5.48 ERA
A four run third inning proved to be the difference in Gwinnett’s third straight win over the Bats. Louisville took the lead in the first inning but Gwinnett fought in the second, with Dustin Peterson doubling with one out. 2 batters later Carlos Franco doubled in Peterson and Kyle Kubitza to give Gwinnett a 2-1 lead. Ronald Acuna led off the third inning with a double and stole third base before scoring on Rio Ruiz’s RBI single. Kyle Kubitza tripled in 2 runs to extend the lead out to 5-1 and a wild pitch scored Kubitza to cap off a big third for the Braves. Gwinnett added their final run in the fourth inning when Ronald Acuna hit a home run estimated at 399 feet, his fifth in Triple and his 17th of the season to bring him within one of the system lead. The double for Acuna gave him the system lead at 26, and he is also tied for the lead with 8 triples.
Ronald Acuña smashes a birthday for @ChopperGBraves! pic.twitter.com/6EeE2iW9W9
— Gwinnett Braves (@GwinnettBraves) August 13, 2017
Kris Medlen didn’t get off to a roaring on the mound and allowed a lead off double in the game, and that runner came around to score the opening run for Louisville. Medlen buckled down after that double and didn’t allow another hit until a single with 2 outs in the sixth inning that he stranded at first base. Medlen worked through all 6 innings on only 77 pitches, but had to be removed due to a rain delay in the third inning that interrupted his start. Daniel Winkler was first out of the bullpen and worked a perfect 7th with no strikeouts, only needed 8 pitches to set down the Bats. Akeel Morris struggled in his outing allowing 2 walks before a double scored both runs, but with a six run lead none of that mattered in the final result. David Peterson pitched the ninth and got into trouble by allowing 2 singles with one down in the inning, but forced a pop out and a strike out to close out the game with a scoreless frame.
Next Game: 8/13 vs (46-72) Louisville Bats @ 1:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: TBD
LOU: Amir Garrett (1-3, 6.25 ERA)
(47-69) Mississippi Braves 2, (54-63) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5
Austin Riley, 3B: 0-3, BB, .265/.309/.373
Jared James, LF: 2-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI, .264/.343/.394
Tyler Pike, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 4.18 ERA
A late home run wasn’t enough to erase the deficit from a bad sixth inning, and Tyler Pike earned his sixth loss since his call up. Mississippi’s offense struggled to get anything going at the plate with the only baserunners they scratched out in the first 3 innings coming on two walks. Joey Meneses broke up the no hitter with outs in the fourth inning, but they didn’t put on another runner until a couple of hits in the seventh inning. Jared James two run home run in the ninth inning finally broke the shoutout, but it was far too late for Mississippi. James has been solid at the plate for Mississippi all season, and since the end of May has slashed .306/.380/.442. Austin Riley struggled and went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts to end his hitting streak at 7 games, though he did draw one walk to push his on base streak to 8 games.
Pike worked through 5 innings in this game without giving up and runs, though he wasn’t immune to trouble in the early going. Pike allowed the first three runners of the game to reach base and load the bases but forced a strikeout and a double play to escape and hold Jacksonville down. In the second inning he stranded a leadoff single but settled in and retired 12 of his next 14 batters. All of his work went for nothing when he was brought out in the 6th inning and allowed two batters to reach before a home run gave Jacksonville a three run lead. Pike allowed the next to batters to single as well before being pulled for Devan Watts, who also allowed three batters to reach and both inherited runners to score. Watts didn’t allowed any runners of his own to score, but had to work out of bases loaded and one out to do that. Mauricio Cabrera came in to pitch the seventh inning and walked two batters, but managed to get out of the inning without allowing a run. Josh Graham loaded the bases in the 8th inning but worked out of his jam and pitched a scoreless frame.
Next Game: 8/13 vs (54-63) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp @ 3:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Touki Toussaint (0-2, 2.45 ERA)
JAX: Dillon Peters (3-2, 2.89 ERA)
(41-70) Florida Fire Frogs 1, (60-56) Jupiter Hammerheads
Brett Cumberland, C: 0-4, .267/.377/.363
Anfernee Seymour, CF: 2-4, BB, RBI, .272/.336/.340
Justin Ellison, RF: 1-4, .162/.194/.338
Oriel Caicedo, SP: 9 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 4.67 ERA
Oriel Caicedo dominated for Florida but it wasn’t enough as a late error and poor offense doomed Florida to another loss. The Fire Frogs opened the scoring in the second inning when Carlos Castro and Justin Ellison led off the inning with singles. It seemed the opportunity might slip away from them when the next two batters were retired, but Anfernee Seymour singled in Castro to give Florida the lead. That was all she wrote for the Fire Frogs offense, as the next 17 batters got set down in order and the two hits in the 8th inning were stranded. Brett Cumberland has sunk into another cold spell by going 4 for 28 with 2 walks over his past 10 games, though he has kept him on base percentage afloat with 5 hit by pitch in that time frame.
Oriel Caicedo was in control of this game from the get go, and came tantalizingly short of a historic performance for the Braves. Caicedo retired the first batter of the game on a ground out and then hit the next batter with a pitch, but forced two ground outs to get out of the inning. Caicedo retired all three batters he faced in the second inning and then just kept sitting down batters. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings past and Caicedo set down everyone and when he came out for the ninth he had set down 23 straight batters and was working towards an effort for the first individual no hitter for a Braves pitcher since Aaron Northcraft in 2012. Caicedo retired the first batter of the inning on a pop out, making way for Cleulius Rondon. Rondon ground to first baseman Carlos Castro, but he made a critical error to allow him to reach base. The next batter grounded to Castro and it seemed Caicedo may escape, but with two down in the ninth inning Mason Davis ruined the no hitter with a single to right field. Another single ended Caicedo’s shutout and sent the game to extra innings, and Caicedo finished 9 fantastic innings just short of history. Brandon White came out to pitch the ninth, and Cleulius Rondon ended the game with a walkoff single to left with 2 outs to give Florida a loss in a nearly unlosable game.
Next Game: 8/13 vs (60-56) Jupiter Hammerheads 1:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
FLO: Ricardo Sanchez (4-12, 4.98 ERA)
JUP: Merandy Gonzalez (5-2, 2.12 ERA)
(62-54) Rome Braves 2, (66-51) Greenville Drive 0
Lucas Herbert, C: 1-3, HR, RBI, .257/.317/.397
Isranel Wilson, RF: 2-3, SB, .256/.340/.326
Cristian Pache, CF: 1-3, SB, .267/.324/.336
Jeremy Walker, RP: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 4.50 ERA
(63-54) Rome Braves 4, (51-59) Greenville Drive 0
Isranel Wilson, CF: 0-4, RBI, .244/.327/.311
Drew Lugbauer, C: 2-3, 2B, RBI, .360/407/.520
Ian Anderson, RP: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.14 ERA
Rome’s pitching staff came up huge with two shutouts in their double header, and an offense that knows how to give run support gave enough big innings to pull out a sweep. Game one the offensive support came early as Lucas Herbert led off the 2nd inning with a home run to open the scoring. Leudys Baez followed him with a hit, and Isranel Wilson and Anthony Concepcion loaded the bases with singled so Kurt Hoekstra’s ground out could score Baez and push the lead to 2. That was all Jeremy Walker needed in game one, but in game two things became a bit more dicey. Through 5 innings the game was tied with both sides doing little to threaten the scoreboard, but Rome managed to create a run in the sixth inning. Anthony Concepcion led the inning off by getting hit by a pitch and moved to second base on Marcus Mooney’s sac bunt (teaching our leadoff hitters how to give away outs while they’re still young, love it.) Izzy Wilson popped out in foul territory, but a passed ball and a single from Drew Lugbauer scored Concepcion in the end to give Rome a 1-0 lead. All that work became less important, when a double from Kurt Hoekstra, a triple by Kevin Josephina, and a single from Mooney led to three runs in the 7th inning. All of that with two sacrifice bunts in the inning because when a guy is getting hit hard, the number one strategy has to be giving him free outs.
Jeremy Walker’s game one start was fantastic, his second complete game of the season and the team’s second shutout of the season. Walker allowed 2 hits to open the game, but set down the next 14 batters in a row before allowing another hit. Since the start of July Walker has made 7 starts, and though he is only 2-4 he has put up a 2.40 ERA over 41 1⁄3 innings pitched. His strikeout rates have been far from impressive (29 in that time), but he has kept the ball down and pounded the strike zone with only 3 walks and one home run allowed in that span. What’s more, five of those eleven earned runs came in just one start, as did two of the walks. Ian Anderson got the start in game two and was stretched out to 65 pitches, and got through 3 2⁄3 innings scoreless. Anderson walked one and struck out 2 batters, and since June 9 has pitched 32 2⁄3 innings with a 0.83 ERA and 33 strikeouts. Anderson cleared 100 strikeouts in the season after only 83 innings of work. First out of the bullpen was Walter Borkovich, who pitched 2 scoreless innings and struck out 3 batters. Thomas Burrows closed out the game by retiring the final four batters on strikes, needing only 17 pitches to do so.
Next Game: 8/13 vs (66-52) Greenville Drive 4:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: TBD
GVL: Jhonathan Diaz (5-4, 4.72 ERA)
(26-24) Danville Braves 5, (21-29) Burlington Royals 3
Derian Cruz, 2B: 1-3, 2B, BB, .247/.333/.329
Drew Waters, CF: 1-4, SB, .228/.273/.323
Jefrey Ramos, LF: 2-4, HR, RBI, .321/.367/.552
Dilmer Mejia, SP: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 5.11 ERA
A big three run home run from Garrison Schwartz was the difference in a close game. Danville went down in the early going as through the first three innings Burlington held on to a 3-0 lead. Pitching went into shutdown mode after that and Danville’s bats went to work in the 4th inning. Drew Waters got things started in the inning with his speed, leading off with a single, stealing second, and advancing to third on a throwing error. Waters scored on a sac fly and a Derian Cruz walk and Jefrey Ramos single put two runners on base for Garrison Schwartz. Schwartz came through in a big way with a go ahead three run home run, his second of the season and of his professional career. 2 innings later Jefrey Ramos added the final run of the game on a solo home run, his first since joining Danville and his seventh overall this season in 35 games.
Dilmer Mejia worked six innings on the mound for Danville, but struggled in the first half of his start by allowing those 3 runs to score. Dilmer allowed 2 runs to score in the first inning before recording an out, with a single, double, and another double opening the inning. Mejia worked around the runner on second base to get the next three outs and pitched a scoreless second. Mejia allowed 3 more hits in the third inning to score a run, but forced a double play to prevent any further damage. For the remainder of his start Mejia retired 9 of the 10 batters he faced and didn’t allow another run to score. While his ERA on the season looks bad, he has struck out 34 batters and walked only 8 in his 37 innings this season, which adds up to a 3.30 FIP. Taylor Hyssong pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. Landon Hughes allowed a couple of hits but pitched another scoreless inning to extend his scoreless streak to 9 innings.
Next Game: 8/13 vs (21-29) Burlington Royals 6:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
DAN: Jaret Hellinger (2-2, 4.33 ERA)
BLU: Nathan Webb (3-3, 4.73 ERA)
(22-20) GCL Braves 2, (15-27) GCL Pirates 3
Livan Soto, SS: 2-4, .250/.338/.284
Abrahan Gutierrez, DH: 1-3, 2B, BB, .264/.333/.341
Yunior Severino, 2B: 1-4, RBI, .267/.333/.389
Freddy Tarnok, SP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.38 ERA
2 early runs weren’t enough for the GCL Braves to hold on to win in this one. Abrahan Gutierrez opened the rally for the Braves in the first inning with a 2 out double to center field. Yunior Severino knocked him in with a base hit, then Sevy moved to second base on a wild pitch. After a walk to Ricardo Rodriguez, Carlos Baerga came through with an RBI double to score Severino and give the Braves a 2-0 lead. Baerga had 2 hits on the day. That was all the runs the Braves could produce in the game, as they came up with just 3 hits over the next 8 innings. 2 of those went to Livan Soto, who has 6 hits and 2 walks over his past 3 games. Soto has fantastic line drive skills at the plate and has struck out 13.3% of the time with an 11.1% walk rate. His numbers are a bit down due to a .293 BABIP, but look forward to him contuining his recent surge at the plate as the season goes on.
Freddy Tarnok got the start for the Braves and pitched 2 perfect innings to open the game. He only struck out one batter but didn’t walk any, and in 8 innings this season hasn’t allowed a walk. Tarnok produced 3 ground ball outs in the game after only getting one ground out to six fly ball outs in his previous 3 outings. Guillermo Zuniga pitched the next 3 innings and gave up all of the runs for the GCL Braves. In the third inning he opened up with a hit by pitch and an infield single, and a wild pitch advanced runners to second and third. A sacrifice fly and a single scored both runners and erased the lead for the Braves. 2 singles and 2 throwing errors by Zuniga on pickoff attempts allowed the final run of the game for either side to score. Gilbert Suarez pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief and Ramon Taveras closed the game with a scoreless inning and two strikeouts.