(59-60) Gwinnett Braves 8, (46-73) Louisville Bats 7 F/10
Ronald Acuna, RF: 1-5, 2B, BB, GW RBI, .328/.400/.560
Rio Ruiz, 3B: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, .242/.320/.428
Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-4, BB, .265/.333/.342
Luiz Gohara, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 4.64 ERA
Gwinnett got behind by a large margin late, but a clutch grand slam and a walk off from Ronald Acuna were enough for them to win in extra innings and sweep the Bats in a 4 game series. The offense got the ball rolling in the first inning with singles from Micah Johnson and Dustin Peterson, and then two straight walks scored the first run of the game. After Louisville took the lead Gwinnett got right on top again in the sixth. Peterson walked to lead off the inning and Rio Ruiz doubled to get runners at second and third before a sac fly and an RBI ground out gave Gwinnett 2 runs. That didn’t last long as Louisville put up 5 runs in the top of the 8th to take a lead over Gwinnett until Xavier Avery strolled to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth. Avery deposited a ball just out of the reach of the leaping Bats center fielder for a game tying grand slam that sent the game to extra innings. Kade Scivicque singled to lead off the 10th inning, and with 2 down Ronald Acuna split the gap in right field to win the game for Gwinnett.
CLUTCH! Ronald Acuña doubles and @Scivicque22 puts the wheels on to give us an 8-7 win over Louisville! pic.twitter.com/7yWp1ReO7t
— Gwinnett Braves (@GwinnettBraves) August 13, 2017
Luiz Gohara’s fourth start in Gwinnett was largely a success, as he held the Bats to just 2 runs in 5 2⁄3 innings of work. Gohara’s 8 strikeouts in the game tied his high since his call up, and he kept the ball around the zone for the entire game with 62 strikes on 86 pitches. The big blow off of Gohara came in the 2nd inning on a solo home run, his third allowed since joining Gwinnett. The other run off of Gohara came on an RBI double with no outs in the 4th inning. The runner then stole third base off of Gohara, putting him in a jam that could have seen the Braves fall down by two runs. Gohara responded by buckling down and striking out the next three batters to end the inning with a runner stranded at third base. Rhiner Cruz did good work in relief of Gohara by stranding 2 runners in the 6th inning, and then pitched a perfect seventh. Jason Hursh came out in the 8th and nearly blew the game, as he allowed 5 runs to score in his 2⁄3 of an inning of work including a go ahead grand slam. Philip Pfeifer cleaned up the last out in the 8th and pitched a scoreless ninth inning, and AJ Minter earned his first win with a perfect ninth including a strikeout.
Next Game: 8/15 vs (77-43) Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders @ 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Manny Barreda (0-0, 2.61 ERA)
SWB: TBD
(47-70) Mississippi Braves 3, (55-63) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 9
Austin Riley, 3B: 0-4, RBI, .255/.298/.358
Alex Jackson, C: 2-4, RBI, .194/.310/.278
Luis Valenzuela, 2B: 1-4, 2B, .259/.299/.373
Touki Toussaint, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 3.00 ERA
It was another tough day at the office for the Mississippi Braves, as they lost their third straight game and their 12th in their last 13. The offense was put in a hole early but fought back with a run in the fourth, as Luis Valenzuela led off the inning with a double and came around to score on a wild pitch 3 batters later. The Braves got 2 more in the sixth inning courtesy of a couple of fielding errors. Tyler Neslony led off the inning with a walk, and with one out an attempted inning ending double play turned into a throwing error that put Neslony at third and Dylan Moore on first base. Another throwing error with Austin Riley running scored Neslony, and Alex Jackson singled in the final run of the inning and the game for the Braves.
Touki Toussaint finished with the loss and a rough looking line for the Mississippi Braves, though he showed some positives with the way he was able to strike out batters to prevent big innings. His four walks seemed to be more temporary lapses in control than a full game problem, as he threw 52 of his 84 pitches for strikes but outside of those four walks it was 48 of his 64 pitches thrown for strikes. Mauricio Cabrera came in as the first reliever for Toussaint and was a disaster again, with 3 runs and two walks allowed in 2⁄3 of an inning. Cabrera threw 13 of his 26 pitches for strikes and when he did hit the strike zone got hit hard. Jacob Webb pitched an inning and a third and struggled with walks as well, but managed to work around them and not allow a run. Andres Santiago pitched the final two inning and allowed 4 runs, 2 earned, on 6 hits.
Next Game: 8/14 vs (55-63) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp @ 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Wes Parsons (2-3, 2.96 ERA)
JAX: Joe Gunkel (4-7, 4.53 ERA)
(42-70) Florida Fire Frogs 6, (60-57) Jupiter Hammerheads 5
Ray-Patrick Didder, DH: 0-2, BB, 2 HBP, .233/.339/.334
Carlos Castro, 1B: 2-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, .278/.300/.408
Justin Ellison, RF: 2-4, .181/.211/.347
Ricardo Sanchez, SP: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 4.95 ERA
Ricardo Sanchez left the game early and the bullpen had to play the long game, but they did enough to allow a good offensive showing for the Fire Frogs to result in a win. Florida got their first chunk of runs in the third inning when the first two batters (one being Ray-Patrick Didder) were hit by pitches, and with one out Braxton Davidson walked to load the bases. Carlos Castro came through with a bases clearing triple that gave Florida the 3-0 lead early. Florida fell behind but in the 8th inning it was Castro getting the rally started with a double. Justin Ellison singled him over to third and Alejandro Salazar knocked him in with a double. A sacrifice fly and a bunt single gave the Fire Frogs another three run inning and a lead they would not give up. Ray-Patrick Didder was hit by two pitch, giving him the Florida State League lead with 17 on the season.
Ricardo Sanchez pitched to only two batters and threw 7 pitches before having to be removed from the game. No word has been released on Ricardo’s condition; he has had trouble with his lower body (specifically calf) in the past though that was reportedly of no lingering concern. Kevin Matthews came out of the bullpen in long relief and pitched 3 1⁄3 innings. He allowed the first run on a home run in the third inning and was charged with all 4 runs (2 earned) in the 5th inning when Jupiter took the lead. Sean McLaughlin pitched 3 scoreless innings and didn’t allow a run or a walk and struck out two batters. Chase Johnson-Mullins earned the save with 2 scoreless innings pitched. Johnson-Mullins didn’t strike out anyone, allow any hits or walk anyone, but forced four ground ball outs.
Next Game: 8/14 vs (73-46) Tampa Yankees 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
FLO: Enderson Franco (3-5, 4.67 ERA)
TAM: Brian Keller (3-2, 2.86 ERA)
(62-55) Rome Braves 1, (67-51) Greenville Drive 2
Isranel Wilson, CF: 1-3, BB, SB, .257/.317/.397
Bryse Wilson, RP: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 2.36 ERA
Bryse Wilson once again twirled a nice start, but the offense didn’t give enough support and the bullpen blew a 1 run lead to take the loss. It seemed the Braves might have enough early, as Isranel Wilson went to work in the second inning. Wilson drew a walk with 1 outs and then stole second base with 2 outs, before Kurt Hoekstra scored him from second on a base hit to give Rome the lead. That held until the 8th inning, but Rome could never threaten again and took a walk off loss.
The Bryse Wilson show came to Greenville and he put together a strong outing despite some control problems in the game. Wilson struck out 6 batters in his 5 2⁄3 innings and forced 7 ground ball outs with contributed to his only allowing 2 hits. In all but one of Wilson’s 4 walks he took the count to 3-2 before losing the hitter. Wilson lowered his ERA to 2.36 on the season which is the second best mark in the South Atlantic League. Teammate Joey Wentz ranks first in the league with a 2.31 ERA, and if they were to finish the season 1-2 they would be the first teammates to do so in the South Atlantic League since 3 Augusta GreenJackets finished at the top of the league in 2007. Do yourself and the impressiveness of this stat a favor and never ever google the names of the guys that made up that trio (none of them made it to the major leagues). Taylor Lewis pitched the last 2 1⁄3 innings for Rome, and was just off for the entire outing. He allowed the tying run in the 8th innings which ended a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings for Rome and a span with just one run allowed in 33 innings. Lewis then allowed 3 hits and a walk without recording an out in the ninth to give Greenville a walkoff win. Lewis allowed 9 baserunners to reach in the game.
21 scoreless 1 in last 33.
Next Game: 8/15 vs (55-62) Asheville Tourists 4:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Alan Rangel (2-4, 4.45 ERA)
ASH: TBD
(27-24) Danville Braves 2, (21-30) Burlington Royals 0
Derian Cruz, 2B: 0-4, .222/.267/.315
Kevin Maitan, SS: 1-4, 2B, .231/.273/.298
Jefrey Ramos, LF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, .326/.370/.558
Jaret Hellinger, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3.70 ERA
Jaret Hellinger and Keith Weisenberg combined to dominate the Royals and make Danville’s 2 early runs enough for a win. Shean Michel led off the game with a double, and came around to score the game’s first run on an RBI single by Jefrey Ramos. Kevin Maitan struck out to end the first inning. Garrison Schwartz led off the second inning with a double and moved to third on Jean Carlos Encarnacion’s single, then scored on an RBI ground out. That was the last run the Braves would score in the game. Kevin Maitan had 3 other at bats in the game, the first a line out to first base to lead off the fourth inning. Maitan struck out for the second out as the Braves threatened in the sixth inning but couldn’t push across a run. Finally, with one out in the 9th inning Maitan doubled to left field and then advanced to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded there.
Jaret Hellinger had been reeling coming into this game with an 11.25 ERA over his previous 4 starts, but put together his strongest performance of the season with his 6 scoreless innings. The 6 innings for Hellinger tied a career high and his four strikeouts tied his season high. Hellinger managed to get through six on only 72 pitches (47 strikes) and posted a career high 74 game score. Hellinger forced 10 groound ball outs on the day and didn’t allow an extra base hit and only 2 line drives (both hits) in the game. Keith Weisenberg was equally strong in relief and pitched the final 3 innings scoreless to earn the save. Weisenberg is riding a 16 inning scoreless streak during which he has struck out 12 batters, walked 2, and allowed 9 hits. Danville’s 3.72 staff ERA leads the Appalachian League (second best is 3.95).
Next Game: 8/14 vs (21-30) Burlington Royals 7:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
DAN: Bruce Zimmermann (0-1, 2.57 ERA)
BLU: Connor Mayes (4-0, 2.55 ERA)