` Gwinnett Stripers 5, Durham Bulls 4 (Game 1)
Danny Santana, LF: 2-3, 2B, HR, RBI
Austin Riley, 3B: 2-3, 2B
Rio Ruiz, LF: 0-3, R, SB
Evan Phillips, RP: 2IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 4K
Game 1 saw the Stripers jump out to an early lead by scoring 4 runs in the 1st inning. After the Bulls tied the game, Danny Santana ultimately wins the game with a HR in the 5th inning. The Braves had men on 1st and 2nd, but Rio Ruiz grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Evan Phillips is sitting at a 1.48 ERA, 1.03 WHIP including 36 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. Only 1 ER in his last 13 appearances, with more than half of those appearances pitching more than 1 inning. The Braves aren’t going to be able to deny him a promotion to the Show for long if he keeps this up.
Gwinnett Stripers 9, Durham Bulls 3 (Game 2)
Danny Santana, LF: 1-4, HR, 2-RBI
Austin Riley, 3B: 2-4, 2-K
Rio Ruiz, DH: 2-3, HR, 2-RBI, 2-R, K
Jonathan Morales, C: 1-3, 2-RBI
Wes Parsons, SP: 6.1IP, 3H, 3ER, 3BB, 7K
Game 2 also saw the Stripers jump out to the early lead by scoring 5 in the bottom of the 2nd inning. The Stripers never looked back as they scored 3 more in the 4th inning and one more run in the 5th inning for the cherry on the cake.
I wasn’t aware, but our friend Jonathan Morales got a promotion to Gwinnett. I’m guessing this was out of need because he was only hitting .247 in AA with a .684 OPS. But Morales excels on defense in which he has a 50% CS% so far this season. He’s a 25th round pick, so he’s exceeded expectations so far.
Wes Parsons pitched a good game, earning a 64 game score. This was only his 2nd start at the AAA level, and despite a bad ERA of 4.38, he’s sporting an excellent 0.97 WHIP and .199 BAA.
Mississippi Braves 0, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 2
Kyle Wright, SP: 2IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K
Game Suspended in 2nd inning. Probably a good thing for Wright.
Florida Fire Frogs 7, Dunedin Blue Jays 6
Cristian Pache, CF: 1-5, 2-R, SB
Lucas Herbert, C: 1-3, HR, 3-RBI, BB, 2-K
Braxton Davidson, DH: 1-2, HR, 2-RBI, 2-BB, 1-K
Jeremy Walker, SP: 6IP, 3H, 2ER, 0BB, 7K
Devan Watts, RP: 1IP, 0H, 0ER, 2BB, 1K
Lucas Herbert and Braxton Davidson go yard to help keep the Fire Frogs in the game. However, extra innings were required, and with Pache starting off at 2nd base he was able to score easily on a Kurt Hoekstra single after a sacrifice put Pache on 3rd.
Outside 2 really bad starts where Jeremy Walker gave up 6 runs in each of those games, he’s pitched 7 games where he has given up 2ER or less. This was Walker’s best game of the year when looking at the complete package (also a 65 game score). He struck out 7 over 6 innings and most importantly didn’t walk a single batter. He lowered his WHIP from 1.64 to 1.48 with this game.
Rome Braves 4, Lexington Legends 1
Jefrey Ramos, LF: 1-4, HR, RBI
Drew Waters, CF: 3-3, BB, HBP, 2-2B, 3B, RBI, SB, 2-R
Jean Carlos Encarnacion, 3B: 0-4, K
Odalvi Javier, SP: 6IP, 2H, 1ER, 1BB, 10K
Brandon S White, RP: 1IP, 1H, 0ER, 0BB, 2K
Drew Waters came (with a bat). Drew Waters saw (many phat pitches). Drew Waters conquered (hits, hits and more hits!). This was the Drew Waters show and did he ever fill up the stat sheet with extra base hits, RBI, runs, and even got a stolen base for good measure. He’s hit the ball extremely well since coming back from the DL. He’s also hit in safely in 10 of his last 11 games too.
Drew Waters 3-for-3 2(2B), 3B, BB.
— Gaurav (@gvedak) May 23, 2018
.340/.370/.705 over his last 11 games. 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR during that stretch
Jefry Ramos has been hitting the ball better over the past few games, and hit his 2nd home run of the season. That’s 3 straight games with an XBH for Ramos. And while Carlos Martinez did collect a hit, the more impressive feat was throwing out all 3 runners trying to steal.
Odalvi Javier pitched one of the best games of his career going 6 innings and striking out 10 batters (good for a 77 game score). Kelvin Rodriguez and Brandon S White pitched 3 scoreless innings to end the game.