(52-57) Gwinnett Stripers 10, (58-52) Norfolk Tides POSTPONED
Austin Riley, 3B: 0-4, BB, RBI, .277/.358/.395
Luis Marte, SS: 4-4, HBP .405/.434/.557
Bryse Wilson, SP: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 10.13 ERA
The Gwinnett Stripers had a monstrous 7-run second inning that they relied on for a 10-6 win in Bryse Wilson’s Triple-A debut. After the team’s traded runs in the first inning the Stripers got rolling in the bottom of the second, with the first 2 runners reaching base. An error on a sacrifice bunt attempt from Chris Stewart gave Gwinnett the 2-1 lead, and a single from Danny Santana stretched the lead to 3-1. After a ground out from Austin Riley scored a run Michael Reed walked to load the bases, and with 2 outs in the inning Carlos Franco came through with a grand slam to make it 8-1 in favor of the Stripers. The offense had limited success through the remainder of the game, but Luis Marte being hit by a pitch to lead off the 8th inning sparked another big inning. A walk to Danny Santana followed and a fly out from Riley put the runners at second and third, and Michael Reed came up with 2 insurance runs on a single to make it 10-6. Luis Marte had 4 hits in the game, and since joining Gwinnett on July 12th he has as many 3+ hit games (4) as hitless games. He’s hitting .348/.379/.466 since the Braves signed him as a minor league free agent on May 23.
Bryse Wilson had an up-and-down first start in Triple-A, struggling to limit hard contact against him but also getting a lot of strikeouts. Wilson walked the first batter he faced, his only walk of the game, and it came back to bite him as he gave up a run to give Norfolk their only lead of the game. Wilson settled in and retired 8 consecutive batters, 4 of those on strikeouts, but then allowed 2 home runs totaling 3 runs in the fourth inning. Bryse recovered to throw a clean 5th, but a lead off single and then a home run in the sixth inning added a fifth and sixth run to his total on the day. Wilson followed that with his 8th strikeout of the game, but a single ended his day after 5 1⁄3 innings. Miguel Socolovich came in and retired the side, then pitched a scoreless 7th inning with two more strikeouts for three total on the day. Philip Pfeifer got into trouble in the 8th inning with a hit and two walks that loaded the bases, but Chad Sobotka was able to get a strikeout to escape the threat and then pitch a perfect ninth to get the save and send Gwinnett home with a win.
Next Game: 8/5 vs (52-57) Norfolk Tides @ 1:055 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Touki Toussaint (2-0, 1.78 ERA)
NOR: Luis Ortiz
(51-61) Mississippi Braves 6, (53-57) Chattanooga Lookouts 2
Cristian Pache, CF: 1-5, 3B, .286/.311/.431
Ray-Patrick Didder, SS: 1-4, 2B, .329/.424/.466
Enderson Franco, SP: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.49 ERA
A big 8th inning broke a 2-2 tie to give Mississippi the win over Chattanooga. Mississippi opened the scoring in the second inning on a double from Alejandro Salazar, scoring Jonathan Morales who had just joined the team. A few batters later Luis Valenzuela made it 2-0 in favor of the Braves with a single to bring in Salazar to score. After going scoreless for the next 5 innings, allowing Chattanooga to climb back in the game and tie things up, Mississippi made a big threat quickly in the 8th inning with a leadoff triple from Cristian Pache. Ray-Patrick Didder was then hit by a pitch before a Tyler Neslony single broke the tie. An error brought in Didder to make it 4-2, and then another double from Salazar cleared the bases and stretched the lead out to 6-2. Didder has now been hit by 97 pitches in 2060 career minor league plate appearances, more than Adrian Beltre has had in 10923 major league plate appearances.
Enderson Franco backed up his near no-hitter in his last start with another strong one, going 7 innings for the Braves and only allowing 2 runs. Both runs came on solo home runs in the second and 5th innings, and both coming from Jaylin Davis. Franco only allowed 5 hits on the day but all 5 were extra base hits. Over his last three months Franco has pitched 59 2⁄3 innings in 16 appearances (10 starts), has a 2.72 ERA and 58 strikeouts to 12 walks. The only struggle for Franco has been home run, of which he has 7 allowed in that span. Corbin Clouse finished out the last two innings with only one baserunner allowed on a single, striking out 3 batters and walking none. He lowered his ERA on the season to 1.88 and since the start of June has allowed 2 earned runs in 23 1⁄3 innings with 32 strikeouts to 9 walks.
Next Game: 8/5 vs (53-57) Chattanooga Lookouts @ 2:15 PM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Ricardo Sanchez (1-4, 5.35 ERA)
CHA: Sean Poppen (4-5, 3.63 ERA)
(43-56) Florida Fire Frogs 4, (55-47) Charlotte Stone Crabs 5 Game 1
Drew Waters, CF: 0-4, .297/.348/.501
William Contreras, C: 0-2, BB, .295/.364/.463
Walter Borkovich, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA
A strong start from Walter Borkovich was not enough for the Fire Frogs as they didn’t record a single hit after the first inning in a walkoff loss to the Miracle. Jared James singled with two outs in the first inning, and over the next 28 plate appearances the Fire Frogs only managed 3 baserunners-2 walks and a hit batsmen. One of those to draw a walk was William Contreras, who has drawn a walk in 5 of his last 7 games and now reached base in 14 consecutive games dating back to July 17. Braxton Davidson struck out 2 more times, giving him 164 on the season-37 more than anyone else in the Florida State League.
Walter Borkovich had a nice start in his first appearance in Florida, pitching 5 shutout innings for the Fire Frogs. Borkovich only had one inning in which a run threatened to score when an error by Braxton Davidson in the 5th inning put a man on who eventually advanced to third on a passed ball and an infield single. Borkovich got a strikeout to end the inning and his outing with the score tied at 0-0. Jon Kennedy pitched two perfect innings, lowering his ERA to 2.29 on the season. Justin Kelly had a rocky 8th inning of relief, walking three of the first four batters he faced, but got a force out and then a strikeout of Taylor Grzelakowski to end the inning. Kelly got two quick outs in the ninth inning, but a 2 out home run from Mark Contreras scored the first run of the game and walked things off for Fort Myers.
Next Game: 8/5 vs (52-57) Fort Meyers Miracle @ 4:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
FLO: Kyle Muller (4-2, 3.24 ERA)
FTM: Bryan Sammons (0-0, 11.57 ERA)
(59-51) Rome Braves 8, (48-64) Greenville Drive 14
Justin Dean, CF: 2-3, 2B, BB, .321/.435/.464
Greyson Jenista, DH: 3-5, 2 2B, 4 RBI, .347/.389/.465
Jasseel De La Cruz, SP: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 5.37 ERA
The offense for Rome had a strong day, but the pitching staff allowed 10 runs in the seventh and eighth innings to allow Greenville to take a win. Justin Dean opened the game off with a double and then scored the games first run on a double from Greyson Jenista. Jenista had a career high 4 RBIs on the game and already has 21 RBIs in 28 games with Rome. Greenville fought back and took the lead after 2 innings, but the Braves came up with a response in the top of the fourth with Drew Lugbauer’s 11th home run of the season. With two men on the 5th inning Jenista double to score both, giving Rome the lead once again at 4-2. Greenville tied the game back up in the bottom of the 5th inning but Rome’s offense wasn’t ready to slow down, scoring 4 runs in the 6th inning to push the lead to 8-4. Brendan Venter had a two run double in the inning, and Jenista added another RBI on his second double of the game.
Jasseel De La Cruz had a rough time on the mound, as he couldn’t miss any bats and allowed 9 hits over 4 2⁄3 innings with only one strikeout. After being given an early lead De La Cruz allowed a run each in the first and second inning, allowing 5 hits over those two innings. Jasseel started to get outs again in the third and fourth innings, allowing no hits and only a walk and a hit by pitch while forcing 5 ground outs. In total De La Cruz forced nine ground ball outs, including two double plays, and had no fly outs. De La Cruz struggled to opened the 5th inning, allowing three consecutive singles before a double play. Jasseel allowed one more hit after that before being replaced in the game by Tyler Watson. Watson didn’t have to record an out of his own to get out of the inning, as Drew Lugbauer picked off a runner at second base to end the inning. Watson had a clean 6th inning but things got ugly in the seventh, as he allowed a 2 run home run and then two more singles to score a run before being pulled from the game. Cutter Dyals stranded the remaining runner, keeping the lead intact at 8-7. That didn’t last long though, as Dyals allowed 7 runs (5 earned) in the 8th inning before being pulled with 2 outs. Troy Bacon recorded the final out, the damage done with the Braves trailing 14-8.
Next Game: 8/5 vs (48-64) Greenville Drive 4:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: TBD
GVL: Enmanuel De Jesus (5-3, 3.40 ERA)
(22-20) Danville Braves 0, (26-17) Bluefield Blue Jays 5 Game 1
CJ Alexander, 3B: 1-3, .359/.434/.500
Griffin Benson, 1B: 0-2, BB, .289/.365/.487
Ryan Shetter, SP: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4.70 ERA
(23-20) Danville Braves 3, (26-18) Bluefield Blue Jays 1 Game 2
Jose Bermudez, CF: 1-4, 2B, .359/.434/.500
Matt Hartman, SP: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Danville’s offense couldn’t get anything started in the first game of the double header, but bounced back with a late inning win to split the day with the Blue Jays. Danville managed 5 hits in the opening game, but never came up with the timely one to bring in runs while the Blue Jays offense was rolling. Ryan Shetter allowed 3 runs on 6 hits over his four innings of work, putting the Braves behind early when a leadoff triple in the first inning led to a run being scored. Down 3-0 the Braves made their one serious threat in the 5th inning, when a two out single put runner at second and third. Danville couldn’t capitalize, with a ground out ending the inning. Nolan Kingham had a couple of solid innings in relief of Shetter, but a two run home run in the 6th marred his start and put the Braves behind 5-0.
The Braves only got 3 hits in the second game, but managed to turn that into the three runs they needed as the pitching staff only allowed one run. The teams traded zeroes through the first three innings but the Braves struck first in the fourth, with a Nicholas Vizcaino double scoring Justin Smith to make it 1-0. The Braves sent the game to the 7th, the final inning in the double header, but a lead off triple had the lead in jeopardy. A one out sacrifice fly tied the game and erased a good start from Matt Hartman in his Braves debut. If you’re wondering who Matt Hartman is, well, me too. The Braves didn’t have to do anything to get a run in the top of the 8th as a wild pitch and a passed ball scored the given runner of Ray Soderman, but they managed a run of their own thanks to a couple of walks and that same pitcher making even more mistakes. A failed pickoff attempt allowed Zack Soria to get all the way to third, and then with runners on first and third he balked in the second run of the game. A basses ball then got Nick Shumpert to third base with still none out, but of course they stranded him there on a ground out and a couple of strikeouts. Mason McReaken got the ball in the bottom of the 8th. That’s a real player, I promise. He was signed as an undrafted free agent like Hartman. McReaken stranded his inherited runner with a strikeout, a pop out, and then a fly out to end a fantastic Braves debut.
Next Game: 8/5 vs (26-18) Bluefield Blue Jays 6:05 PM ET
Probable Starters TBD
(15-21) GCL Braves 6, (18-18) GCL Tigers East 7 Game 1
Mason Berne, CF: 2-3, 2 2B, .303/.360/.545
Braulio Vasquez, 3B: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, .187/.271/.267
Albinson Volquez, SP: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 5.87 ERA
(12-17) GCL Braves 7, (14-15) GCL Tigers East 3 Game 2
Jeremy Fernandez, CF: 1-5, .284/.341/.500
Trey Harris, DH: 1-4, BB, .289/.400/.412
Lisandro Santos, SP: 5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 4.34 ERA
The GCL Offense had a great run in the first game, but a 3 run ninth led to a walkoff by the Tigers. The Braves struck first in the third inning, with Braulio Vasquez hitting his third home run of the season to bring in Trey Harris and give the Braves a 2-0 lead. A base hit from Joel Reyes extended that lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning, and the Braves added 2 more on a bases loaded walk and a double play to make it 5-0 after five innings. Albinson Volquez was rolling on the mound through 4 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts, 2 walks, and only one hit allowed but hit a wall in the 5th inning. Volquez struck out the first batter he faced but allowed 4 consecutive singles, a walk, and then a two out single to score 4 total runs. Volquez was removed from the game and Alex Aquino ended the threat with the lead still at 5-4. The Braves added a run in the 8th on a single from Luis Ovando, then turned to Jackson Lourie to get the save. Lourie allowed the first two men to single in the inning, then after a strikeout allowed a 3 run walkoff home run to give the Tigers a 7-6 win.
The Braves briefly took a lead in the second game, but didn’t pitch well enough to keep the Tigers caged and took a 7-3 loss. Lisandro Santos struggled out of the gates on the mound, allowing the first two batters to reach and then score. After that Santos pitches well, not allowing another hit and only allowing two walks with 5 strikeouts over 5 innings. The Braves rewarded him in the bottom of the 5th with a two out rally, getting singles from Juan Morales and Trey Harris before a three run home run from Michael Mateja gave the Braves their first lead. This didn’t last long, as Yoeli Lopez struggled with two outs and allowed 2 walks and then a 3 run home run that gave the lead right back to the Tigers. Luis De Jesus allowed a couple of runs on a two run home run over the final 3 1⁄3 innings, striking out 5 batters and walking 2.