(69-68) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (63-74) Charlotte Knights 1
Austin Riley, 3B: 0-3, .283/.348/.470
Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-3, .268/.324/.406
Wes Parsons, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.27 ERA
This game was locked in a pitcher’s duel for most of the night, but a big hit from Luis Marte was the deciding play in a one run win for Gwinnett. Charlotte jumped out to a one run lead in the 3rd inning, and the Stripers had no response early with only one hit through the first four innings. In the bottom of the 5th Phil Gosselin doubles with one out, sparking a rally for Gwinnett. A hit from Xavier Avery and walk to Alex Jackson loaded the bases and brought Luis Marte to the plate with two outs. Marte came through with a single, scoring Gosselin and Avery to give Gwinnett a 2-1 lead they would hold through the remainder of the game. Austin Riley’s 0-3 day at the plate snapped a 10 game hitting streak, his longest of the season.
Wes Parsons got the start for Gwinnett and relied on his ability to force weak contact on the ground to limit the Knights to one run over 6 innings. Parsons didn’t give up any hits through the first two innings, but gave up a bloop single to lead off the third inning. A ground out advanced the runner to second base, and a ground ball got through the right side of the infield to score the first run of the game for either side. Parsons didn’t allow another run in his final three innings. Parson recorded 12 ground ball outs over his 6 innings of work and only had two strikeouts. Chase Whitley came out of the bullpen first for Gwinnett and fired a perfect 7th inning with a strikeout. Whitley allowed one walk in the 8th inning and was pulled from the game with two outs and only that runner on. Adam McCreery struck out the final batter of the 7th which was the only batter he faced in the game. Jacob Webb came in to get the save in the ninth, forcing two ground balls and then striking out the final batter in a perfect frame.
Next Game: 9/2 vs (63-74) Charlotte Knights @ 1:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Jeremy Walker
JGWN:
CHA: Spencer Adams (4-6, 3.35 ERA)
(66-70) Mississippi Braves 3, (54-81) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 0 Game 1
Ray-Patrick Didder, SS: 1-3, .269/.364/.362
Luis Valenzuela, PH: 1-1, 2 RBI, .282/.307/.370
Ian Anderson, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 2.33 ERA
(66-71) Mississippi Braves 0, (55-81) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 1 Game 2
Ray-Patrick Didder, SS: 1-2, .269/.364/.362
Cristian Pache, CF: 0-3, .260/.294/.337
Ricardo Sanchez, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 4.06 ERA
Ian Anderson capped off his fantastic season with a dominant performance in game one of the Braves double header. Anderson got off to a fantastic start in the game, striking out 5 batters in the first two innings with only a ground ball single to break up his success. In the top of the third Ray-Patrick Didder singled with one out in the inning, then a poor throw on a pickoff attempt put him in scoring position where an Alejandro Salazar base hit would give the Braves the lead. This was all they would need to give Anderson, and he struck out two more batters in the third inning after a lead off walk. The strikeouts faded off after the third for Anderson with him striking out 3 more over his final three innings of work, giving him his second 10+ strikeout game of the season. Since the start of July, Ian Anderson made 10 starts and in that span pitched 54 1⁄3 innings, had a 1.33 ERA and struck out 66 batters while walking 18. Luis Valenzuela extended the Braves lead to 3-0 with a 2-run, pinch hit single in the top of the 7th inning, and Thomas Burrows struck out the side in the bottom of the 7th to close out a win for the Braves.
The Mississippi bats went into hibernation in the second game of the double header, with only a 5th inning single from Ray-Patrick Didder to break up the no hit bid for Jacksonville. Ricardo Sanchez put up a successful start for the Braves and was matching the Shrimps’ Robert Dugger through the first four innings. Sanchez walked the bases loaded in the 2nd inning, but forced timely weak contact to prevent any runs from scoring and to work out of it with the game tied 0-0. Sanchez allowed a hit each in the third and fourth innings, but stranded both runners. The Braves had a key opportunity to score in the top of the 5th inning because of two batter being hit by pitches with one out in the inning. Ray-Patrick Didder came through with a big base hit into left field, but Carlos Martinez was thrown out trying to score from second base and the lone rally of the game for the Braves was snuffed out. Justin Kelly hung on to the shutout for the Braves in the 5th inning, but Jason Hursh allowed a key two out double in the bottom of the sixth that gave Jacksonville the lead and the win.
Next Game: 9/3 vs (55-81) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp @ 2:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Enderson Franco (5-9, 4.04 ERA)
JAX: Cody Poteet (3-11, 5.24 ERA)
(50-80) Florida Fire Frogs 2, (74-61) Charlotte Stone Crabs 8
Drew Waters, CF: 3-4, 2B, .269/.318/.361
CJ Alexander, 3B: 1-4, .338/.393/.468
William Contreras, C: 1-4, 2B, .241/.291/.316
Joey Wentz, SP: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2.28 ERA
Drew Waters led the Fire Frogs offense with a 3 hit performance, but they took an 8-2 loss to the Stone Crabs. Florida struggled early with the bats, with only two hits through the first 5 innings and they fell behind Charlotte 8-0. A two out double from Waters was the spark to finally break through on the scoreboard, and Riley Delgado followed with a double of his own to score Waters for the first run of the game. A double from Garrison Schwartz led off the inning in the ninth and Braxton Davidson singled to bring in Schwartz for Florida’s second run. Drew Waters seems to have fallen victim to fatigue in his first full season and hasn’t hit a home run since July 4th.
Joey Wentz made his second start since his return from the disabled list and he struggled in the first inning. Wentz allowed a single and a double with one out in the inning, then a wild pitch on a strikeout scored a run and allowed the batter to reach first base and a sacrifice fly brought in the second run of the inning. Wentz got seven of the final eight batters he faced out, with three of those coming on strikeouts. Wentz was replaced by Victor Cavalieri with one out in the third inning, and that didn’t work out so well as Cavalieri allowed 2 runs before getting the final out, but then worked a scoreless 4th inning. Brandon White was brought in with one out in the 5th inning, and allowed 4 runs on four hits and two walks before getting out of the inning. While worked a scoreless sixth, but allowed his fourth double in 1 2⁄3 innings of work. Chase Johnson-Mullins pitched two scoreless innings to finish out the game and hasn’t allowed a run in his past 7 appearances.
Next Game: 9/2 vs (74-61) Charlotte Stone Crabs @ 12:35 PM ET
Probable Starters
FLO: Filyer Sanchez (0-1, 5.25 ERA)
CHA: Brian Shaffer (2-2, 3.41 ERA)
(70-64) Rome Braves 4, (63-72) Asheville Tourists 5
Jefrey Ramos, DH: 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, .245/.291/.419
Justin Dean, CF: 2-4, BB, .260/.342/.375
Keith Weisenberg, SP: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 4.91 ERA
Rome couldn’t hold onto a lead and lost to the Tourists after a go ahead hit in the 8th inning. The Braves fell behind in the bottom of the second inning, but answered right back with a run in the top of the third. Shean Michel led off the inning with a base hit, then stole second and was able to advance to third before being knocked in by a single from AJ Graffanino. Justin Dean led off the Braves 5th with a walk, then stole second base to give the Braves a major scoring threat. Jefrey Ramos came through with his first of two doubles to score Dean and give the Braves a 2-1 lead, then he came in to score on a double from Jefrey Ramos that extended the lead to two runs. Asheville stormed back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, putting the Braves behind in the game. Once again it was a Ramos double that sparked the Braves, and he then scored on a double from Trey Harris to tie the game at 4. Unfortunately the Braves couldn’t capitalize any further and lost by a run. Jefrey Ramos is finished out the season with his best play, as he has hit safely in 5 straight and 9 of his last 10 and has multiple hits in three of his last 4 games.
Keith Weisenberg looked strong early in his start, and through three had only allowed 2 hits although one of those was a home run that at the time gave Asheville the lead. Weisenberg struck out two batters in a perfect third inning, and didn’t allow another hit until the sixth inning. In the third through fifth innings he struck out 5 batters and only allowed on baserunner on a hit batsmen, but when brought out for the sixth things did not go so well for Weisenberg. After recording the first out of the inning Weisenberg allowed two walks and then two hits, tying the game at three runs. Weisenberg was replaced by Kelvin Rodriguez, who allowed one of his inherited runners to score on a sacrifice fly to give Asheville the lead. Rodriguez pitched well in his 1 2⁄3 innings of work, striking out three batters and not allowing a hit or run. In the 8th inning the Braves turned to Brooks Wilson and his 0.00 ERA since his promotion, and Wilson allowed a home run to the first batter he faced giving Asheville the lead and the win. Wilson struck out two batters in the inning and didn’t allow another hit.
Next Game: 9/2 vs (63-72) Asheville Tourists 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Walter Borkovich (4-1, 1.87 ERA)
ASH: Nick Kennedy (4-13, 7.45 ERA)