(35-28) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (31-30) Lehigh Valley IronPigs 5
- Ryan LaMarre, 3B: 2-4, 2B, RBI, .294/.354/.458
- Adam Duvall, LF: 1-4, .268/.354/.608
- Bryse Wilson, SP: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 3.80 ERA
Gwinnett’s opening game in Lehigh Valley got off to a rough start when they allowed four unearned runs in the first inning, and they were never able to dig out of that hole eventually falling 5-1. Gwinnett had no real pulse through the first four innings of the game with the only baserunner coming from Ryan LaMarre’s leadoff double in the second inning. A double by Sean Kazmar started off the fifth and a walk to Jonathan Morales put the Stripers in good position with one out, but Luis Marte grounded into a double play that snuffed out their biggest chance of success thus far in the game. After three more innings of poor play they finall had their moment in the top of the ninth inning when Rafael Ortega led off the inning with a base hit, advanced on a wild pitch, then scored the Stripers lone run on a base hit from LaMarre. The Stripers then loaded the bases on a couple of walks to bring up Jonathan Morales, representing the potential tying run, with two outs. Mo hit a rocket, but it was right at the short stop and the game ended in a Stripers loss.
Bryse Wilson had a bit of a bizarre start for Gwinnett, with a first inning error extending things out and costing him pitches that ultimately led to him having to be pulled in the first inning. With one out and a man on Andres Blanco made the key error at first base that would have been the second out, and after Wilson struck out the next batter things unraveled quickly. Wilson allowed his lone walk of the game, then allowed two consecutive base hits to score four runs before striking out the final batter of the inning. Wilson struck out two batters each in the second and third innings to finish his short start with seven strikeouts over three innings of work. Bryse allowed a couple of singles in the third inning but managed to work around it to prevent further damage before departing. Ben Rowen came in to give the Stripers some long relief work and he did a fantastic job of saving the bullpen, firing four scoreless innings with three strikeouts and only one hit allowed.
Next Game: 6/12 vs (31-30) Lehigh Valley IronPigs @ 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Patrick Weigel (0-0, 3.12 ERA)
LHV: Drew Anderson (0-5, 6.32 ERA)
(29-33) Mississippi Braves 1, (35-29) Jackson Generals 2 Game 1
- William Contreras, C: 0-3, .075/.231/.075
- Cristian Pache, CF: 1-3, HBP, .288/.344/.487
- Drew Waters, RF: 2-4, 2B, .325/.372/.508
- Kyle Muller, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2.58 ERA
(30-33) Mississippi Braves 7, (35-30) Jackson Generals 1 Game 2
Greyson Jenista, LF: 1-3, BB, .118/.190/.118
Cristian Pache, PH: 1-1, 2B, RBI, .291/.347/.493
Drew Waters, RF: 2-4 2 RBI, .328/.374/.508
Andres Santiago, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1.50 ERA
Despite a strong start from Kyle Muller the Mississippi Braves could not win game one of their double header despite outhitting the Generals. They quickly jumped out in the first inning with the duo of Cristian Pache and Drew Waters driving the ship, Pache singling and Waters doubling to put two men in scoring position with one out. Greyson Jenista followed with a sacrifice fly to score one run, but strikeouts stranded Waters and Mississippi had to settle for only one. Kyle Muller’s early work was strong and he worked the first two innings scoreless, but his third inning proved to be his most troublesome as he allowed a big 2-out, 2-run home run that gave the lead over to the Generals. Mississippi had a opportunity to tie things up in the fifth inning when Ray-Patrick Didder led off the inning with a double, but they could not advance him further and stranded him. Muller was fantastic over his final three innings in this start, striking out three batters and only allowing two baserunners to keep Mississippi in the game and give the offense a chance to make a comeback. The Braves bats had a key opportunity in the seventh inning, when they loaded the bases on a walk, a hit batter, and a Drew Waters single, but with two outs in the inning Greyson Jenista lined out to shortstop and the game was ended with the Braves having blown multiple opportunities to beat the Generals.
Game two seemed like it would go much the same for Mississippi, as the offense couldn’t get anything going for much of the game. Andres Santiago made a fantastic spot start for Mississippi, covering four innings and not allowing a run. This kept a struggling offense in the game early, giving a chance for their late surge to happen. Jordan Harrison was brought in to relieve and loaded the bases in the fifth inning, but he managed to work out of the jam and keep the game scoreless. Jason Hursh did not have the same luck in the sixth, when a leadoff double and a one out single led to the first run of the game scoring on an RBI ground out. This brought Mississippi up to the plate for their last chance to prevent a sweep of the double header. The offense finally broke out of their funk when Ray-Patrick Didder grounded one to second base with runners on the corners and the second baseman couldn’t get the out at home to prevent the game from being tied. Riley Unroe then walked to load the bases, and Drew Waters came through with a huge hit to score two runs and give Mississippi the lead. After another walk to load the bases it was Ryan Casteel’s turn to get in on the action, and he doubled to score three runs and effectively put the game out of reach. For fun the Braves pinch hit Cristian Pache and he too doubled, bringing in the inning’s seventh run. This score held as Josh Graham pitched a scoreless ninth, and the Braves managed to work a split of the double header with Jackson.
Next Game: 6/12 vs (24-38) Mobile BayBears @ 7:35 PM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Joey Wentz (2-5, 5.05 ERA)
MOB: Luis Madero (3-3, 3.50 ERA)
(25-39) Florida Fire Frogs 0, (39-24) Dunedin Blue Jays 2
- Trey Harris RF: 0-2, HBP, .375/.464/.458
- Shean Michel, CF: 0-3 .236/.355/.348
- Nolan Kingham, SP: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 5.12 ERA
(25-40) Florida Fire Frogs 0, (40-24) Dunedin Blue Jays 11
- Trey Harris, DH: 0-3, .333/.419/.407
- Shean Michel, CF: 2-3, .250/.364/.359
- Matt Withrow, SP: 2.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 4.50 ERA
The Florida Fire Frogs offense was abysmal in their double header, and the pitching staff in game two was no better as they were easily swept and committed as many errors (4) as they had hits. Game one things immediately got off to a rough start, with the first Dunedin batter of the game hitting a single and then the following bringing him in with an RBI double. Nolan Kingham was struggling on the mound a bit and walked a guy with one out, but he settled down with a strikeout and got out of the inning with no further damage done. Kingham got into his groove after that first inning and retired nine of the next ten batters he faced. Dunedin got a leadoff single in the fifth to break that span, but Kingham came back to retire the final three batters of the inning and then pitch a scoreless sixth. The offense never put up much of a battle, though in the bottom of the second inning they got a leadoff double from Kevin Josephina that had them in position to tie the game. They responded with three consecutive strikeouts to strand Josephina where he stood. Florida got two runners on in the same inning for the first time in the fifth, but they immediately had a double play to end the inning and blew a scoring chance. Florida went down quietly in the final two innings for their first defeat, but don’t worry it gets worse.
The Fire Frogs allowed three runs in the first inning to Dunedin, which is really bad when they only managed to get two hits in the entire game. Matt Withrow had a rough game on the mound and allowed three runs before he even recorded an out, but he finished off the inning in a nice way with a ground out and then two strikeouts. The Fire Frogs offense? We’ll get back to them in like five innings or so don’t worry. Withrow pitched a clean second inning and then got the first out of the third, but the game began to go downhill again and he allowed four consecutive hits to score three more runs. Withrow got one more strikeout to end his outing, then departed for Sean McLaughlin who allowed the inherited run to score. McLaughlin was decent in the first inning and a third that he pitched, but the fifth inning didn’t go off so well with him loading the bases with one out. An error then brought in two runs to score and a sacrifice fly and two more hits made the score 11-0. You may now be wondering “hey, what about that offense you promised us?” well here you go. Trailing 11-0 the Fire Frogs got their first baserunner in the fifth with a Drew Lugbauer leadoff walk, and they actually loaded the bases with one out but as you can see from the box score above they did not come away with any runs. Shean Michel had his second hit in the ninth inning and was the only Fire Frog to record a hit in the final game. Florida has now had three consecutive shutout losses, four shutouts in their last five games, and six consecutive losses.
Next Game: 6/12 vs (40-24) Dunedin Blue Jays @ 6:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
FLO: TBD
DUN: TBD
(27-37) Rome Braves 2, (35-30) Charleston RiverDogs 3
- Greg Cullen, 2B: 2-4, .244/.365/.376
- Hagen Owenby, DH: 2-3, BB, .380/.404/.560
- Gabriel Noguera, SP: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 3.73 ERA
A key error early in the game proved costly for Rome as they fell in a one run contest. Neither team could make much happen through the first two innings of the game, but Charleston jumped out with three runs in the third inning to put the Braves on their heels for the rest of the game. Rome’s offense came with their answer in the fifth inning, with singles from Greg Cullen and Hagen Owenby leading off the inning. Logan Brown and Griffin Benson then had consecutive hits to put two runs on the board and bring the Braves within one, and one more hit from Henry Quintero loaded the bases with still no outs. This was a prime opportunity for Rome, but a strikeout and then a double play ended the threat with no further damage done. Rome put a couple of runners on base in the fifth inning but could not bring any of them in. The Braves went down in order over the next three innings but in the bottom of the ninth they got a short breath of life with Griffin Benson’s leadoff infield single. A bunt attempt led to a strikeout, then another strikeout and a fly ball out ended the inning and the game with a Rome loss.
Gabriel Noguera had a mediocre start on the mound, but it would have been much more were it not for one inning. Noguera didn’t allow a hit or a run in the first two innings, but in the third inning a throwing error from Greg Cullen put the leadoff hitter in the inning on. Noguera walked a man but also got a fly out and a pop out to get the first two outs of the inning. Then with two outs he made his big mistake in the game, allowing a three run home run that gave Charleston a lead they would not relinquish. After the third inning the Braves brought on Victor Vodnik to pitch, and he had another fantastic outing with four scoreless innings of work. It was not the cleanest of appearances for Vodnik as he allowed 2 walks and three hits while only striking out two batters, but he continued what has been a stellar full season debut. In May and June Vodnik has only alloed one run in 24 innings with six strikeouts and 20 walks. Jose Montilla was untouchable in his two innings of relief, retiring all six batters he faced and striking out three of those.
Next Game: 6/12 vs (35-30) Charleston RiverDogs @ 1:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Jose Olague (5-4, 3.64 ERA)
CSC: Harold Cortigo (1-0, 3.60 ERA)