The Braves saw four excellent outings from their five Sunday starters, led by a scoreless outing from Bryse Wilson. Another homer from Bryce Ball and big days out of Drew Waters and William Contreras highlighted the performances at the plate.
Gwinnett Stripers 12, Rochester Red Wings 1
- Rafael Ortega, CF: 3-3, 3 RBI, 2 2B, .917 OPS
- Luis Marte, SS: 4-4, 2 RBI, .673 OPS
- Bryse Wilson, SP: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 4.30 ERA
Bryse Wilson was excellent here, getting the start and going seven scoreless innings while giving up four hits and walking no one. In a time with the pitching prospects of the organization being scouted quite a bit by other teams, this start had to have had plenty of eyes on it. Ben Rowen followed and gave up a run over his inning of work, while Dan Winkler threw a scoreless inning to finish the win off.
The stars at the plate were both perfect on the day, as Rafael Ortega went three for three with three RBI and a pair of doubles, while Luis Marte went four for four with two batted in. Jonathan Morales went two for four with a double and was the third member of the lineup with a multi-hit game. Austin Jackson went one for four with two RBI, while Travis Demeritte went one for four with a walk and picked up an RBI himself.
Probable 7/22 Starter: Off day
Mississippi Braves 8, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3
- Drew Waters, LF: 3-5, 2B, RBI, .891 OPS
- William Contreras, C: 4-5, 3 RBI, .544 OPS
- Joey Wentz, SP: 8 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 4.26 ERA
Sunday saw another strong start from Joey Wentz, who has been excellent lately. Wentz went eight innings and gave up three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five. This gives him a 1.67 ERA over his last five starts, stretching 32.1 innings. Bradley Roney pitched a scoreless ninth to finish it off.
Drew Waters went three for five with a double and RBI, and was just one of the key contributors to this win. A pair of the guys who had been having disappointing seasons with the bat really produced in this one as William Contreras went four for five with 3 RBI, and Greyson Jenista was three for five with an RBI. Recently promoted Trey Harris went two for five with an RBI, while Ray-Patrick Didder went two for four with a walk, steal, and RBI. Alejandro Salazar singled and tripled in his five at bats to give the Braves a seventh hitter with a multi-hit game. Every starter had at least one hit in this win minus Cristian Pache, who went hitless in four at bats but did draw a walk.
Probable 7/22 Starter: Kyle Muller
Fort Myers Miracle 3, Florida Fire Frogs 2
- Kevin Josephina, PH/3B: 1-2, HR, .674 OPS
- Brett Langhorne, SS: 2-3, RBI, .561 OPS
- Nolan Kingham, SP: 8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 4.80 ERA
Nolan Kingham sort of ended up with a complete game that won’t count as one here, going eight innings and giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk while striking out four. What happened was Lukas Young came out to start the ninth, but before the game got going it ended up being called right there - so Kingham was the only pitcher to record anything.
At the plate Kevin Josephina came in for CJ Alexander midway through and hit a homer in his two at bats, while Brett Langhorne ended up going two for three with the game’s other RBI. Andrew Moritz, Shean Michel, and Garrison Schwartz all had singles in the loss.
Probable 7/22 Starter: TBD
Asheville Tourists 9, Rome Braves 7
- Drew Campbell, LF: 2-5, RBI, .545 OPS
- Shea Langeliers, C: 2-4, BB, RBI, .613 OPS
- Greg Cullen, 2B: 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, .794 OPS
Sunday saw Jose Olague get the start and he struggled, going four innings and allowing six runs on 11 hits and a walk. Tanner Lawson followed with three scoreless innings of one hit ball, and Jake Higginbotham gave up three runs on a pair of homers in his inning and a third.
There were a bunch of multi-hit performances at the plate, as Shea Langeliers, Drew Campbell, and Braden Shewmake all had two hits- five singles and a Shewmake double. Greg Cullen went one for three, but walked twice to reach base three times. Jose Bermudez and Brendan Venter added doubles in the loss.
Probable 7/22 Starter: Off day
Danville Braves 9, Johnson City Cardinals 1
- Bryce Ball, DH: 2-5, 3 RBI, HR, 1.149 OPS
- Brandon Parker, CF: 2-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR, .723 OPS
- Ricky DeVito, SP: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 4.50 ERA
Ricky DeVito went three and two thirds scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three. Albinson Volquez got the win during his scoreless inning and a third. Peyton Williams gave up the lone run during his two innings, while Marrick Crouse and Greg Leban each had a scoreless inning late.
This game was more proof that the Appy League can’t hold Bryce Ball, who hit his 10th homer while upping his OPS to 1.149. Brandon Parker had a homer as well, chipping in two hits, three runs, and three RBI. Cody Milligan went two for four with a walk, while Garrett Saunders went two for three. Jose Palma added the only other extra base hit, going one for three with a double.
Probable 7/22 Starter: Mitch Stallings