It was not the best of days for Atlanta Braves prospects, as the teams that actually finished their games went 0-3. The highlights on the day include a two hit performance from Alex Jackson, who in his time down in Gwinnett has continued to do nothing but hit. Braden Shewmake hit another home run for Mississippi and down in Rome, Darius Vines had a solid start.
(23-32) Gwinnett Stripers 5, (35-19) Nashville Sounds 9 F/10
- Cristian Pache, CF: 0-4, BB, .205/.271/.341
- Drew Waters, LF: 0-4, BB, RBI, .234/.337/.359
- Alex Jackson, C: 2-4, BB, 2B, .271/.343/.729
- Bryse Wilson, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 4.47 ERA
- Sean Newcomb, RP: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 4.50 ERA
Nashville’s offense feasted throughout this game and Gwinnett could not keep pace as they lost their sixth consecutive game. Gwinnett was already down 4-0 before they got their offense going in the third inning with a leadoff double from Sean Kazmar. A walk and a sacrifice bunt from Bryse Wilson brought up the top of the order in Drew Waters and he was able to bring the first run home on an RBI ground out. Jason Kipnis added another run on a double and the Stripers were able to load the bases on a Johan Camargo walk and Alex Jackson base hit but they could not cash in any more two out runs. Gwinnett added a run in the fifth inning to make the game 5-3, then in the sixth it was Phillip Ervin doing big damage with a two run home run. This tied the game at 5-5, but Gwinnett quickly gave Nashville those runs back and the Stripers could not push across any more. A one out walk from Jackson and a single from Ryan Goins had the Braves in business in the 7th, but Cristian Pache was dominated in a three pitch swinging strike out and Kazmar hit one hard but right to the third baseman for the final out. The Stripers had one more opportunity in the ninth inning with two outs, and it was again sparked by Alex Jackson who doubled. Goins ripped a single and Pache walked to load the bases, but Sean Kazmar ended the final threat by popping out to the shortstop.
Bryse Wilson had a forgettable outing with absolutely none of his stuff working. He managed to go 1-2-3 in the first inning, but he couldn’t miss bats and that got him in the second. A single led off the inning but Wilson was able to get a double play that had him in position to get out of the inning with no damage. A double followed and then a single from Matt Lipka scored the game’s first run. An error and walk loaded the bases but Wilson got a ground out to end that threat. That luck ran out completely in the third as a three run home run gave Nashville a commanding 4-0 lead. After Gwinnett got two of those back in the bottom of the third inning Bryse couldn’t shut down Nashville completely and gave up another home run to give them one of those back. Wilson worked one more scoreless inning before turning it over to the bullpen. Chasen Bradford pitched a scoreless sixth inning, but fell apart after the Stripers tied it and allowed a two run triple to give Nashville the lead back. Jesse Biddle pitched a scoreless 8th inning then turned it over to Sean Newcomb in the ninth who gave up a two run home run that all but sealed Gwinnett’s fate.
Next Game:
7/8 Double Header vs (35-19) Nashville Sounds starting @ 5:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GM 1
GWN: Touki Toussaint (0-1, 11.57 ERA)
NAS: TBD
GM 2
GWN: Kyle Wright (1-3, 4.06 ERA)
NAS: TBD
(33-22) Mississippi Braves 3, (33-22) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3
- Trey Harris, RF: 2-2, .254/.325/.316
- Braden Shewmake, SS: 1-1, HR, RBI, .211/.258/.371
- Jefrey Ramos, DH: 2-2, HR, RBI, .148/.203/.259
- Hayden Deal, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 3.98 ERA
Mississippi seemed on their way to providing us most of the intrigue of the day, but rain fell and the game had to be suspended. Pensacola jumped out to a one run lead in the second inning off of Mississippi starter Hayden Deal. They strung together three hits in the inning to take the lead, but Mississippi was right there to bounce back. Braden Shewmake has been red hot at the plate, and he kept that streak of great play alive with a leadoff home run in the second inning to tie the game. Mississippi got two more hits in the inning then went ahead on a sacrifice fly from Jacob Pearson. Deal cruised through the third and it was back to the offense, who loaded the bases on two infield singles and a catcher’s interference call. This unfortunately turned to dust as a double play ended the inning.
Pensacola then came back in the top of the fourth and tied the game, using a couple of two out walks from Hayden Deal to spark them before a base hit brought the run home. That tie lasted a whole two pitches before Jefrey Ramos took the first he saw in the fourth deep to give Mississippi the lead. The top of the fifth was once again a struggle inning for Deal as he allowed three more hits, but once again all were singles and Pensacola only managed to get one run to tie it up. The game was suspended here, with the Braves about to come up for their chance in the fifth inning.
Next Game: 7/8 vs (33-22) Pensacola Blue Wahoos @ 7:35 PM ET
Probable Starters
MIS: Odalvi Javier (4-2, 2.64 ERA)
PNS: Jeff Lindgren (2-4, 4.73 ERA)
(30-24) Rome Braves 1, (35-19) Bowling Green Hot Rods 2 F/11
- Michael Harris, CF: 0-4, BB, .318/.343/.474
- Bryce Ball, 1B: 0-4, BB, .194/.333/.361
- Jesse Franklin, LF: 0-3, 2 BB, .275/.337/.550
- Darius Vines, SP: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.00 ERA
- Tyler Ferguson, RP: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1.69 ERA
Darius Vines and the Rome Braves pitching staff had a fabulous day, but the offense could not come through with the team’s top two hitters coming up empty in the hits column. Both teams traded zeroes most of the game, with all of t he regulation scoring for both sides coming in the second inning. Bowling Green took a one run lead in the top of the second, and Rome was right there to answer back. Kevin Josephina led off the inning with a double, the first of his three hits on the day, and Logan Brown cleaned him up with a two out single to tie the game. Rome then had chance after chance to break through and take the lead but never pushed another run home. They had two hits in the third inning, but a double play after the first contributed to them getting blanked. Hits from Riley Delgado and Kevin Josephina, followed by a wild pitch, had the Braves in very good position in the sixth before Jesse Franklin grounded out to end the inning. Rome loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning but came away with no runs, then in the eighth got two runners on with one out and couldn’t come through with a go ahead hit. Rome blanked the Hot Rods in the top of the tenth, and a ground out had the winning run 90 feet away for the middle of the order. After an intentional walk to Michael Harris it was Kevin Josephina’s turn, and he could not build on his at the time 3-4 day and struck out. Jesse Franklin was intentionally walked to load the bases and Bryce Ball flew out in foul territory to spoil the chance. After Bowling Green took the lead in the 8th the Braves did get a hit, but the runner wasn’t able to score from second base and a strikeout and ground out ended another scoring threat with no luck.
Darius Vines has been one of the top performers in the system all season and he kept up that play with a strong start for Rome. He got off to a rough one with a couple of hits allowed in a scoreless first inning, then allowed two more hits in the second and a ground out that brought in the first run of the game. After this he settled in, allowing only one more hit over the final 3 1⁄3 innings. He struck out two batters in a clean third inning that set the tone for the remainder of the game for the Rome pitching staff, and retired seven straight batters and four via strikeout before a leadoff walk in the fifth inning. He worked around that, then struck out the first batter of the sixth inning before a fielding error and a base hit ended his day. This brought in Davis Schwab, who quickly erased the inherited runners by forcing two ground outs. Schwab went through both the seventh and eighth innings without allowing a run to cross and turned it over to Tyler Ferguson. Ferguson started off strong in the ninth, with only an error allowing a runner to reach base and two strikeouts in the inning. In the 10th inning he was able to hold Bowling Green scoreless by getting an inning ending double play following a walk. He only allowed a run in the 11th when a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly brought in the extra runner at second base to give Bowling Green a lead.
Next Game:
7/8 Double Header vs (35-19) Bowling Green Hot Rods starting @ 5:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
GM 1
ROM: Mitch Stallings (0-1, 4.85 ERA)
BG: John Doxakis (0-1, 5.84 ERA)
GM 2 Starters TBD
(25-30) Augusta GreenJackets 5, (25-30) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7
- Cade Bunnell, 3B: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, .218/.398/.437
- Landon Stephens, 1B: 4-5, RBI, .256/.356/.425
- Victor De Hoyos, C: 2-5, .238/.262/.365
- Jared Johnson, SP: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 7.43 ERA
- Gabriel Rodriguez, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 10.34 ERA
Augusta could not overcome a four run first inning from the Pelicans despite getting a four run inning of their own later in the game. Augusta’s offense had their work cut out for them the moment they stepped in the box, but they weren’t ready to give up as Cade Bunnell led off with a single and then came in to score with one out on a Landon Stephens single. Then, they went scoreless for the next 6 2⁄3 innings as Myrtle Beach opened up a 7-1 lead. They finally got their long inning in the eighth, which was led by a walk to Brandon Parker. Following another hit from Stephens an error brought in the first run of the inning. Stephen Paolini delivered a bases loaded sacrifice fly, and another run scoring error brought in two more to bring the tying run to the plate in Cade Bunnell. Bunnell drew a walk, but Parker struck out in his second plate appearance of the inning and Augusta couldn’t cash in a leadoff single from Stephens in the ninth.
Jared Johnson did not have it for Augusta and he did not even complete an inning. After striking out the first batter he faced he walked the next two, then gave up a three run home run before walking another batter. He allowed one more walk before being pulled from the game with two outs, and Lisandro Santos allowed in one more run on a single. Santos held the fort down for a couple of innings, needing only 23 pitches to get through 2 1⁄3 scoreless innings and keep Augusta in the game. Zach Seipel allowed a home run in the fourth inning, but that was the only damage against him as he filled up three innings to do his part to save the bullpen from disaster. Ben Thompson allowed two runs in the eighth inning after pitching a scoreless seventh, and Gabriel Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth the close the book on this game.
Next Game: 7/8 vs (25-30) Myrtle Beach Pelicans @ 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
AUG: Chad Bryant (0-1, 6.30 ERA)
MB: Manuel Espinoza (3-4, 3.42 ERA)