It was a rocky night for the young Atlanta Braves. The minor-league affiliates picked up two losses, and a third to rains if you count the Rome postponement. Mississippi was the lone bright spot, winners in a slugfest with Montgomery that went to extras.
Here’s a look at how it went down on Thursday, July 1.
(23-27) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (33-17) Durham Bulls 6
- Kyle Wright, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 6 BB, 5 K
- Johan Camargo, 3B: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR
- Ryan Casteel, 1B: 2-for-4
It was not a pretty night for Gwinnett. Kyle Wright struggled for much of the evening, landing just 42 of his 84 pitches for strikes. That led to six walks, and when you allow that many free passes, runs aplenty are bound to happen. Tanner Roark allowed a pair of runs to score in his inning of work, while Yoan Lopez pitched a scoreless eighth.
Johan Camargo was the Stripers offense, hitting a double and a home run to account for their lone run. It’s worth noting that Orlando Arcia played his third-straight game in left field. Unfortunately, he, Cristian Pache and Drew Waters combined to go 0-for-11 with eight strikeouts and just one walk.
(31-20) Mississippi Braves 14, (23-26) Montgomery Biscuits 12
- Hayden Deal, SP: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 3 K
- Braden Shewmake, SS: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
- Trey Harris, DH: 2-for-6, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
- Greyson Jenista, RF: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI
- Justin Dean, CF: 2-for-6, 1 R, 2 RBI, 4 K
Mississippi’s offense came out of the gates hot and tried to put this one away early. Wendell Rijo got things going with a home run in the first — part of a three-hit, four-RBI day — before the M-Braves exploded for a seven-run second. Trey Harris launched his second home run deep over the right field fence, driving in three.
Trey Harris absolutely tags one the other way #Braves pic.twitter.com/kUzUf6lk9M
— Wayne Cavadi (@UofDWayne) July 2, 2021
The resurrection of Braden Shewmake continued as the shortstop added a solo shot of his own in that big second. He’s now on a seven-game hitting streak in which he has 11 hits, six of which have been extra base hits.
Hayden Deal pitched into the sixth but was plagued by home runs on the evening. He allowed two in a three-run second and another in the fourth before leaving with an 8-5 lead. Daysbel Hernandez relieved him in a wild 1.2 innings pitched. He walked three, landing just 19 of his 40 pitches for strikes. He’s now walking 4.9-per-nine. After a scoreless eighth from Troy Bacon, Brandon White allowed Montgomery to tie it up in the ninth.
Once again it was Shewmake with the big hit, driving in Harris who started the inning on second base. The M-Braves offense exploded for another large crooked number, with Greyson Jenista and Rijo picking up RBIs and Justin Dean driving in two on a triple. Despite White allowing four runs without getting an out, Chris Nunn came on to close it out and secure the win.
(26-22) Rome Braves, (22-26) Wilmington Blue Rocks — PPD
Rain, rain go away. The Rome Braves will play a double-header on Saturday, beginning at 5 p.m. ET. Jared Shuster was scheduled to pitch on Thursday, so we’ll see if he is bumped to tomorrow.
(23-26) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (32-17) Columbia FireFlies 3
- Cade Bunnell, 3B: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
- Bryson Horne, DH: 1-for-4, 2B
- Jared Johnson, SP: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K
- Alec Barger, RP: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Jared Johnson had a solid first inning, coming out a firing strikes by lighting up the radar gun with 96 mph heat. He struck out each hitter with a different pitch, with the fastball and slider inducing swings.
Johnson strikes out the side on three different pitches - two swinging, one frozen. I like the late movement on this one. #Braves pic.twitter.com/MJXqSUZPmD
— Wayne Cavadi (@UofDWayne) July 1, 2021
Alec Barger came on in relief and allowed a run in 1.1 innings of work. DII alum Kenny Wells out of Seton Hill and Ben Thompson combined for 4.2 innings of shutout baseball to give Augusta a fighting chance.
The enigma that is Cade Bunnell continued Thursday. He launched another home run, his sixth of the year, for Augusta’s lone run. He also has 13 doubles and 47 walks for a .407 on-base percentage. However, he struck out two more times, giving him 77 on the season, accounting for his .219 batting average. Bryson Horne got another hit after a strong finish to June and is hitting .269 on the season.