Only three minor-league teams were in action for the Atlanta Braves on Thursday as Mississippi was officially postponed for the rest of the week due to coronavirus concerns. Gwinnett was the only team to muster a win, and it was behind yet another strong outing from Kyle Wright.
Here’s how it went down on Thursday.
Gwinnett Stripers 2, Nashville Sounds 1
- Kyle Wright, SP: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
- Eddie Rosario, CF: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
It isn’t simply that Kyle Wright has been marginally better of late — he’s been a different pitcher. Wright went seven innings on Thursday, landing 63 of his 89 pitches for strikes and walking none. He’ll finish August — by and far his best month of the season — with a 2.43 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 35 strikeouts to just five walks in 29.2 innings pitched. Tanner Roark backed him up with two shutout innings for his second save.
The pattern in the Braves minors on Thursday was a lack of offense, but fortunately for the Stripers it was just enough. Drew Waters and Cristian Pache were a combined 0-for-8. Yolmer Sanchez drove in the first run behind a 3-for-4 day, but it was Eddie Rosario’s sixth-inning home run that sealed the deal. Kyle Wright got another hit and is now hitting .264 on the season.
Mississippi Braves vs. Pensacola Blue Wahoos — PPD.
The M-Braves have announced games will be canceled through Sunday as they continue to monitor contact tracing and testing for COVID.
See below statement regarding our series postponement with the @BlueWahoosBBall. pic.twitter.com/pLlrg6t5Um
— Mississippi Braves (@mbraves) August 26, 2021
Rome Braves 1, Bowling Green Hot Rods 2
- William Woods, SP: 1.2 IP, 2 H 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
- Cody Milligan, 2B: 2-for-3, 1 BB, .251 BA, .639 OPS
- Riley Delgado, SS: 3-for-4, 1 R, .237 BA, .598 OPS
- Luke Waddell, SH: 1-for-4, .245 BA, .699 OPS
William Woods made his 2021 Rome debut. We had heard much about the added velocity in the offseason, and he didn’t disappoint, filling the strike zone with 98 and 97 mile-per-hour fastballs in his 1.2 innings of work. Woods was a bit wild, landing half his pitches for strikes in the first inning, mainly missing high with the fastball, but rust was expected. Aside from the home run, another positive takeaway was that he recorded three ground ball outs.
William Woods pumping in his @TheRomeBraves '21 debut. Pounding the strike zone with one 98 mph fastball after the other. Works quickly too, will be a lot for High-A hitters to handle if he can hold the velocity. #Braves
— Wayne Cavadi (@UofDWayne) August 26, 2021
This one was 98 for 1st K of the season. pic.twitter.com/JfpkJclg5X
AJ Puckett, Coleman Huntley and Trey Riley combined to toss 6.1 shutout innings, but it wasn’t enough as the Rome bats were quiet. Riley Delgado and Cody Milligan combined for five of the R-Braves six hits — all of which were singles — with Delgado scoring on a wild pitch.
Augusta GreenJackets 2, Charleston RiverDogs 7
- Andrew Hoffman, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
- Landon Stephens, LF: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, .242 BA, .798 OPS
- Tyler Tolve, C: 3-for-4, .273 BA, .683 OPS
Andrew Hoffman had a very effective start for Augusta. He allowed one run in the fourth and another in the fifth while he landed 50 of his 67 pitches for strikes. He completed five innings for the first time in his young career (his previous high was three innings) and probably could have gone one more. Unfortunately, Rolddy Munoz came on and couldn’t hold the RiverDogs offense, allowing five runs in his 1.2 innings, including allowing two runs on consecutive wild pitches. Kenny Wells and Lisandro Santos shut it down, not allowing a run over the final 2.1 innings.
There wasn’t much going on at the plate for Augusta. Tyler Tolve, the Braves 17th-round pick in this year’s MLB draft, had the first three-hit game of his career. Landon Stephens provided the fireworks with his team-high 15th home run of the season in the eighth which provided all the runs Augusta would score.