Kleinknecht Pitches In Extras, Gattis Has A Huge Day, And Fleming Gets Off To A Great Start In Sunday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Barrett Kleinknecht not only pitched for the first time in his career, but picked up the win, Lynchburg's offense exploded, led by a monster day from Evan Gattis, and Kurt Fleming made an instant impression in his first game with Rome.

Durham Bulls 5, Gwinnett Braves 1

• Stefan Gartrell LF 2-3, BB, E (1), .162 AVG
• Ernesto Mejia DH 2-4, 2B, RBI, .325 AVG
• Christian Marrero 1B 2-4, 2B, .344 AVG
• Jordan Parraz RF 2-4, 2B, .317 AVG
• Todd Redmond 5 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.80 ERA
• Adam Russell 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA

Ernesto Mejia followed up yesterday's 2 hit, 2 double performance with another 2 hit game, with a double and a RBI. He's only gone hitless in 1 of the 10 games he's played in this season. Christian Marrero also had a 2 hit day that included a double, and the 25 year old is enjoying his first taste of AAA, hitting .344 with a .948 OPS through his first 32 at bats. In his last 2 games, Jordan Parraz has gone 4-8 with a double, a homer, and a RBI. Joey Terdoslavich went 0-4, ending his 7 game hitting streak. Todd Redmond took a tough luck loss, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, in 5 innings. Through 3 starts, the righty has a 1.80 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts in 15 innings. Adam Russell tossed a scoreless 9th inning, giving him 6 scoreless innings and 9 strikeouts over 5 appearances this season.

Gwinnett begins a series against the Norfolk Tides tomorrow, with Erik Cordier scheduled to start the opener.

Mississippi Braves 4, Jackson Generals 3, 16 innings

• Phil Gosselin 2B 3-6, 2B, RBI, BB, .318 AVG
• Ian Gac 1B 4-7, 2 2B, HR (2), 3 RBI, .372 AVG
• Luis Avilan 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 5 BB, 5 K, 2.08 ERA
• Andrew Russell 1.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
• Ryan Buchter 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 4.26 ERA
• Billy Bullock 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 0.87 ERA
• Barrett Kleinknecht 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, W (1), 0.00 ERA

To say this was a wild one would be an understatement. Luis Avilan started the game by working around 5 walks to toss 5 scoreless innings, giving him 9 scoreless in his last 2 starts. His offense backed him up, with Phil Gosselin and Ian Gac each hitting first inning RBI doubles, and Gac adding another RBI double in the 6th. Reliever Richard Sullivan came on in the bottom of the 6th, and allowed an RBI single to former M-Brave Jesus Sucre and a RBI single to Gabriel Noriega before being replaced by Andrew Russell. Russell allowed an RBI single to the first batter he faced, knotting the score at 3, where it would stay for the next 9 innings. Billy Bullock, tossed 5 shutout innings, the longest appearance of his career, but it wasn't long enough as the team was left without any available relievers. They turned to utility man Barrett Kleinknect, who had never pitched professionally, but was a pitcher during his years at Francis Marion University. Kleinknecht pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 15th, striking out 2 in the process. Mercifully, Ian Gac led off the top of the 16th with his second homer of the year, putting Mississippi in line for the win, but the team was left with the same problem, no available relievers, forcing Kleinknecht back out to the mound for the bottom of the 16th to get his own save. He allowed a leadoff single, but retired the next 3 batters, earning himself the win. Kleinknecht couldn't have done it without Gac, who had 4 hits and drove in 3 runs. The 26 year old is loving his first taste of AA, hitting .366 with a 1.057 ERA in 43 at bats.

Chris Masters will take on the Generals tomorrow.

Lynchburg Hillcats 13, Potomac Nationals 2

• Nick Ahmed SS 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, .297 AVG
• Tommy La Stella 2B 2-3, 2B, RBI, .387 AVG
• Evan Gattis C 5-6, 2B, HR (3), 6 RBI, .469 AVG
• Edward Salcedo 3B 3-6, 2 2B, HR (1), 2 RBI, .324 AVG
• Chris Garcia 1B 2-5, 2B, RBI, BB, .296 AVG
• David Rohm RF 3-6, 2B, .303 AVG
• Kyle Rose LF 3-5, 3B, RBI, .417 AVG
• Aaron Northcraft 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 5 K, W (2), 2.31 ERA
• Ryan Weber 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.60 ERA
• Juan Jaime 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA

Evan Gattis had a monster day, rapping out 5 hits and driving in 6 runs. He hit his third homer in his last 4 games, and through 9 games this season he's hitting .469 with a 1.369 OPS. All 3 of Edward Salcedo's hits went for extra bases, with a pair of doubles and his first homer of the season. In his last 3 games, he's gone 5-13 with 4 doubles, a homer, and 3 RBI. Kyle Rose also had a 3 hit day, and in his last 2 games he's gone 5-9 with 2 doubles, a triple, and a RBI. And David Rohm clubbed 3 hits of his own, extending his hitting streak to 4 games, going 7-18 with 4 doubles and a RBI in that span. Tommy La Stella had a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to 5 games, going 7-20 with 2 doubles, a triple, and 6 RBI in those games. Aaron Northcraft picked up the win by allowing just 2 runs over 6 innings, and he's allowed only 3 in 11.2 innings this season.

The Hillcats will begin a series in Salem on Monday, with Cody Martin scheduled to get the start.

Rome Braves 5, Charelston River Dogs 7

• William Beckwith 1B 1-4, BB, SB (1), .306 AVG
• Kurt Fleming CF 3-4, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, .750 AVG
• Rafael Briceno 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1.54 ERA

Kurt Fleming joined the team today from Extended Spring Training, and made his mark immediately, with a 3 hit, 3 RBI night that included a double and a triple. William Beckwith extended his hitting streak to 5 games, going 8-14 with 3 doubles, 5 RBI, and 3 walks in that span. Rafael Briceno had a solid start, working around 7 hits to only allow 2 runs in 6 innings.

David Filak will take the mound tomorrow as the team begins a series with Savannah.