Jordan Parraz drove in four and stole a base, Mississippi narrowly avoided getting no-hit, Evan Gattis hit a walkoff bomb to back a great start from J.R. Graham, and Kyle Kubitza had a perfect day at the plate and on the basepaths in today's Minor League recap.
Norfolk Tides 2, Gwinnett Braves 9
- Jordan Parraz, DH: 3-5, 2B, R, 4 RBI, SB(3), .340
- Ernesto Mejia, 1B: 2-4, 2B, HR(2), 2 R, 3 RBI, .321
- Stefan Gartrell, RF: 2-3, 2 BB, 3 R, RBI, .196
- Jose Constanza, CF: 2-4, BB, 2 R, RBI, .394
- Eric Junge, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, W(2-1), 4.50 ERA
- Anthony Varvaro, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
- Jaye Chapman, RP: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, S(1), 2.08 ERA
Fantastic afternoon for Gwinnett, as they scored early and often. Eric Junge did his part and backed them with a dominant start. Jordan Parraz had a monster afternoon, going 3-5 with a double and 4 RBI. He even swiped his third base of the year. In his last ten games, Parraz has been locked in, batting .419 with a .500 OBP. Ernesto Mejia had a great day at the plate as well, clubbing out a double and his second home run. Mejia has 8 RBI in his last 5 games. Stefan Gartrell and Jose Constanza also chipped in two hits apiece, and both took walks as well. Since he came down, Constanza has been an on-base machine, walking 7 times in 8 games against only 3 whiffs, good for a .500 OBP. Eric Junge dominated the Tides over 6 innings, allowing only 3 hits while punching out 2 on his way to his second win of the year. Anthony Varvaro made his first appearance of the year, working a perfect inning.
Yohan Flande takes the mound Friday for Gwinnett as the G-Braves open a series in Charlotte with the Knights.
Mississippi Braves 0, Jackson Generals 2
- Joe Leonard, 3B: 1-4, .241
- Chris Masters, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, L(0-1), 4.40 ERA
- Andrew Russell, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA
- Mark Lamm, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.17 ERA
To say there was a lack of offense in this one would be an understatement. Joe Leonard's single was the only thing that kept the M-Braves from being no-hit by Danny Hultzen tonight. Chris Masters was solid but not spectacular for the Braves, going 5 innings and giving up a pair of runs in the loss. The bullpen pitched well at least; Andrew Russell has now thrown 7.1 innings of 3 hit ball with no walks and 4 punchouts on the year. Not much else to say about this one tonight, just a stinker.
Luis Avilan takes the mound tomorrow as the M-Braves open a series with the Birmingham Barons.
Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Frederick Keys 1
- Evan Gattis, C: 2-4, HR(5), R, 2RBI, .435
- Nick Ahmed, SS: 2-4, RBI, .333
- Matt Lipka, CF: 1-4, 2B, R, 2 K, .220
- J.R. Graham, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 3.00 ERA
- Chasen Shreve, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W(1-0), 1.00 ERA
Matt Lipka led off the third with a double, and Nick Ahmed drove him in for the Hillcats' first run. J.R. Graham would give it right back in the next inning, but that would be all he allowed on the day. The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the bottom of the ninth, when Chris Garcia drew a walk and who else but Evan Gattis stepped to the plate. The Southern League Player of the Week ran the count to 2-2, then fouled off several pitches before blistering a fastball over the left field wall for a two-run walkoff shot. Honestly, I've talked about Gattis so much in these recaps the last week that there isn't too much left to say. After hitting so well last year, my guess is that if Gattis can remotely keep this pace up for much longer, he'll force the organization to promote him to AA. On the other side of the ball, J.R. Graham pitched a fantastic game, going 7 innings and only allowing 6 baserunners. He stuck out six, and really the only thing disappointing about this start was that he wasn't able to pick up the win.
Aaron Northcraft gets the ball tomorrow against the Keys.
Rome Braves 6, Asheville Tourists 10
- Kyle Kubitza, DH: 4-4, 3 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB(2,3), .319
- Nick DeSantiago, C: 2-4, 2B, .206
- Brandon Drury, 3B: 2-4, 2 RBI, .157
- Carlos Perez, SP: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 9 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, 12.27 ERA
- Cole Rohrbough, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA
Carlos Perez started against the Tourists tonight and got absolutely obliterated. Perez only lasted 3.1 innings, giving up 9 runs on 7 hits and 5 walks. That's 12 baserunners allowed and only 10 outs recorded. Yikes. Here's to hoping Perez can bounce back in his next start. It's a shame that Perez imploded so badly because the offense actually had a great day. Kyle Kubitza put up one of the best lines by a Braves farmhand all year, reaching base all 5 times he came to the plate, including clubbing out 3 doubles. Kubitza also stole two bases and saw his average jump all the way up to .319. Nick DeSantiago and Brandon Drury each had a two hit game, but Kubitza was the story tonight. Cole Rohrbough tossed a perfect inning in relief, and in 4 appearances over 4 innings this year, the resurgent lefty has allowed only 1 hit, 0 walks, and has 3 strikeouts.
Rafael Briceno gets the start tomorrow, looking to get the R-Braves back on track.