Yohan Flande tossed 6.2 dominant innings of two-hit ball, Mississippi got shut out, Gattis and Salcedo hit back to back homers, and Ryne Harper pitched well out of Rome's bullpen in Friday's Minor League action.
Gwinnett Braves 3, Charlotte Knights 0
- Jordan Parraz, RF: 3-4, 3B, R, .368
- Luis Durango, CF: 1-5, R, RBI, 2 SB(7,8), .221
- Yohan Flande, SP: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.00 ERA
- Dusty Hughes, RP: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, S(1), 0.90 ERA
Yohan Flande was the story tonight, as the Gwinnett Braves' lefty tossed 6.2 stellar innings, only allowing 3 baserunners on his way to 8 whiffs. Since starting the year with Gwinnett, Flande has thrown 15.2 innings of scoreless ball, giving up only 5 hits while walking seven and fanning 16. Ever since he made, and then didn't make the Braves' bullpen, Flande has made his case for the big leagues, and you have to think that should the Braves need an extra arm, Flande would be one of the first they take a look at. On the other side of the ball, Jordan Parraz was the only G-Brave to record a multi-hit day, as he went 3 for 4 with his first triple of the year. Luis Durango managed to swipe two bags, his seventh and eighth of the year.
Todd Redmond gets the nod for the Braves tomorrow against the Knights, looking to continue his stellar campaign so far this year.
Mississippi Braves 0, Birmingham Barons 10
- Phil Gosselin, 2B: 2-4, 2B, .298
- Joe Leonard, 3B: 2-4, 2B, .259
- Luis Avilan, SP: 2.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, L(0-3), 4.02 ERA
- Ryan Buchter, RP, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.68 ERA
Man, what's it gonna take to snap Mississippi out of this funk? The M-Braves' offense could only scrape together 7 hits in 9 innings, 6 of them coming from Phil Gosselin, Joe Leonard, and Christian Bethancourt. Gosselin and Leonard each had a double, but that was about the extent of the offensive fireworks for Mississippi. Luis Avilan got the start and got absolutely shellacked, lasting less than 3 innings while giving up 8 hits and 2 walks. The scary thing is that he could have easily given up more than the 4 runs he did. Gary Moran came on in relief and got shelled as well. The only bright spot for Mississippi pitching was Ryan Buchter, who threw a perfect 8th inning, striking out the side.
Zeke Spruill will take the mound for Mississippi tomorrow and hope that the offense can break out of its funk.
Frederick Keys 11, Lynchburg Hillcats 6
- Evan Gattis, DH: 2-5, HR(6), 2 RBI, .431
- Edward Salcedo, 3B: 1-5, HR(2), .315
- Kyle Rose, RF: 2-3, R, RBI, BB, E(1), .345
- Aaron Northcraft, SP: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6K, 3.86 ERA
Evan Gattis (who else?) and Edward Salcedo put up back to back jacks in the 4th innings, but other than that Lynchburg's offense was very ordinary tonight. Gattis' bat seems to have caught the attention of Braves' management, as Fredi Gonzalez has said that they will try him out at 1B and LF in Lynchburg before giving him a promotion to AA. It looks like an eminent move, but the organization would first like to see if he can play at either of those positions, as Christian Bethancourt is currently catching for AA Mississippi. Kyle Rose had a nice night at the plate as well, going 2-3 with a run and an RBI. The speedster is currently hit .345 on the year and seems locked in as a good source of speed in Lynchburg's 9-hole. Aaron Northcraft got the start tonight, and while he wasn't awful, 3 Lynchburg errors that led to 3 unearned runs didn't help matters.
Cody Martin gets the ball tomorrow for the Hillcats, looking to build on his 2-1 start.
Rome Braves 3, Asheville Tourists 7
- Felix Marte, RF: 2-4, 2B, R, .213
- Fernando De Los Santos, 2B: 2-4, R, .176
- Rafael Briceno, SP: 6 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L(1-1), 4.08 ERA
- Ryne Harper, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 3.24 ERA
Not a great day for Rome either, as the offense managed 7 hits, 4 by Felix Marte and Fernando De Los Santos. Rafael Briceno got the start and was not good, giving up 9 hits and a walk over 6 innings of work. Briceno allowed 6 earned runs on the day and struck out 4 while walking one. Ryne Harper came out of the bullpen and had the strikeout pitch working, as he fanned 5 guys in 2 innings. On the year, the righty has struck out 18 men over 8.1 innings of work (to only 5 walks), an absurd ratio. He's been a little too hittable, allowing 8 hits over those 8.1 innings, but being able to strike out batters at such a prodigious rate covers many ills.
David Filak takes the mound tomorrow for Rome, looking for a strong follow-up to his 11 K game this past Monday.