Gattis Plays Left Field And Homers Twice, Simmons Stays Hot, And Hudson Completes Rehab In Tuesday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Evan Gattis hit a pair of homers while playing the outfield for the first time, Andrelton Simmons kept his hot streak going, and Tim Hudson and Anthony Varvaro each had successful rehab appearances for Gwinnett.

Gwinnett Braves 5, Charlotte Knights 4

• Luis Durango CF 2-4, 2B, RBI, .224 AVG
• Stefan Gartrell RF 1-3, 2B, BB, .180 AVG
• Jordan Parraz DH 3-4, .382 AVG
• Josh Wilson SS 3-4, RBI, E (4), .263 AVG
• Tim Hudson 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K, W (2), 0.84 ERA
• Anthony Varvaro 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA

Tim Hudson showed he's ready to return to Atlanta, allowing 1 run over 5.2 innings while winning his final rehab start. He was manhandled in his first two rehab appearances for Rome, allowing 6 earned runs in 7 innings, but that was just knocking the rust off, as he allowed just 1 earned run in 10.2 innings in his final 2 rehab appearances with Gwinnett. Anthony Varvaro made his third rehab appearance for Gwinnett, striking out 4 over 2 scoreless innings. Jordan Parraz's hot spring nearly earned him a spot on Atlanta's roster, and he hasn't stopped hitting, with a .382 average and a .925 OPS in 68 at bats. His 3 single day today extended his hitting streak to 7 games, and he's gone 13-26 with a double, a triple, and 4 RBI during that stretch. Josh Wilson also had a 3 hit game, matching the number of his he had in his previous 20 at bats. Luis Durango hit a double and drove in a run as part of a 2 hit day, breaking up a 1-24 slump. The speedy center fielder is hitting just .224 with a lowly .272 OBP.

Eric Junge will take on the Knights tomorrow.

More after the break.

Mississippi Braves 9, Birmingham Barons 6

• Andrelton Simmons SS 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, .295 AVG
• Phil Gosselin 2B 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, .296 AVG
• Ian Gac 1B 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, .314 AVG
• Barrett Kleinknecht 3B 2-3, BB, SAC, .191 AVG
• Myke Jones CF 1-3, 2 SB (3, 4), 2 SAC, .121 AVG
• Chris Masters 1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 1 K, 5.28 ERA
• Andrew Russell 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, W (2), 0.00 ERA

Andrelton Simmons continued his recent hot streak, rapping out 3 hits, including a double. It was his third straight game with a double, and his fourth straight game with a hit. Over those four games, he's gone 6-18 with 3 doubles and 7 RBI. Phil Gosselin had a 2 hit, 2 walk day, and in his last 3 games, he's gone 4-11 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 4 walks. Chris Masters lasted just 1 inning, tossing 55 pitches while allowing 2 runs and walking 5. That would set a poor precedent for the evening, as Masters, Chris Jones, Billy Bullock, Andrew Russell, and Cory Rasmus would combine to walk a Mississippi record 13 batters. Russell picked up the win with 2 scoreless innings, and the 28 year old Australian has yet to allow a run this year, striking out 8 over 9.2 innings in 7 appearances.

The M-Braves will head home to begin a series with the Huntsville Stars on Wednesday, and Gary Moran is likely to get the start.

Lynchburg Hillcats 14, Carolina Mudcats 8

• Nick Ahmed SS 4-5, RBI, BB, 2 SB (7, 8), .338 AVG
• Tommy La Stella 2B 1-3, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB (4, 5), E (1), .357 AVG
• Evan Gattis LF 3-5, 2 HR (7, 8), 5 RBI, BB, .424 AVG
• Edward Salcedo 3B 2-6, HR (3), 2 RBI, SB (3), E (5), .323 AVG
• Chris Garcia 1B 4-5, BB, E (3), .345 AVG
• Gus Schlosser 6 IP, 4 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 5 K, W (2), 5.04 ERA
• Juan Jaime 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA

Evan Gattis has no business being in the Carolina League. He had another phenomenal day, cracking out a pair of home runs and driving in 5. Through 16 games, he has a .424 average, a .507 OBP (seriously, he's getting on base more than half the times he comes to the plate, that's insane), and a .898 slugging percentage good for a 1.405 OPS. In addition to his great day at the plate, today was a big day for his future, as is was the first time in his career he's played in the outfield. Lynchburg hitting coach Bobby Moore, and former outfielder who had a cup of coffee with the Royals in 1991 and played parts of 5 seasons for the Richmond Braves, believes Gattis has the athleticism and work ethic to make himself a solid left fielder. Nick Ahmed had a 4 hit, 2 stolen base day, and in his last 6 games he's gone 11-25 with a homer, 6 RBI, 4 walks and 3 steals. Chris Garcia reached base 5 times, with 4 singles and a walk, upping his average to .345 and his OBP to .446 on the year. Tommy La Stella only managed 1 hit on the day, but worked 3 walks, making him 3-7 with 4 walks in his last 2 games. Edward Salcedo homered as part of his second straight 2 hit day, and in his last 10 games he's hitting .341 with a 1.065 OPS, with all 3 of his homers and all 9 of his RBI. Gus Schlosser picked up his second win in a forgettable start, allowing 4 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings. In his last 2 starts, he's allowed 9 earned runs in 12 innings, giving up 19 hits in the process. On the bright side, he's only walked 3 in 25 innings.

Ronan Pacheco will take on the Mudcats tomorrow.

Rome Braves 2, Hagerstown Suns 9

• Fernando de los Santos 2B 3-4, 2B, RBI, .255 AVG
• AJ Holland 4 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 2 K, 1.90 ERA
• Wilson Rivera 1.1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 2.57 ERA
• John Cornely 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 4.26 ERA

A fourth inning error by Kyle Kubitza led to 3 unearned runs, part of 5 runs AJ Holland would allow to earn a tough luck loss. He did have his own struggles, allowing 6 hits and 4 walks in just 4 innings of work. Walks have been a problem for him this year, as he's allowed 4 per 9 innings and has fewer strikeouts, 10, than walks, 11. Wilson River struck out 3 over 1.1 innings, giving the former outfielder 12 strikeouts in 7 innings this season. Fernando de los Santos had 3 of the 5 R-Braves hits on the day, extending his hitting streak to 4 games, going 8-17 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and a stolen base in those games.

Carlos Perez is set to start against the Suns on Wednesday.