Gattis Homers To Back Northcraft's Win, And Constanza, Gosselin, And Mueller Stay Hot In Friday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Evan Gattis homered again, helping Aaron Northcraft to his third win, Jose Constanza had a 3 hit day, Yohan Flande finally gave up a few runs, and Phil Gosselin and Tony Mueller stayed hot.

Gwinnett Braves 3, Toledo Mud Hens 2

• Luis Durango CF 1-4, 2B, RBI, BB, .261 AVG
• Jose Constanza LF 3-4, 2 RBI, BB, .321 AVG
• Yohan Flande 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 0.90 ERA
• Adam Russell 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K, W (3), 2.45 ERA
• Anthony Varvaro 1.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
• Dusty Hughes 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K, SV (3), 0.77 ERA

After tossing 15.2 scoreless innings in his first 4 starts, Yohan Flande finally allowed a few runners to cross the plate, giving up 2 runs in just 4.1 innings, ballooning his ERA up to 0.90. Walks did him in, as he gave up 4 free passes, with 41 of his 95 pitches being called balls. Adam Russell, Anthony Varvaro, and Dusty Huges combined for 4.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Hughes had tossed 6 scoreless innings over his last 5 appearances, picking up 3 saves and striking out 5. This was Varvaro's fourth rehab appearance, and he's struck out 7 over 5.2 scoreless innings. Jose Constanza had a 3 hit, 2 RBI day, and in 14 games since his demotion from Atlanta the 28 year old is hitting .321 with a .424 OBP. Luis Durango walked and doubled, extending his hitting streak to 4 games. He's gone 8-16 with 2 doubles, a triple, a RBI, and 2 walks in that span.

Todd Redmond is scheduled to start tomorrow.

Mississippi Braves 4, Huntsville Stars 7

• Phil Gosselin 2B 2-4, .295 AVG
• Ian Gac 1B 1-4, HR (3), RBI, .280 AVG
• Joe Leonard 3B 2-3, RBI, BB, .280 AVG
• Keenan Wiley CF 2-2, RBI, SB (2), .313 AVG
• Sean Gilmartin 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.66 ERA

Sean Gilmartin took the loss in this one, giving up 4 runs over 6 innings. One thing he has been adept at this year is limiting walks, allowing just 1.7 per 9 innings, and racking up 2.7 strikeouts per walk. Even with his 3.66 ERA, his control has kept his WHIP down to an impressive 1.09. Phil Gosselin had a pair of singles, and in his last 5 games, he's gone 6-18 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 5 walks. The 24 year old is averaging a walk every 6 times he comes to the plate, earning him a .414 OBP through 21 games. Joe Leonard had a pair of hits and a walk, and in his last 8 games, he's gone 11-32 with 2 doubles, a triple, 5 RBI and 2 walks. Ian Gac hit his third homer of the season, but after a hot start earned him the Southern League Player of the Week he's struggled, hitting just .162 with 14 strikeouts in 37 at bats in his last 10 games. For the season, he's struck out in 39% of his at bats. Adam Milligan is also scuffling, going 0-4 and striking out 3 times today. For the season he's hitting just .171 and has struck out in 36% of his at bats.

David Hale will face the Stars Saturday evening.

Lynchburg Hillcats 1, Frederick Keys 0

• Matt Lipka CF 2-4, 2B, .239 AVG
• Evan Gattis DH 1-4, HR (9), RBI, .375 AVG
• Chris Garcia 1B 1-3, BB, .323 AVG
• Robby Hefflinger RF 1-3, BB, .279 AVG
• Aaron Northcraft 6.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K, W (3), 2.74 ERA
• Andrew Wilson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 3.38 ERA
• Matt Chaffee 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, SV (3), 7.71 ERA

Evan Gattis provided all the offense tonight, with his ninth homer of the year accounting for the lone Hillcat run. Gattis has actually cooled off a bit, in his last 10 games he's only hitting .300 with a 1.191 OPS. Aaron Northcraft picked up his third win of the year, striking out 7 over 6.2 scoreless innings. Through 23 innings this year, he has a 2.74 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP, averaging 9.8 strikeouts per 9 innings. Matt Chaffee picked up his third save, striking out 3 in 1.1 innings. For the year, he's struck out 11 in 7 innings.

Cody Martin will start tomorrow afternoon's game.

Rome Braves 3, Hagerstown Suns 9

• Tony Mueller CF 2-4, .222 AVG
• Brandon Drury 3B 1-4, RBI, .165 AVG
• Kyle Kubitza DH 1-4, 2B, .288 AVG
  
• Jakob Dalfonso 1B 1-4, 3B, RBI, .500 AVG
• David Filak 5 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 1.73 ERA

David Filak had another solid start, allowing just 2 unearned runs over 5 innings, though he did allow 4 walks. For the year, he's giving up 4.8 walks per 9 innings, which is a huge improvement over the 6.6 BB/9 he allowed with Rome last season. On the bright side, he's been effectively wild, striking out 11 hitters per 9 innings. Jakob Dalfonso followed up yesterday's 3 hit performance with an RBI double today. Tony Mueller had a pair of singles today, and in his last 3 games he's gone 5-13. Brandon Drury drove in a run with a single today, but he's struggled mightily this season, hitting just .165 with a lowly .434 OPS. Oddly enough, he's walked nearly as many times in 20 games this season, 5, as he walked in 63 games last season, 6. Kyle Kubitza has been Rome's best player, leading the team in runs (15), hits (21), doubles (6), triples (3), homers (4), RBI (13), total bases (45), slugging (.616), and OPS (.997).

The team begins a series with Hagerstown tomorrow, with Navery Moore getting the nod in the opener.