Ahmed Extends Hitting Streak To 10, Gartrell Hits Walkoff Homer, And Moore Has A Great Start In Thursday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Nick Ahmed extended his hitting streak to 10 games, Stefan Gartrell hit a walkoff homer, and Navery Moore had the best start of his career.

Gwinnett Braves 5, Buffalo Bisons 3, 10 innings

• Jose Constanza LF 2-5, 2 SB (6, 7), .351 AVG
• Luis Durango CF 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, .266 AVG
• Stefan Gartrell RF 2-4, HR (6), 2 RBI, BB, .230 AVG
• Christian Marrero 1B 1-3, HR (2), RBI, BB, .257 AVG
• Todd Redmond 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 10 K, 3.29 ERA
• Jaye Chapman 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 1.65 ERA

Stefan Gartrell hit a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 10 to give the G-Braves a walkoff win. After an awful April that saw him hit .165 with a .528 OPS, Gartrell has been on fire in May, hitting .382 with a 1.285 OPS, 5 homers, and 12 RBI.Jose Constanza extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a 2 hit, 2 steal day. During the streak, he's hitting .390, with a .447 OBP, a .886 OPS, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 5 steals. Luis Durango had 2 hits and 2 RBIs, and over his last 4 games, he's gone 6-15 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. Christian Marrero hit his second homer of the year, and he's also having a great May, hitting .357 with a 1.113 OPS. Todd Redmond tied his season high with 10 strikeouts while only allowing 1 run over a season high 6.2 innings. He's averaging 10.3 K/9 and 4 K/BB on the season. After only allowing 1 run in 16.2 innings this season, Cory Gearrin allowed 2 runs in the ninth inning today, blowing a save in the process. He eventually picked up the win after tossing a scoreless 10th.

Friday, the G-Braves begin a series with the Toledo Mudhens, with Jair Jurrjens scheduled to start.

Mississippi Braves 3, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 4, 10 innings

• Keenan Wiley RF 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, SB (5), .333 AVG
• Todd Cunningham CF 2-4, RBI, .325 AVG
• Gary Moran 5 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 3.58 ERA
• Luis Avilan 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 3.63 ERA
• Ryan Bucther 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 2.20 ERA
• Mark Lamm 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2.76 ERA

Walks hurt the M-Braves in this one, as Billy Bullock walked in what would be the winning run in the top of the 10th, one of 3 walks he allowed in his 1 inning of work. Gary Moran had a decent start, allowing 3 runs, 1 earned, while striking out 6 over 5 innings. Over his last 2 starts, he's struck out 11 and allowed 2 earned runs over 9.2 innings. Luis Avilan returned from the disabled list and struck out 4 of the 7 batters he faces. Ryan Bucther struck out 3 of the 4 hitters he faced, and for the season he's averaging 12.7 K/9. Mark Lamm made his third straight hitless appearance, tossing 4 innings in that span. Todd Cunningham continued his fine work of late, with a 2 hit day that included a RBI. Over his last 10 games, he's hitting .417 with a 1.018 OPS, 3 doubles, a triple, 7 RBI, and 3 stolen bases. Keenan Wiley had 3 walks, a double, and a stolen base today. Over his last 10 games, he has a .385 average, a .500 OBP, and a 1.154 OPS.

Zeke Spruill will take the mound tomorrow as the team heads to Huntsville to begin a 5 game series.

Lynchburg Hillcats 2, Wilmington Blue Rocks 7

• Matt Lipka CF 1-3, RBI, .279 AVG
• Nick Ahmed SS 1-3, E (9), .288 AVG
  
• Gus Schlosser 7 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 5.02 ERA

Nick Ahmed extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and over that span he's hit .282 with a .364 OBP, a .825 OPS, 4 doubles, a homer, 4 RBI, and 4 steals. It's been a modest streak, with only one multi hit game, and he's struck out in 12 out of his 39 at bats during the streak. Matt Lipka had a RBI single in 3 at bats, and over his last 10 games he has a .350 average, a .400 OBP, and 6 stolen bases. After allowing 7 runs over 4.2 innings in his last start, Gus Schlosser had a decent comeback, allowing 4 runs, 2 earned, over 7 innings while walking none and striking out 5. He's shown good control this year, with 1.5 BB/9 and 4.4 K/BB.

Lynchburg returns home tomorrow to begin a series against the Winston-Salem Dash and Dimasther Delgado is scheduled to start.

Rome Braves 0, Asheville Tourists 2

• Kyle Kubitza 3B 0-1, 3 BB, .250 AVG
• Navery Moore 7 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 2.99 ERA
• Ryne Harper 1.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 3.45 ERA

Navery Moore made the best start of his young career, tossing 7 shutout innings. It was a nice comeback for the 21 year old after he allowed 6 runs in just 3.1 innings in his last start. He must enjoy pitching in sunlight, since he has a 12 shutout innings in 2 day game starts this year. The R-Braves only collected 4 hits on the day, but the most impressive offensive performance was from Kyle Kubitza, who went 0-1, but collected 3 walks. The 21 year old is walking in 14% of his plate appearances, but he's also striking out in 30% of his plate appearances. Despite only having a .250 average, he's been productive, with a .362 OBP and a .509 slugging percentage.

AJ Holland will start against the Tourists tomorrow.