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The Braves' minor league affiliates all lost tonight, wasting several strong pitching performances. Zeke Spruill, J.R. Graham, and A.J. Holland all pitched well for their respective teams, while Julio Teheran had an awfully rough night for Gwinnett.
Gwinnett Braves 2, Buffalo Bison 4
- Stefan Gartrell, LF: 2-4, 2B, R, BB, .257
- Ernesto Mejia, 1B: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI, .296
- Joey Terdoslavich, 3B: 2-4, .201
- J.C. Boscan, C: 2-3, .205
- Julio Teheran, SP: 2.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 2 K, 3.31 ERA
- Buddy Carlyle, RP: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1.80 ERA
- Cory Gearrin, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1.19 ERA
After Mike Minor's recent struggles, many people were looking to Julio Teheran to make a statement that he was ready to join the MLB rotation. Tonight, however, he fell flat on his face. Teheran was wild and hittable, as he allowed 7 hits and 5 free passes in only 2.2 innings pitched. He also got 2 strikeouts, but he allowed 12 baserunners and only got 8 outs - not exactly a recipe for success. Buddy Carlyle made his first appearance since being activated from the DL and cleaned up quite nicely for Teheran, hurling 2.1 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts. Cory Gearrin had another stellar outing as well, throwing 2 hitless innings with 4 punchouts. Stefan Gartrell continued his hot hitting, roping a double as part of a two hit day. One potentially good sign from the offense was Joey Terdoslavich, who recorded his second straight 2 hit game - the first time all year he's had back to back multi-hit games. The effort also brought his average over the Mendoza line, and maybe things are finally starting to look up for the G-Brave's third baseman.
Eric Junge toes the rubber for Gwinnett tomorrow looking for a win against the Bison.
Tennessee Smokies 3, Mississippi Braves 2
- Evan Gattis, LF: 1-4, 2B, RBI, .315
- Phil Gosselin, 2B: 1-4, RBI, .254
- Keenan Wiley, RF: 2-4, .353
- Todd Cunningham, CF: 2-4, 2 R, SB(5), .337
- Zeke Spruill, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, 4.03 ERA
- Andrew Russell, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.45 ERA
- Mark Lamm, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2.45 ERA
Despite outhitting and outpitching Tennessee, Mississippi lost to the Smokies on two unearned runs. Zeke Spruill had good stuff, recording 5 strikeouts and 9 groundouts (to only 2 flyouts) over 6 strong innings. He only walked a pair, and allowed 1 earned run, but was tagged with the hard luck loss. As usual, the bullpen tandem of Andrew Russell, Mark Lamm, and Cory Rasmus all pitched scoreless innings. Evan Gattis only had one hit on the night, but made it count with an RBI double. Phil Gosselin had the other RBI, and both runs were scored by Todd Cunningham, who was on base twice and recorded his 6th steal of the year.
Gary Moran takes the mound tomorrow for Mississippi.
Wilmington Blue Rocks 2, Lynchburg Hillcats 1
- Tommy La Stella, 2B: 1-4, .300
- J.R. Graham, SP: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 6 K, 2.50 ERA
- Juan Jaime, RP: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 4.40 IP
J.R. Graham was likewise bitten by unearned runs tonight, as the one unearned run he allowed turned out to be the difference. It's unfortunate because otherwise Graham was brilliant, allowing only two baserunners over 6 innings while striking out a batter per inning. Graham has truly been stellar for Lynchburg this year having given up no more than 3 earned runs in any of his starts. Graham is also averaging more than 6 innings pitched per start, so not only is he pitching well, but he's also going deep into games. As for the offense, Lynchburg only mustered 4 hits - all singles - against the Blue Rocks. Not too much else to say about that.
Aaron Northcraft pitches for Lynchburg tomorrow as they open a series in Winston Salem against the Dash.
Rome Braves 0, Charleston RiverDogs 3
- Fernando De Los Santos, 2B: 1-4, 2B, .237
- Edison Sanchez, LF: 2-3, .200
- A.J. Holland, SP: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 5.52 ERA
- John Cornely, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 4.50 ERA
Another game and another show of offensive ineptitude by a Braves' minor league team. Rome was only able to muster 6 hits over 9 innings and were shut out by the RiverDogs. Edison Sanchez was the only R-Brave to reach base more than once, going 2-3. A.J. Holland was the hard luck loser, tossing 7 strong innings, allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. Given that he only allowed 6 baserunners, he got a little unlucky giving up 3 runs. John Cornely pitched a stellar inning in relief, striking out the side in the 8th inning.
Rome plays a doubleheader against Charleston tomorrow, and has not announced probables yet.