Lugo and Graham Pitch Well In Wins, Gosselin Has A Big Game, And Gattis Debuts In Mississippi In Tuesday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

So many good stories tonight and good performances in Mississippi. First off was Evan Gattis, who made his Mississippi debut tonight. Gattis started behind the plate and hit third, where he managed to go 1-4 with a walk, a strikeout, and 2 RBI. Not too shabby, especially when you consider the M-Braves were facing top prospect Trevor Bauer. Bauer came into the game a perfect 5-0, having won every start he had made so far. The M-Braves made sure to change that. Phil Gosselin had an awesome day, doubing as part of a 3 hit, 3 RBI performance. He even managed to steal his third base of the year, and his batting average now sits at an even .300. Andrelton Simmons stayed hot as well, driving in 2 men with an RBI triple. He also singled and scored twice, and is hitting a robust .325 so far this year. On the other side of the ball, Jose Lugo was the star, outdueling Bauer over 5 shutout innings. Lugo allowed only 2 hits and a walk while striking out four, and lowered his ERA to a ridiculous 0.90. Lugo has made two starts this year, and both were 5 inning beauties. His WHIP for the year now sits at 0.50, and he sports a K/BB ration of 7/1.

This was the conclusion of last night's game that was postponed because of fog. Dimasther Delgado made his first start of the year, but was obviously rusty, and it showed. He walked 3 and struck out 4 on his way to a short 3-run outing. Caleb Brewer pitched in the continued portion today and managed to go 3.1 innings of shutout ball. No Hillcat had more than 1 hit in this one, though Matt Lipka did reach base twice and swiped his 5th bag of the year. After a terrible year last year, it appears Lipka might be starting to figure some things out. Nick Ahmed went 1-4 with a double, and is still hitting a cool .289. Tommy La Stella went 1-3 with a sac fly, and if he's still sporting an average anywhere close to his .361 in a couple of weeks, you have to figure he'll follow Evan Gattis up to Mississippi.

• Chris Garcia, 1B: 2-3, RBI, .325
• Tim Smith, LF: 2-3, R, RBI, .625
• Nick Ahmed, SS: 1-2, 2B, R, BB, .294
• Edward Salcedo, 3B: 1-3, R, 2 SB(5,6), .270
• J.R. Graham, SP: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W(3-0), 3.00 ERA

Lynchburg reversed the score in the shortened nightcap, thanks to a balanced offensive effort and a dominant start by J.R. Graham. Chris Garcia and Tim Smith each went 2-3 with an RBI. Since joining the Hillcats on April 29, Smith has gone 5-8 with 4 walks and no strikeouts in 3 games. Not a bad debut. Nick Ahmed rapped out his second double in as many games, and is now slugging .424 on the season. On the year, Ahmed has posted a .130 ISO - pretty impressive mark for a shortstop who is still growing into his power. Edward Salcedo only reached base once, but he swiped second and third to notch his 5th and 6th steals on the year. On the other side of the ball, J.R. Graham threw a complete game (albeit shortened) and dominated the Mudcats, allowing only 2 runs on a homer. He only gave up 4 hits and a walk while striking out 6, and lowered his ERA to an even 3.00. In his last 3 starts, spanning 19 innings, Graham has posted an impressive 15/3 K/BB ratio.