Simmons Has A Perfect Day While Spruill, Graham, And Ross Toss Gems In Wednesday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Andrelton Simmons had a perfect day at the plate to support Zeke Spruill's strong start, Nick Ahmed and Edward Salcedo each had a pair of hits in support of JR Graham's effort, and Kyle Kubitza stayed hot to lead Rome's offense behind Greg Ross as all of the Braves Minor League affiliates won today.

Gwinnett Braves - Off

Yohan Flande is scheduled to start on Thursday at the G-Braves begin a four game series against the Rochester Red Wings

Miississippi Braves 5, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 2

• Andrelton Simmons SS 4-4, 2 2B, HR (1), 2 RBI, .304 AVG
• Ian Gac 1B 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, .233 AVG
• Christian Bethancourt C 2-4, RBI, .291 AVG
• Zeke Spruill 7 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K, W (4), 3.86 ERA
• Cory Rasmus 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 1.40 ERA
• Mark Lamm 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, SV (5), 2.66 ERA

Andrelton Simmons had a phenomenal day, missing the cycle only by a triple as he had 2 doubles and his first homer of the year in a 4 hit effort. Prior to today, he had been having a pretty weak May, hitting just .242 with a .612 OPS, though he's now gone 9-22 in his last 5 games. Ian Gac has also been struggling in May, hitting just .203 with a .639 OPS, but he had a RBI double and a walk today, making him 8-25 with 5 doubles, a homer, and 5 RBI in his last 8 games. Christian Bethancourt had a pair of hits and a RBI, and since returning from the disabled list, he's gone 6-15 with 2 RBI in 5 games. Zeke Spruill had an outstanding start, striking out 7 and walking none while allowing 2 runs over 7 innings, picking up his fourth win of the year. In his last 4 starts, he's allowed a 2.67 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and just 2 walks in 27 innings. Cory Rasmus struck out 2 in a perfect inning, and in his last 9 appearances he's allowed just 1 run over 9.2 innings, striking out 8, though control has been an issue as he's allowed 5 walks in that span. Mark Lamm picked up his fifth save of the season, and in his last 7 appearances, he's allowed just 1 run in 8 innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 4 in that span.

Gary Moran will start for MIssissippi tomorrow.

Lynchburg Hillcats 2, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 1

• Nick Ahmed SS 2-4, RBI, .264 AVG
• Adam Milligan DH 1-4, HR (1), RBI, .150 AVG
• Edward Salcedo 3B 2-4, SB (9), .265 AVG
• Robby Hefflinger RF 2-3, 2B, .222 AVG
• JR Graham 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 2 K, W (5), 2.33 ERA
• Chasen Shreve 0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2.49 ERA
• Jaun Jaime 0.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (8), 4.24 ERA

JR Graham continued his fine season with a great start tonight, allowing just 1 run over 7.2 innings. In his last 2 starts, he's allowed just the 1 run over 13.2 innings, and for the season he has a 2.33 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 3.2 BB/9, and is averaging 6.1 innings per start. Juan Jaime collected his eighth save of the season, and in his last 8 games, he's allowed 1 run over 7.1 innings, striking out 14 and picking up 6 saves. Nick Ahmed had a 2 hit day and drove in a run, and in his last 5 games, he's gone 7-20 with a double and 4 RBI. Adam Milligan hit his first homer for the Hillcats this season, though the 24 year old is still having a rough year, hitting just .172 with a .501 OPS in 122 at bats between Mississippi and Lynchburg, striking out in 39% of those at bats. Edward Salcedo had a 2 hit day that included his ninth stolen base of the year, and in his last 10 games, he's hit .303 with a .803 OPS. Robby Hefflinger had a 2 hit day today, but he's struggled in May, hitting just .159 with a .620 OPS. Matt Lipka has also struggled this month, hitting just .203 with a .498 OPS.

Aaron Northcraft will star the series finale tomorrow.

Rome Braves 3, Augusta Greenjackets 1

• Sergio Miranda 2B 1-2, 2B, BB, E (2), .200 AVG
• Kyle Kubitza 3B 2-4, 3 RBI, .265 AVG
• Greg Ross 6 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 6.33 ERA
• Jarrett Miller 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, W (1), 7.88 ERA
• John Cornely 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, SV (1), 3.63 ERA

Greg Ross had a nice start, allowing only an unearned run while striking out 5 over 6 innings. This was his third start of the year, and he he fared much better than in his first two, where he combined to allow 7 earned runs in 6.2 innings. Starting has also affected his walk total, as he's given up 7 walks in 12.2 innings as a starter after only allowing 1 walk in 8.2 innings as a reliever. John Cornely picked up his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning. It was his fourth straight scoreless appearance, and he's struck out 11 in 4.2 innings over that span. Kyle Kubitza provided all the offense for the R-Braves, driving in a run with a first innings single and a pair of runs with an eighth inning single. In his last 3 games, the 21 year old third baseman has gone 5-9 with a triple and 5 RBI. Abner Abreu, a 23 year old native of the Dominican Republic, joined the team today and started in center field, going 0-3. Originally signed by the Indians, he also spent some time in the Cubs organization last season and has reached as high as High A in his career, combining to hit .266 with a .748 OPS in 1620 Minor League plate appearances.

Rome will play a doubleheader against the Asheville Tourists Thursday evening, with Rafael Briceno scheduled to start the first game.