Simmons Homers Again and Jurrjens Tosses A Gem In Sunday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Andrelton Simmons hit his third homer in his last 6 games, Jair Jurrjens had a fantastic start, and Chris Garcia and William Beckwith both had great days at the plate.

Gwinnett Braves 1, Rochester Red Wings 0

• Felix Pie RF 2-4, SB (1), .220 AVG
• Ernesto Mejia DH 2-3, BB, .306 AVG
• Christian Marrero 1B 1-3, 3B, RBI, .238 AVG
• Jair Jurrjens 8 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K, W (3), 4.85 ERA
• Cory Gearrin 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (6), 0.94 ERA

After allowing 16 earned runs in 9 innings over his last 2 starts, Jair Jurrjens was on top of his game today, tossing 8 shutout innings, allowing just 3 hits and no walks while striking out 5. Even though he struggled in his last 2 starts, his control has been much better overall in AAA, as he's allowing 1.8 BB/9 in 39 AAA innings after allowing 5.5 BB/9 in 16.1 innings in the Majors. Cory Gearrin picked up a save in his fourth straight appearance, and in his last 6 appearances he's allowed 1 hit, 4 walks, and struck out 14 in 10 scoreless innings. Christian Marrero drove in the only run of the game with a sixth inning triple, though the first baseman is struggling of late, with a .194 average and a .587 OPS in his last 10 games. Ernesto Mejia has been thriving in his last 10 games, with a .359 average, a 1.083 OPS, 2 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, and 7 RBI in that span after reaching base 3 times today. Felix Pie had a pair of hits and in his last 5 games he's gone 6-16.

Julio Teheran will start the first game of a series against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs Monday night.

Mississippi Braves 5, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 7

• Andrelton Simmons SS 2-4, HR (3), RBI, BB, .305 AVG
• Joe Leonard 3B 2-3, 2 BB, SB (4), .262 AVG
• Alden Carrithers LF 1-2, 3 BB, SB (2), .333 AVG
• Matt Kennelly C 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, .243 AVG
• Cory Harrilchak RF 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, .211 AVG
• David Hale 5 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 2 K, 4.28 ERA
• Ryan Buchter 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1.66 ERA
  

After hitting 3 home runs in the first 900 at bats of his career, Andrelton Simmons has hit 3 home runs in his last 20 at bats. In his last 9 games, he's gone 14-38 with 3 doubles, 3 homers, 6 RBI, 4 walks, and 2 steals. Joe Leonard had a pair of hits and a walk, and over his last 9 games he's gone 10-31 with 2 doubles, a homer, 7 RBI and 7 walks. Alden Carrithers had 3 walks on the day, and over his last 3 games he's gone 5-9 with a RBI, 5 walks, and 2 steals. Matt Kennelly drove in a pair of runs today, continuing a fine May that's seen him hit .306 with a .848 OPS in 36 at bats. Cory Harrilchak also drove in a pair of runs, and over his last 10 games he's hit .308 with a .810 OPS, 3 doubles, 4 RBI, and 2 steals. David Hale only allowed 1 hit in 5 innings, but he also allowed a season high 5 walks. He's fared better in away games this year, with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in 29.2 innings over 5 road starts compared to a 5.04 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 25 innings over 5 home starts. Ryan Buchter made his seventh straight hitless and scoreless appearance, allowing 5 walks and striking out 11 in 8 innings over that span.

The Braves head back to Mississippi on Monday to begin a five game series against the Montgomery Biscuits with Zeke Spruill scheduled to start the opener.

Lynchburg Hillcats 6, Potomac Nationals 1

• Matt Lipka CF 2-5, RBI, .248 AVG
• Nick Ahmed SS 1-3, BB, .275 AVG
• Chris Garcia DH 2-2, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, .340 AVG
• Matt Weaver 1B 1-4, .258 AVG
• Dimasther Delgado 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 0 K, W (3), 3.55 ERA
• Andrew Wilson 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 3.31 ERA
• Juan Jaime 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 4.00 ERA

Chris Garcia's 3 run double was the big blow in this one, and in his last 4 games he's gone 6-12 with 3 doubles, 6 RBI, and 5 walks. Matt Lipka followed up yesterday's 3 hit performance with a 2 hit game today, and he's driven in 3 runs in those 2 games. Matt Weaver also had a pair of hits, and he's gone 4-9 in his last 2 games. Dimasther Delgado had a great start, allowing just 1 run over 7 innings, and in his last 2 starts, he's allowed 3 runs in 13 innings, while only giving up 1 walk and striking out 3. Juan Jaime struck out 1 in a perfect innings, and over his last 9 appearances he's allowed 1 run and struck out 15 in 8.1 innings.

The Hillcats begin a series against the Salem Red Sox tomorrow afternoon with JR Graham scheduled to start the opener.

Rome Braves 5, Asheville Tourists 7

• Elmer Reyes SS 2-4, 2B, HR (5), RBI, BB, .245 AVG
• William Beckwith 1B 2-4, HR (4), 3 RBI, .302 AVG
• Tony Mueller CF 2-4, 2B, SB (11), .221 AVG
• Navery Moore 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 3.28 ERA
• Ian Marshall 1.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 3.86 ERA

Elmer Reyes hit a double and a homer, and over his last 10 games the 21 year old has hit .276 with a .909 OPS. William Beckwith hit his fourth homer of the year, and all 4 of those homers have come in his last 10 games. During that span, he's hit .303 with a 1.088 OPS, 2 doubles, and 9 RBI. After going 2-26 in his last 9 games, Tony Mueller was 2-4 today with a double and a stolen base. Navery Moore made a quality start, allowing 3 runs over 6 innings. In his last 4 starts, he's allowed a 1.11 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, and 2.2 BB/9.

Greg Ross will start tomorrow afternoon as the R-Braves head to Kannapolis to face the Intimidators.