It wasn't a banner day for the Braves farm system as Lynchburg and Rome were both swept in doubleheaders while Gwinnett lost as well. Ernesto Mejia and William Beckwith kept on mashing while Myke Jones reached base 4 times in two games.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs 6, Gwinnett Braves 3
- Ernesto Mejia,1B: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, .315
- Felix Pie, RF: 2-5, 3B, R, .235
- Luis Durango, CF: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R, SB(23), .286
- Eric Junge, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, 4.20 ERA
- Jose Lugo, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.86 ERA
Eric Junge started for Gwinnett tonight and pitched pretty well, allowing only 2 earned runs across 7 innings of work. Junge scattered 8 baserunners across those 7 innings while striking out 4. Dusty Hughes came in to pitch the 8th and promptly gave up 3 runs to make a 3-3 game into a 6-3 IronPigs lead. Ernesto Mejia keeps on doing his thing, rapping out 3 more hits including a 2 RBI double. Felix Pie also notched a multi-hit game including his 3rd triple. Pie's hit tool isn't very good but his speed has always been ridiculous. Luis Durango reached three times out of the leadoff spot and stole his 23rd base of the year. Gwinnett has some blazing speed at the top of the order with Durango and Pie.
Todd Redmond gets the ball tomorrow against Lehigh Valley.
Mississippi Braves - POSTPONED
Mississippi's game with Montgomery was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday.
Salem Red Sox 6, Lynchburg Hillcats 3 - Game 1
- Edward Salcedo, 3B: 1-3, 2B, R, .253
- Myke Jones, CF: 1-4, R, .232
- Braeden Schlehuber, C: 2-3, R, RBI, .283
- Tommy La Stella, 2B: 1-3, 2 RBI, .289
- Aaron Northcraft, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 4.50
Aaron Northcraft started game 1 of the Lynchburg doubleheader and got absolutely pounded. Northcraft went 5 innings and gave up 6 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. He did strike out 7 though, which was a silver lining. Northcraft has had good strikeout stuff so far this year, registering 55 punchouts across 54 innings. The offense couldn't get much going either, as Lynchburg only managed 6 hits. Tommy La Stella did the bulk of the damage with a 2 RBI single, while catcher Braeden Schlehuber had the other RBI.
Salem Red Sox 7, Lynchburg Hillcats 1
- Myke Jones, CF: 2-3, BB, .254
- Adam Milligan, DH: 1-3, .283
- Ronan Pacheco, SP: 2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 7.77 ERA
- Blaine Sims, RP: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 5.26 ERA
As bad as Aaron Northcraft got knocked around in game one, Ronan Pacheco was worse in the nightcap. Pacheco only lasted 2 innings, getting pounded for 6 runs (only 4 earned) on 8 hits and 2 walks. Of the 6 outs he recorded, 4 were by strikeout. The one bright spot in this game was the relief effort of Blaine Sims, who went 4 innings of 1 hit ball with 4 strikouts. Not too shabby at all. The Lynchburg offense only managed 7 hits on the night, all singles. Myke Jones had two of them. A pretty forgettable game from Lynchburg.
Cody Martin will go tomorrow and attempt to knock off the Red Sox.
Rome Braves 4, Kannapolis Intimidators 5 - Game 1
- William Beckwith, DH: 3-4, 2B, .309
- Will Skinner, RF: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .260
- Rafael Briceno, SP: 5 IP, 10 H, 4 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 6.23 ERA
Rafael Briceno is certainly in the running for weirdest pitching line of the year with today's start. Briceno went 5 innings and gave up 10 hits. He also had 5 errors committed behind him as well, which led to all 4 of his runs being unearned. Despite being so hittable he didn't walk a batter and struck out 3. William Beckwith had a three hit day including a double, while Will Skinner had an RBI double and a single.
Rome Braves 5, Kannapolis Intimidators 10 - Game 2
- Abner Abreu, RF: 2-2, 2B, R, BB, .273
- Robby Hefflinger, LF: 1-2, 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB, .286
- David Filak, SP: 2.1 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 4.58 ERA
- Bryam Garcia, RP: 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.74 ERA
It just wasn't a good day for Braves' minor league pitching, as it was David Filak's turn to get shelled. Filak went 2.1 innings and allowed 8 runs on 9 baserunners. After giving up no more than 2 ER in each of his previous 8 starts, Filak has been hammered for 8 and 9 runs in his last two. Abner Abreu had a perfect day at the plate, reaching all three times with a walk, single, and double. Robby Hefflinger reached base three times as well with two walks and an RBI double.
Ryan Weber goes tomorrow as Rome opens a series with Lexington.