Gattis Homers Again, Kennelly And Skinner Add Dingers Of Their Own, And Lipka And Ahmed Stay Hot In A Walkoff Win To Highlight Saturday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Evan Gattis homered again as Mississippi pounded out 10 runs, Matt Lipka and Nick Ahmed stayed hot in a walkoff win for Lynchburg, and Will Skinner hit his third homer in his last 6 games.

Gwinnett Braves 2, Charlotte Knights 11

• Jose Constanza LF 2-5, 2 2B, .321 AVG
• Joey Terdoslavich 3B 1-3, RBI, BB, .210 AVG
• Todd Redmond 5 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 3.69 ERA
• Jaye Chapman 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 1.23 ERA
• Jason Rice 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.75 ERA
  

Jose Constanza had a nice day at the plate, rapping out a pair of doubles, extending his hitting streak to 6 games, going 10-26 with 2 doubles, 4 RBI, 3 BB, and 2 steals. Joey Terdoslavich snapped a 0-11 skid with a RBI single and a walk today. Todd Redmond took the loss today, allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, over 5 innings. In his last 3 starts he's given up a 5.40 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Jaye Chapman made his ninth straight scoreless appearance, striking out 15 over 12.1 innings in that span.

Jair Jurrjens will take the hill Sunday, which is Bark In The Park day in Gwinnett.

Mississippi Braves10, Mobile Bay Bears 2

• Phil Gosselin 2B 2-5, RBI, .276 AVG
• Andrelton Simmons SS 2-5, .323 AVG
• Joe Leonard 3B 2-5, .262 AVG
• Evan Gattis LF 1-5, HR (3), 2 RBI, .381 AVG
• Matt Kennelly C 3-5, 2B, HR (1), 2 RBI, .229 AVG
• Barrett Kleinknecht 1B 2-4, 2B, RBI, .220 AVG
• Gary Moran 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 3.90 ERA
• Chris Jones 3.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K, W (1), 3.94 ERA

Evan Gattis only had 1 hit, but it was his third homer in 5 games with Mississippi. He's gotten a hit in all 5 games he's played in AA, going 8-21 with 2 doubles, 3 homers, and 8 RBI. Matt Kennelly had a 3 hit day that included a double and his first homer of the year. In his last 3 games, he's gone 5-13 with 2 walks. Andrelton Simmons had a 2 hit day to extend his hitting streak to 7 games, going 12-28 with a double, a triple, 3 RBI, 3 walks, and 3 steals in that span. Phil Gosselin snapped a 0-10 slump with a 2 hit day. Barrett Kleinknecht drove in a run as part of a 2 hit day, and over his last 3 games, the utility man has gone 4-11. Gary Moran hadn't walked anyone in his last 8.1 innings, but he walked 4 today in just 4.2 innings, though he managed to work around his control issues, striking out 5 and allowing just 1 run. Chris Jones picked up his first win of the year, striking out 4 over 3.1 scoreless innings.

Mississippi will send Jose Lugo to the mound tomorrow as they begin a series with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

Lynchburg Hillcats 4, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3

• Matt Lipka CF 2-5, 2B, .269 AVG
• Nick Ahmed SS 2-5, SB (9), .291 AVG
• Chris Garcia 1B 2-3, 2B, RBI, SB (2), .330 AVG
• Braeden Schlehuber C 2-3, RBI, BB, .298 AVG
• Dimasther Delgado 6 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 4.50 ERA
• Caleb Brewer 1.1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.68 ERA
• Matt Chaffee 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, W (1), 6.00 ERA

Nick Ahmed scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth when Tim Smith beat out a double play that should have sent the game into extra innings. Ahmed had singled and stolen second in the inning, part of a 2 hit day, that extended his hitting streak to 6 games. During that span he's gone 7-24 with 3 doubles and a homer. Matt Lipka had a pair of hits, and he's reached base in 9 consecutive games, hitting .371 with a .463 OBP during that span. Chris Garcia had a 2 hit day that included a double and in his last 10 games, he has a .345 average,a .513 OBP, and a 1.030 OPS. Braeden Schlehuber reached base 3 times, and in his last 10 games, he's hitting .355 with a 1.025 OPS. Dimasther Delgado had a quality start, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, over 6 innings. Caleb Brewer made his third straight scoreless appearance, tossing 6.2 innings and striking out 4 over that span. Matt Chaffee hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 4 appearances, striking out 6 over 4 innings during that stretch.

JR Graham will take on the Pelicans tomorrow afternoon in the series finale.

Rome Braves 3, Greenville Drive 6

• Will Skinner DH 2-4, HR (3), RBI, .241 AVG
• Kyle Kubitza 3B 1-3, BB, 2 E (3, 4), .260 AVG
• Nick DeSantiago C 1-3, 2B, BB, .182 AVG
• Elmer Reyes SS 1-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, .228 AVG
• AJ Holland 5 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 5.79 ERA
• Greg Ross 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 8.31 ERA

Will Skinner hit his third homer of the season in just his eighth game of the season. After going 0-6 in his first 2 games, he's gone 7-23 with 3 homers, 5 RBI and a walk in his last 6 games. Unfortunately, he's also struck out 10 times in 29 at bats. It took Elmer Reyes 424 at bats last season to hit 2 home runs, but he only needed 101 at bats this season do match that total. He's been much more of a slugger lately, with a .513 slugging percentage, created by 4 doubles and 2 homers, in his last 10 games. AJ Holland's struggles continue, as he took his fourth consecutive loss, allowing 6 runs, 5 earned, over 5 innings. In his last 3 starts, he has a 12.46 ERA and a 2.46 WHIP, after putting up a 1.37 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in his first 3 starts. Greg Ross struck out 2 over 3 perfect innings of relief.

Ernesto Silva will start for Rome on Sunday.