Lipka's Big Day Supports Northcraft's Gem, Gilmartin Tosses Rain-Shortened Complete Game, And Rome Is No-Hit In Tuesday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Matt Lipka had a 4 hit, 2 steal day as part of an offensive explosion for Lynchburg in support of Aaron Northcrafts's excellent game, Sean Gilmartin tossed a rain shortened complete game, and Rome was no-hit.

Gwinnett Braves 0, Buffalo Bisons 3

• Jose Constanza LF 2-3, BB, .352 AVG
• Drew Sutton 2B 2-4, 2B, E (5), .240 AVG
• Eric Junge 6 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 3.09 ERA
• Anthony Varvaro 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 4.00 ERA
• Adam Russell 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.29 ERA

After reaching base 4 times in yesterday's game, Jose Constanza reached base 3 times tonight. He extended his hitting streak to 9 games, and during that span, he's hitting .444 with a .524 OBP, 8 runs scored, and 3 stolen bases. Drew Sutton had a 2 hit day that included a much needed double. He hasn't shown much pop this year, with a .320 slugging percentage, which is considerably lower than the .377 slugging percentage he's put up in his other 3 AAA seasons and the .403 slugging percentage he's posted in parts of 3 years in the Majors. Joey Terdoslavich's struggles continue, as he went 0-4 with a pair of strikeouts and made his tenth error of the season. He's 2-26 in his last 7 games, and his batting average has dipped down to .196. Eric Junge allowed 3 runs, 2 earned over 6 innings, after only allowing 2 earned runs in 19 innings over his last 3 starts.

Yohan Flande will start for Gwinnett tomorrow.

Mississippi Braves 3, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 1, 7 innings

• Andrelton Simmons SS 2-3, BB, SB (7), .330 AVG
• Phil Gosselin 2B 2-4, 3B, RBI, SB (4), .261 AVG
• Evan Gattis LF 1-3, RBI, .323 AVG
• Sean Gilmartin 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 9 K, W (1), 3.20 ERA

This game ended after 7 innings due to rain, which allowed Sean Gilmartin to be credited with a complete game. He picked up his first win of the year, allowing just 1 run and striking out 9. Over his last 4 starts, he has a 2.19 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. For the season, the lefty is limiting left handed hitters to a .163 average and he's only allowing 1.4 walks per 9 innings. Andrelton Simmons had a 2 hit day to extend his hitting streak to 9 games. During that span, he's hitting .429 with a .512 OBP, 7 runs scored and 3 steals. He's having a fine season overall as well, hitting .320 with a .385 OBP and a .802 OPS through 103 at bats. After going 2-25 in his last 6 games, Phil Gosselin went 2-4 today, tripling and stealing a base. Evan Gattis had a relatively normal day at the plate, with an RBI single in 3 at bats. He may be cooling a bit, as he's gone 3-15 in his last 4 games. Of course, he still hit 2 homers and drove in 4 runs in those 4 games.

David Hale is scheduled to start for the M-Braves tomorrow.

Lynchburg Hillcats 10, Wilmington Blue Rocks 4

• Matt Lipka CF 4-6, 2 SB (8, 9), .291 AVG
• Nick Ahmed SS 1-5, 2B, 3 RBI, .288 AVG
• Tim Smith 2-5, .355 AVG
• Edward Salcedo 3B 2-5, RBI, E (11), .263 AVG
• Chris Garcia 1B 2-4, HR (2), 3 RBI, BB, .344 AVG
• Kyle Rose RF 2-5, E (2), .298 AVG
• Aaron Northcraft 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 K, W (4), 2.12 ERA

Matt Lipka had a great day at the plate, rapping out 4 singles and stealing 2 bases. Over his last 10 games, the 20 year old is hitting .425 with a .964 OPS and 6 stolen bases. Nick Ahmed had a RBI groundout as well as a 2 run double that extended his hitting streak to 8 games. During the streak, he's gone 9-32 with 4 doubles, 4 RBI and 3 steals. Tim Smith spent the last 2 season playing AA, so it's no surprise he's doing well for the High A Hillcats. A 2 hit day today left him with a .355 average and a .907 OPS through 9 games with Lynchburg. Edward Salcedo had 2 hits for the second straight night, and over his last 4 games, he's gone 6-18. He also made his 11th error of the season, a discouraging trend for a player who has been plagued by errors his whole career. Chris Garcia had 2 hits for the third straight night, and over his last 4 games, he's gone 7-14 with 5 RBI and 2 walks. His OBP for the season is up to .462. Aaron Northcraft had a great start, allowing 1 run over 6 innings while striking out 9. The 21 year old righty is have a very good season, with a 4-1 record, a 2.12 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 10 K/9 in 34 innings over 6 starts.

Cody Martin will face the Blue Rocks tomorrow.

Rome Braves 0, Greenville Drive 1

• David Filak 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 1.77 ERA
• Jarrett Miller 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA

Greenville pitchers Miguel Pena, Hunter Cervenka, and Tyler Lockwood combined to no-hit Rome today, with Jakob Dalfonso's walk to leadoff the eight accounting for the lone Braves baserunner on the day. David Filak took the tough luck loss, allowing just 3 hits over 7 innings, including a 4th inning solo home run that would account for all the scoring in the game. After an awful stint with Rome last year that saw him go 2-5 with a 7.54 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP before a mid-season demotion to Danville, Filak has come back strong this year, with a 1.87 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and 11.5 K/9. At 4 BB/9, he's still allowing more free passes than he'd like, but it's impressive to see the work the 22 year old has put in to turn his career around. Jarrett Miller made his first appearance of the season after being activated from the disabled list, tossing a perfect inning.

Rome begins a homestand with a series against Asheville Wednesday morning at 10:30, with Navery Moore scheduled to start.