Cunningham Raps Out 3 Hits, Marrero Drives In 2, And Northcraft Has A Fine Start Despite Walking 4 In Monday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Todd Cunningham had a 3 hit day, Christian Marrero drove in a pair of runs, and Aaron Northcraft had a solid, if wild, start.

Gwinnett Braves 2, Charlotte Knights 3

• Ernesto Mejia 1B 2-4, 2B, .319 AVG
• Christian Marrero 1B 1-4, 2 RBI, .262 AVG
• Eric Junge 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 4.16 ERA
• Adam Russell 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.42 ERA

Ernesto Mejia had a pair of hits, including his 15th double of the season. In his last 9 games, he's gone 15-37 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI. Christian Marrero, whose brother Deven was a first round pick of the Red Sox today, drove in both of Gwinnett's runs with a ninth inning single. That hit extended Marrero's hitting streak to 7 games, and he's gone 8-20 with a double and 5 RBI in that span. Eric Junge took the loss, despite making a quality start, allowing 3 runs over 7 innings. In his last 2 starts he's allowed 5 earned runs over 14 innings, a huge improvement over the previous 2 starts, in which he allowed 10 earned runs in 7.2 innings.

The G-Braves will head to Allentown, PA tomorrow to begin a series against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Phillies top affiliate. Todd Redmond is scheduled to start the opener.

Mississippi Braves 5, Hunstville Stars 9

• Alden Carrithers LF 2-4, .269 AVG
• Joe Leonard 3B 1-3, 2B, RBI, .264 AVG
• Todd Cunningham RF 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .325 AVG
• Greg Paiml SS 2-4, .308 AVG
• Luis Avilan 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.13 AVG
• Cory Rasmus 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.13 ERA

Todd Cunningham stayed hot with a 3 hit day, and over his last 9 games, he's gone 13-31 with 4 doubles and 4 RBI. Alden Carrithers snapped a 0-11 skid over his last 5 games with a 2 hit day. Joe Leonard drove in a run with a double, though the 23 year old is just 2-13 in his last 5 games with 6 strikeouts. Luis Avilan had a decent start, allowing 2 runs over 5 innings, striking out 3 and walking none. Since returning to the rotation he has a 4.15 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP in 13 innings over 3 starts, striking out 13 and walking just 1. Cory Rasmus struck out 3 in 1.1 innings tonight, and for the season he's striking out 9.4 batters per 9 innings.

Sean Gilmartin will face Huntsville tomorrow.

Lynchburg Hillcats 1, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2, 10 innings

• Chris Garcia 1B 1-4, HR (5), RBI, .331 AVG
• Kyle Rose LF 2-3, .232 AVG
• Aaron Northcraft 6 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 2 K, 4.05 ERA
• Andrew Wilson 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.61 ERA

The Pelicans walked off with a win, as Brett Nicholas victimized Lynchburg's Juan Jaime for a walkoff RBI double in the bottom of the tenth. Jaime had pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out 2 in the process, but he was only able to record 1 out in the tenth. Aaron Northcraft only allowed 1 run in 6 innings of work, and that came on a passed ball by his catcher. He did walk 4, and walks have been a problem for him this year as he's allowing 4.2 BB/9 in 60 innings over 11 starts. Still, this was a nice comeback for Northcraft after he had allowed 19 earned runs in 20 innings over his last 4 starts. Chris Garcia hit his fifth homer of the year, and the 25 year old has a .435 OBP this season through 214 plate appearances. After going just 6 for his last 44 over his last 19 games, Kyle Rose was 2-3 today.

Gus Schlosser will face the Pelicans tomorrow.

Rome Braves - Off

Rome begins a 3 game series against the Greenville Drive on Tuesday, with Rafael Briceno scheduled to start the opener.