Ryal Hits Walkoff Single In 10th, Cornely Debuts For Lynchburg, And Peraza Excels For Danville In Thursday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Rusty Ryal hit a walkoff single in the bottom of the 10th to cap of a 4 hit day, Zeke Spruill picked up his ninth win with the help of a 2 RBI day by Joe Leonard, Michael Spina hit a pair of doubles, John Cornely had a great debut for Lynchburg, and Jose Peraza had a fine day for Danville.

Gwinnett Braves 5, Syracuse Chiefs 4, 10 innings

• Lyle Overbay 1B 0-4, BB, .000 AVG
• Jose Yepez C 3-5, .267 AVG
• Rusty Ryal 3B 4-5, 2 RBI, .342 AVG
• Josh Wilson SS 1-3, BB, .249 AVG
• Terry Tiffee PH 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI, .330 AVG
• Sean Gilmartin 4 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 3.99 ERA
• Buddy Carlyle 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 3.22 ERA
• Peter Moylan 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 6.30 ERA
• Anthony Varvaro 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2.31 ERA
• Cole McCurry 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, W (1), 5.40 ERA

Rusty Ryal capped off a 4 hit day with a walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. The 29 year old, who saw time in the Majors with the Diamondbacks in 2009 and 2010, has been great since joining Gwinnett, hitting .342 with a .891 OPS, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBI in 73 at bats. Lyle Overbay went hitless in his first game in the Braves organization, but he did manage to walk in the 10th and score the winning run. This was the first time the 35 year old had played a game in AAA since 2003. Jose Yepez had a 3 hit day, and in his last 7 games, he's gone 12-30 with a double, a triple, 5 RBI, and 2 walks. Terry Tiffee had a pinch hit, 2 run double, and in his last 4 games, he's gone 8-18 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI. Sean Gilmartin struggled, allowing 4 earned runs in 4 innings. The 22 year old lefty had only allowed 3 earned runs in 11.2 innings in his previous 2 starts. Buddy Carlyle had struggled his last few times out, allowing 5 earned runs in 7.1 innings in his previous 3 appearances, but he was great tonight, striking out 5 over 3 scoreless. Anthony Varvaro has been stellar in August, allowing only 1 unearned run over 10 innings of work in 9 appearances.

Randall Delgado will face the Chiefs on Friday.

Mississippi Braves 3, Huntsville Stars 2

• Jason Christian 1B 2-3, SB (1), .218 AVG
• Joe Leonard 3B 2-3, 2 RBI, .262 AVG
• Bobby Stevens RF 1-3, RBI, SF, OF Assist, .200 AVG
• Zeke Spruill 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K, W (9), 3.69 ERA
• Mike Tarsi 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.25 ERA
• Chris Jones 1 IP, 0 R, 0 , 1 BB, 3 K, SV (2), 3.54 ERA

Joe Leonard had 2 hits and 2 RBI, making him 3-9 in his last 2 games. Jason Christian is 5-16 with a triple and 2 walks in his last 4 games. Bobby Stevens is 3-8 with a homer and 3 RBI in his last 3 games. Zeke Spruill picked up his ninth win of the year by allowing 2 earned runs in 6 innings of work. The 22 year old righty has allowed 2 runs or fewer in each of his last 8 starts, posting a 2.44 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP in 51.2 innings in that stretch. Chris Jones has earned saves in each of his last 2 appearances, and he's made 5 straight scoreless appearances, striking out 13 in 8 innings in that span.

The M-Braves begin a series against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Friday, with Jose Lugo scheduled to start the opener.

Lynchburg Hillcats 8, Winston-Salem Dash 2

• Dan Brewer LF 1-2, RBI, BB, SF, SB (8), .282 AVG
• Chris Garcia DH 1-3, BB, .296 AVG
• Michael Spina 1B 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, .222 AVG
• David Rohm RF 2-4, RBI, .242 AVG
• Emerson Landoni 2B 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, .223 AVG
• Dimasther Delgado 7 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K, W (7), 3.88 ERA
• John Cornely 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 0.00 ERA

Michael Spina rapped out 2 doubles and drove in 3 runs, and he's gone 5-14 with 3 doubles, a homer, 5 RBI, and a walk during his 4 game hitting streak. Emerson Landoni had a 3 hit, 3 RBI day, snapping a 1-13 skid in his last 3 games. David Rohm was 2-13 in his previous 5 games, but was 2-4 tonight. Dimaster Delgado had a great start, allowing only 2 unearned runs while striking out 5 over 7 innings. He hasn't allowed an earned run in 13 innings in his last 2 starts. John Cornely, a 23 year old righty who had a 3.51 ERA, a 1.60 ERA, and 14.2 K/9 in 51.1 innings over 39 appearances for Rome, was stellar in his Hillcats debut, striking out 5 over 2 perfect innings.

Lynchburg, who won the first half, is 1.5 games behind Frederick in the second half with 10 games to go. Gus Schlosser will take the mound tomorrow as the Hillcats begin a 3 game series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

Rome Braves - Postponed, Rain

The R-Braves were rained out in Savannah tonight. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, and the teams will play their regularly scheduled game on Friday, with David Starn scheduled to start for Rome. Rome has a 3.5 game lead over Asheville with 11 games to go.

Danville Braves 3, Greeneville Astros 7

• Jose Peraza DH 2-4, 2B, 1 RBI, SB (13), .269 AVG
• Edison Sanchez LF 1-3, .253 AVG
• Levi Hyams 2B 1-3, .241 AVG
• Rafael Briceno 4 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 6.45 ERA
• Alex Wilson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 2.96 ERA
• Shae Simmons 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 1.93 ERA

Jose Peraza had a 2 hit day that included a double and a RBI, and he's gone 7-21 with a walk and 3 steals in his last 5 games. Edison Sanchez was 1-3 today, but he's struggled in August, hitting .167 with a .528 OPS and 17 strikeouts in 48 at bats. In his last 2 games, Levi Hyams has gone 4-8 with 2 doubles. In his last 2 starts, Rafael Briceno has allowed 5 earned runs in 8 innings, but he's also struck out 15 while only walking 2 in that span. Shae Simmons hasn't allowed an earned run in 4.2 innings over his last 4 appearances, striking out 12 in that stretch.

With 5 games left in the season, Danville is 5 games behind Burlington for the division lead and 2 games ahead of Princeton for the second playoff spot. Mauricio Cabrera will face the Astros on Friday.

GCL Braves1, GCL Blue Jays 6

• Tommy La Stella DH 1-4, 3B, BB, .250 AVG
• Robinson Arno 1B 1-2, 3 BB, .261 AVG
• Roberto Estrella 6 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 6.23 ERA

Tommy La Stella tripled and walked, and in 3 rehab games, he's gone 2-8 with a triple, a homer, 2 RBI, and 2 walks. In his last 2 games, Robinson Arno has gone 2-5 with a double, a RBI, and 3 walks. The 19 year old Dominican has had a nice season, hitting .261 with a .827 OPS, 7 doubles, 4 homers, and 14 RBI in 88 at bats. Roberto Estrella allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, in 6 innings of work. The 20 year old Dominican righty finishes his season with a 2-5 record, a 6.23 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP in 43.1 innings over 11 appearances, including 8 starts.

The GCL Braves have just 2 games left in their season, both against the Tigers.

DSL Braves 9, DSL Blue Jays 7 (8/22/12)

• Gerald Chin 2B 2-6, 2 3B, RBI, .291 AVG
• Victor Reyes DH 1-2, RBI, 2 BB, HBP, .296 AVG
  
• Alejandro Piloto CF 1-4, 2 RBI, SB (7), HBP, .333 AVG
• Alexander de la Cruz C 3-4, RBI, HBP, .203 AVG
• Nelson Leon 5 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 K, W (1), 4.29 ERA
• Rafael Rodriguez 0.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, SV (8), 1.48 ERA

Nelson Leon had a phenomenal start, striking out 9 over 5 scoreless innings. The 17 year old Venezulan lefty has struck out 14 over 8 scoreless innings in his last 2 starts. Gerald Chin was 0-9 in his last 3 games, but rapped out a pair of triples in this one. Victor Reyes reached base 4 times and the 17 year old Venezuelan has a .418 OBP for the season. Alejandro Piloto drove in a pair of runs, and the 20 year old Cuban has done well in his pro debut, albeit in limited opportunity, hitting .333 with a .746 OPS, and 7 steals in 36 at bats. Alexander de la Cruz had 3 hits, extended his hitting streak to 5 games, and the 21 year old Dominican has gone 8-16 with 3 RBI during that stretch.

DSL Braves 9, DSL Brewers 5

• Omar Obregon SS 2-5, RBI, .269 AVG
• Juruengelo Tielman 3B 2-5, RBI, E (6), .238 AVG
• Carlos Castro DH 3-5, 2B, RBI, .254 AVG
• Eugenio Diaz 1B 2-5, 2 RBI, .318 AVG
• Isael Henriquez RF 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI, .306 AVG
• Michael Flores 5 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 K, W (5), 1.71 ERA
• Ahmed Caballero 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 7.41 ERA

Omar Obregon, a 18 year old out of Nicaragua, is 5-11 in his last 5 games. In his last 10 games, Juruengelo Tielman, a 19 year old from Curacao, is hitting .333 with a .747 OPS, 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Carlos Castro had a 3 hit day, snapping a 0-15 skid over the 18 year old Dominican's last 8 games. Michael Flores picked up his fifth win of the year, striking out 9 while allowing 2 earned runs over 5 innings.

The final two games of the DSL Braves season have been cancelled due to Tropical Storm Isaac, so the Braves finish their season second in the San Pedro de Macoris division with a 35-29 record. Johan Camargo led the team in batting (.343), OBP (.433), slugging (.455), OPS (.887), hits (68), doubles (14), and total bases (90). Ibrahim McKenzie led the team in homers (6) and at bats (206). Victor Reyes led the team in runs (40), RBI (33), and steals (12). Michael Flores led the team in innings (63), strikeouts (67), and starts (14). Rafael Rodriguez led the team in ERA (1.48), saves (8), and appearances (20). Ramon Sauceda led the team in wins (8) and Enrique Medina led the team in WHIP (1.13).