Ryal, Milligan, And Peraza Stay Hot While Silva And Espinosa Have Solid Starts In Friday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Rusty Ryal had another big day, Lyle Overbay reached base 4 times, Adam Milligan stayed red hot, Will Skinner hit a pair of triples, Jose Peraza had another multi-hit day, and Ernesto Silva and Abraham Espinosa had solid starts.

Gwinnett Braves 6, Syracuse Chiefs 0

• Jose Constanza CF 2-4, 2B, RBI, .312 AVG
• Jack Wilson SS 0-4, .173 AVG
  
• Lyle Overbay 1B 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, .286 AVG
• Rusty Ryal 2B 3-4, 2B, RBI, .364 AVG
• Randall Delgado 4 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 7 K, 4.58 ERA
• Dusty Hughes 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K, W (3), 3.47 ERA
• Peter Moylan 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 5.73 ERA
• Andrew Russell 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2.08 ERA

Lyle Overbay had a great day at the plate, rapping out a pair of doubles, driving in a pair of runs, and taking a pair of walks. Rusty Ryal followed up yesterday's 4 hit day with a a 3 hit day, and he's gone 15-28 with 5 doubles and 7 RBI in his last 6 games. In his last 6 games, Jose Constanza has gone 9-30 with a double and 2 walks. Jack Wilson went hitless in the first game of his second rehab attempt with Gwinnett. Randall Delgado struck out 7 over 4 shutout innings, but he needed 95 pitches to do it, which prevented him from working deeper into the game. Still, it was a nice comeback after allowing 8 earned runs in 11 innings in his previous 2 starts. Peter Moylan tossed a perfect inning, giving him 3.1 scoreless innings in his last 3 appearances.

Julio Teheran will take on the Chiefs on Saturday.

Mississippi Braves - Postponed, Rain

Friday night's game with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos was rained out. The teams will play their regularly scheduled game on Saturday and then play a doubleheader on Sunday to make up the rainout. Jose Lugo will start Saturday's game.

Lynchburg Hillcats 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks 11

• Chris Garcia 1B 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, .298 AVG
• Adam Milligan LF 2-4, RBI, .256 AVG
• Michael Spina DH 2-4, 3B, .239 AVG
• Gus Schlosser 5 IP, 8 R, 5 ER, 9 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 3.28 ERA
• Matt Chaffee 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.86 ERA

Michael Spina had 2 hits for the second straight day, extending his hitting streak to 5 games. During that streak, he's gone 7-18 with 3 doubles, a homer, 5 RBI, and a walk. Chris Garcia hit his 24th double of the year and his first triple, upping his slugging percentage to .450 for the season. Adam Milligan had his third straight 2 hit day, and in his last 10 games, he's hitting .410 with a 1.133 OPS, 4 doubles, a triple, 2 homers, 5 RBI, and 2 steals. In his last 3 games, Edward Salcedo has gone 0-12 with 5 strikeouts and he's committed 4 errors, giving him an even 40 for the year. The 21 year old's batting average is down to .240 and his OPS is at .698. Gus Schlosser allowed 8 runs, 5 earned, in 5 innings of work. July was by far the 23 year old's best month, as he posted a 0.53 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP in 34 innings, but August has been his worst month, as he's posted a 5.40 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 25 innings. In his last 9 appearances, Matt Chaffee has allowed 1 earned run while walking 6 and striking out 14 over 9.1 innings.

The Hillcats, who won the first half division title, are 2 games behind Wilmington in the second half with 9 games to go. Ryan Weber will take on the Blue Rocks tomorrow.

Rome Braves 2, Savannah Sand Gnats 6

• Robby Hefflinger LF 2-3, 2B, BB, .281 AVG
• Will Skinner RF 3-4, 2 3B, RBI, SB (13), .253 AVG
• David Starn 3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K, 6.04 ERA
• Wilson Rivera 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 3.10 ERA
• Bryam Garcia 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.28 ERA

Will Skinner, who was 2-17 in his previous 6 games, had one of his best games of the year tonight, rapping out 3 hits, including 2 triples. August has been the 23 year old's most productive month, as he's hit .283 with a .953 OPS, 4 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, 7 RBI, and 2 steals in 46 at bats. Robby Hefflinger reached base 3 times, and he's also excelled in August, hitting .324 with a .967 OPS, 7 doubles, 5 homers, and 22 RBI in 74 at bats. After allowing 4 earned runs in 13 innings over his previous 3 starts, David Starn allowed 4 earned runs today. Walks have been a problem for the 22 year old, as he's allowing 5.4 BB/9 compared to 7.6 K/9 in 28.1 innings over 8 appearances. Wilson Rivera struck out 3 over 3 scoreless innings, and the 22 year old, who started pitching last year after spending the first 4 years of his career as an outfielder, has had a solid season, posting a 3.10 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP, and 11.4 K/9 in 52.1 innings over 34 appearances, though walks have been an issue as he's averaging 5.7 BB/9.

Rome is 3.5 games ahead of Asheville with 10 games to go. Rome and Savannah will play a doubleheader on Saturday.

Danville Braves 7, Greeneville Astros 1

• Jose Peraza SS 3-4, 2 RBI, .287 AVG
• Josh Elander C 1-3, BB, .263 AVG
• Aris Alcantara 1B 1-3, HR (5), 3 RBI, HBP, .268 AVG
• Edison Sanchez LF 1-2, 3B, 2 BB, OF Assist, .256 AVG
• Ernesto Silva 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 1 K, W (5), 3.80 ERA
• Jeremy Fitzgerald 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 2.57 ERA

Jose Peraza followed up yesterday's 2 hit performance with a 3 hit day, also driving in a pair of runs. In his last 9 games, he's gone 12-28 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, 2 walks, and 3 steals. Aris Alcantara hit a mammoth 3 run homer, and, in a very classy move, later in the game the Astros hit him with a pitch. Josh Elander was 0-9 in his last 2 games with 3 strikeouts, but he reached base twice tonight. Edison Sanchez hit a triple, and he's gone 3-9 with a triple, a homer, 2 RBI, and 2 walks in his last 3 games. Ernesto Silva had allowed 9 earned runs in 10 innings in his previous 2 starts, but he was great tonight, allowing just 1 earned run over 7 innings, with the help of a defense that turned 4 double plays behind him. Jeremy Fitzgerald hasn't allowed a run in 4 innings over his last 3 appearances.

Danville is 4 games behind Burlington for the division lead with 4 games to go, and 3 games ahead of Princeton for the second playoff spot. Mauricio Cabera will start the series finale against the Astros on Saturday.

GCL Braves 5, GCL Tigers 3

• Connor Lien CF 1-3, BB, SB (15), OF Assist, .234 AVG
• Tommy La Stella 0-2, 2 BB, .200 AVG
• Joey Meneses DH 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, SF, .298 AVG
• Hector Garcia RF 2-4, 2 RBI, .290 AVG
• Cody Livesay LF 1-3, 2B, BB, .228 AVG
• Abraham Espinosa 5.2 IP, 3 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 3.80 ERA
• Elvin Garcia 3.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, W (2), 4.18 ERA

In 4 rehab games, Tommy La Stella has gone 2-10 with a triple, a homer, 2 RBI, and 4 walks. Connor Lien has had an interesting year, as the 18 year old from Orlando, selected in the 12th round this year, has shown off his youth, striking out in 33% of his at bats, his athleticism, stealing 15 bases and scoring 30 runs, and his baseball IQ, walking in 11% of his plate appearances. In his last 7 games, Joey Meneses has gone 11-32 with a double and 4 RBI. Hector Garcia is hitting .344 with a .822 OPS in his last 10 games. Abraham Espinosa allowed 4 earned runs in 3 innings his last time out, but he allowed 3 unearned runs and no earned runs in 5.2 innings of work today. The 19 year old Panamanian righty finishes his first year in the US with a 3.80 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, 7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, and 2.5 K/BB in 47.1 innings over 11 appearances, 8 of them starts.

Jaden Dillon will start the Braves final game of the season, Saturday morning against the Tigers.