Pitching Rules The Day, As Teheran, Holland, Ross, Cabrera, And Dillon Dominate In Saturday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Julio Teheran dominated in a losing effort, Rome swept a doubleheader behind stellar pitching from AJ Holland and Greg Ross, along with big hitting from Robby Hefflinger, Mauricio Cabera was great for Danville, and the GCL Braves won their season finale thanks to great performances by Jaden Dillon and Andy Otero.

Gwinnett Braves 0, Syracuse Chiefs 1

• Jack Wilson SS 1-2, .185 AVG
• Lyle Overbay 1B 0-3, .200 AVG
• JC Boscan C 2-2, 2B, B, E (6), .194 AVG
• Julio Teheran 8 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 9 K, 5.20 ERA
• Cory Gearrin 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.34 ERA

Julio Teheran took the loss tonight despite only allowing 1 earned run over 8 innings, striking out 9 in the process. As encouraging as this start should be, it really just adds to the maddening inconsistency that Teheran has show this year, as he allowed 7 earned runs in just 2.2 inning in his last start, but had 9 strikeouts while allowing 1 earned in 8 innings in the start before that. In 4 appearances since coming back to AAA from Atlanta, Cory Gearrin has allowed 1 earned run, 2 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 9 in 4 innings. JC Boscan was just 1-18 in his last 6 games, but went 2-2 with a walk today.

Yohan Flande will start the series finale against the Chiefs on Sunday.

Mississippi Braves 3, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 4

• Todd Cunningham CF 2-5, RBI, .313 AVG
• Evan Gattis C 1-4, RBI, E (3), .263 AVG
  
• Joe Leonard 3B 1-3, BB, .262 AVG
• Alden Carrithers LF 1-2, 2 BB, .287 AVG
  
• Jose Lugo 5 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 3.34 ERA
• Brent Leach 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.02 ERA

Todd Cunningham had a pair of hits and a RBI, and in his last 5 games, he's gone 9-21 with a double, 3 walks, and 4 steals. Evan Gattis extended his hitting streak to 5 games, and during that stretch, he's gone 6-19 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 2 walks. Alden Carrithers is 3-5 with 3 walks in his last 4 games. Jose Lugo had allowed 3 earned runs in 18 innings over his last 3 appearances, but he allowed 3 earned in just 5 innings today.

The M-Braves and Blue Wahoos will play a doubleheader on Sunday, with David Hale and JR Graham scheduled to start.

Lynchburg Hillcats - Postponed, Rain

The Hillcats and Wilmington Blue Rocks were rained out today, and the teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday with Ryan Weber and Michael Lee scheduled to start for Lynchburg. The Hillcats, who won the first half division title, are 2 games behind Wilmington in the second half with 9 games to go.

Rome Braves 2, Savannah Sand Gnats 0, Game 1

• Ross Heffley 2B 2-4, HR (4), 2 RBI, .286 AVG
• Robby Hefflinger LF 2-2, 2B, BB, .286 AVG
• Chase Anselment RF 1-3, .205 AVG
• Elmer Reyes SS 1-3, .256 AVG
• AJ Holland 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 5 BB, 7 K, W (4), 4.00 ERA
• Nathan Hyatt 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (3), 0.77 ERA

AJ Holland came off the disabled list and pitched one of his best games of the season, striking out 7 and tossing 6 shutout innings, despite walking a season high 5 batters. After posting a 5.52 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 45.2 innings before the All-Star break, the 22 year old righty has a 1.91 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP since the break. Nathan Hyatt picked up his third save with Rome by tossing a scoreless inning, and in 21.2 innings over 16 appearances between Danville and Rome, the 21 year old righty has a 1.25 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP, 29 strikeouts, and 6 saves. Chase Anselment was 1-3 today, but the 21 year old has struggled in his first pro experience, hitting .205 with a.656 OPS in 151 at bats.

Rome Braves 4, Savannah Sand Gnats 1, Game 2

• Tony Mueller CF 2-4, .269 AVG
• William Beckwith DH 1-3, RBI, .293 AVG
• Robby Hefflinger LF 1-3, HR (11), 3 RBI, .287 AVG
• Kyle Kubitza 3B 2-3, E (20), .241 AVG
• Greg Ross 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K, W (7), 4.39 ERA

Greg Ross pitched the first complete game of his career, albeit a doubleheader shortened one, allowing only 1 earned run over 7 innings of work, fanning 7. In his last 3 starts, he's struck out 21 while allowing 4 earned runs in 20.1 innings. Tony Mueller went 2-6 with a walk in the doubleheader, and in his last 10 games, he's hitting .351 with a .820 OPS, 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 3 steals. Ross Heffley was 3-8 with a homer and 2 RBI in the doubleheader, and during his 4 game hitting streak, he's gone 6-17. Robby Hefflinger went 3-5 with a double, a homer, and 3 RBI in the doubleheader, and in his last 10 games, he's hitting .364 with a 1.051 OPS, 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBI.

Rome is 4 games ahead of Asheville with 8 games to go. Alex Wood will start the series finale against Savannah on Sunday.

Danville Braves 6, Greeneville Astros 0

• Levi Hyams 2B 1-3, RBI, BB, .243 AVG
• Aris Alcantara 1B 1-2, 2 RBI, BB, .271 AVG
• Troy Snitker C 1-3, BB, .268 AVG
• Mauricio Cabrera 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K, W (2), 2.97 ERA
• Brandon Rohde 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 7.71 ERA
• Patrick Scoggin 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA

Mauricio Cabrera picked up his second win of the year by tossing 6 shutout innings. The 18 year old Dominican righty finishes his season with a 2.97 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, and 2 K/BB in 57.2 innings over 12 starts. In 13.1 innings between the GCL and Danville, 21 year old righty Patrick Scoggin hasn't allowed a run, striking out 16 and walking just 1 in that span. In his last 4 games, Levi Hyams has gone 6-15 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and a walk. In his last 2 games, Aris Alcantara has gone 2-5 with a homer and 5 RBI.

Danville is 3 games behind Burlington for the division lead with 3 games to go, and 3 games ahead of Princeton for the second playoff spot. Williams Perez will start the first game of a series against the Johnson City Cardinals on Sunday.

GCL Braves 3, GCL Tigers 2, 10 innings

• Tommy La Stella 2B 1-3, RBI, .231 AVG
• Joey Meneses DH 2-4, .303 AVG
• KC Clabouch SS 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, .246 AVG
• Jaden Dillon 6 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 10 K, 3.19 ERA
• Andy Otero 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
• Matt Kimbrel 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, W (1), 4.61 ERA
  

KC Clabough scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the 10th to give the GCL Braves a walkoff win in their final game of the season. It capped off a nice day for Clabough, who doubled and walked twice, making him 2-5 in his last 2 games. Tommy La Stella went 1-3 with a RBI, making him 3-13 with a triple, a homer, 3 RBI, and 4 walks in 5 rehab games. The end of the GCL season likely means he rejoin Lynchburg soon. Joey Meneses finished out his season by going 13-36 with a double, 4 RBI, and 2 walks in his last 9 games. Jaden Dillon had one of his best performances of the year, allowing only 2 unearned runs on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 10. Over his last 4 starts, he's allowed 2 earned runs in 21 innings, striking out 24. The 22 year old righty, drafted in the 29th round this year, finishes his GCL season with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 42.1 innings over 12 appearances, 8 of them starts. Andy Otero made his second appearance of this year, striking out 2 in 2 scoreless innings. The 20 year old Panamanian lefty, considered a top prospect after a great 2009 in the DSL, has pitched just 14 innings in the last 3 seasons due to various arm injuries.

The GCL Braves finish their season at 21-27, last in the North Division. Jose Peraza led the team in batting average (.318), and KC Clabough led in OBP (.383). Connor Lein led in games played (48), at bats (149), runs (30), walks (19, tied with Justin Black), and steals (15). Tyler Tewell led the team in slugging (.495), OPS (.818), and RBI (24). Joey Meneses led in hits (44), triples (5), and total bases (59), and Robinson Arno led in doubles (7), and homers (4). Andry Ubiera led the team in innings (49) and games started (9). Brandon Rohde led in ERA (1.31) and WHIP (0.77), and tied for the lead in saves (3) with Richie Tate and Magdeil Avendano. Abraham Espinosa led in wins (3), losses (6), and Luis Merejo led in strikeouts (53).

Bryan de la Rosa, an 18 year old catcher out of Puerto Rico who was the Braves 3rd round pick this year, struggled in his pro debut, hitting .162 with a .415 OPS, striking out in 30 of his 68 at bats. Similarly, 19 year old outfielder Justin Black, the team's 4th round pick, struggled in his debut, hitting .188 with a .566 OPS, striking out in 53 of his 128 at bats.