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Durham Bulls 2, Gwinnett Braves 1
- Jose Constanza, LF: 2-4
- Alden Carrithers, DH: 0-2, R, 2 BB, K
- Ernesto Mejia, 1B: 1-4, K
- Stefan Gartrell, RF: 1-4, 2 K
- Joe Leonard, 3B: 0-3, BB, 2 K, 2 E (fielding, throw, 3)
- Sean Gilmartin: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, K, 6:5 GO:FO, 58 pitches-35 strikes
- Joe Bisenius: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1:2 GO:FO, 22p-15s
- Juan Cedeno: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 4:2 GO:FO, 32p-20s
- Andrew Russell: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1:0 GO:FO, 2p-2s
Durham gave Gwinnett the horns on Thursday (get it?), winning by a final score of 2-1. Sean Gilmartin made his first start for Gwinnett since mid-June and was effective, allowing no runs on four hits in five innings of work, striking out one. TC's tenth ranked prospect threw 60 percent of his pitches for strikes and tallied six groundouts and five flyouts. Besides this, nothing of note occurred. The offense had four hits, half of which were accumulated by Jose Constanza. Ernesto Mejia and Stefan Gartrell both recorded a single. After a rough inning from Joe Bisenius out of the 'pen in relief of Gilmartin, Juan Cedeno pitched a solid two and two-thirds innings, striking out a batter and allowing no hits.
Also, be sure to check out Kyle Boddy's post at The Hardball Times concerning Gwinnett's own Ryan Buchter.
Mississippi Braves 4, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3
- Dan Brewer, CF-RF: 2-4, K
- Omar Luna, SS: 1-4, RBI
- Tommy La Stella, 2B: 2-4, R, HR (4), 2 RBI
- Edward Salcedo, 3B: 1-4, R, HR (12), RBI, K, E (throw, 27)
- Jose Martinez, RF: 1-4, K, CS (8)
- Christian Marrero, 1B: 1-4, 2 K
- Mitch Atkins: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 7:6 GO:FO, 104p-68s
- James Hoyt: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 3:0 GO:FO, 33p-20s
Mississippi beat the Blue Wahoos by a final score of 4-3. Mitch Atkins threw seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits and a couple of walks, striking out six. James Hoyt nailed down the two-inning save, allowing a hit and a walk, striking out one. With rumors swirling about an imminent call-up to the big league club, Tommy La Stella pounded two more hits against Pensacola, including his fourth home run of the season, his second in as many days. His two hits on Thursday bring his season slash line to .342/.413/.476, good for an .889 OPS, which is close to 30 percent better than the league average. Elsewhere, Edward Salcedo recovered from an awful five-strikeout performance on Wednesday, launching his 12th home run of the season. PItcher Mitch Atkins even got into the fun on offense, recording a couple of hits and scoring a run.
Wilmington Blue Rocks 6, Lynchburg Hillcats 9
- Matt Lipka, CF: 2-5, 2 R, SB (28)
- Daniel Castro, 2B: 3-5, R
- Kyle Kubitza, 3B: 2-5, R, 2 RBI
- David Rohm, RF: 3-4, 2 R, 2 2B (30), BB
- Josh Elander, LF: 1-4, R, 2B (10), 2 RBI, BB
- Elmer Reyes, SS: 1-4, R, RBI, K, E (fielding, 15)
- Trenton Moses, DH: 2-3, 2B (14), 3 RBI, BB
- Matt Weaver, 1B: 1-4, K
- Anthony Nunez, C: 1-4, R, HR (1), RBI
- Jarrett Miller: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 7:3 GO:FO
- Ryan Weber: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2:0 GO:FO
- Chasen Shreve: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 2:1 GO:FO
- John Cornely: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 0:0 GO:FO
Lynchburg's offense exploded for nine runs on 16 hits, beating the Blue Rocks to split the series at one apiece. Daniel Castro and David Rohm each collected three hits, including two doubles for Rohm, bringing his season total to 30. Josh Elander and Trenton Moses also contributed doubles to the barrage of offense. After being promoted to Lynchburg, Elander has put up dismal numbers, posting a .628 OPS with only one home run in 41 games. 23-year-old catcher Anthony Nunez, who was recently promoted from Danville, hit his first home run in professional baseball after six seasons. Jarrett Miller pitched six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out three. Chasen Shreve and John Cornely pitched two combined innings of scoreless relief, with Cornely recording his sixth save and striking out the side.
Savannah Sand Gnats 3, Rome Braves 4
- Kyle Wren, CF: 1-4, RBI
- Jose Peraza, SS: 2-4, R, CS (13)
- Eric Garcia, 2B: 1-4, R, 2B (13), RBI
- Carlos Franco, 3B: 2-3, R, 2B (18), RBI, BB, K, SB (12)
- Joey Meneses, LF: 1-3, RBI, K
- Ronald Luna, DH: 1-3, R, 2B (10)
- Lucas Sims: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 6:3 GO:FO
- Rafael Briceno: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1:0 GO:FO
- Alex Wilson: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0:2 GO:FO
Rome squeaked by the Sand Gnats for the third straight night, beating the Mets Low-A affiliate 4-3. Lucas Sims was the story of the evening, pitching seven one-hit innings, walking two and fanning nine. This marks the second straight appearance in which Sims has pitched seven full frames. In his past ten starts, the righty has posted a 57:24 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 52.2 innings of work, posting a 2.91 ERA and a .217 opponents' batting average. Jose Peraza and Carlos Franco each had multi-hit nights, with Franco mashing his 18th double of the season. Peraza has steadily and effectively adjusted to South Atlantic League pitching, slashing .305/.373/.385 in 48 games since the all-star break, a 100 point OPS increase from his line prior to the break. Eric Garcia and Ronald Luna also smacked doubles of their own. Alex Wilson collected his sixth save of the season, striking out two in just over an inning of work. The 6'5", 225-pound righty out of Wofford College has a posted a minuscule walk rate this season, allowing only nine free passes in just over 46 innings of work.
Danville Braves 1, Burlington Royals 2 (11 innings)
- Seth Moranda, 2B: 1-5, E (throw, 3)
- Johan Camargo, SS: 2-5, E (throw, 5)
- Victor Reyes, LF: 1-5
- Victor Caratini, DH: 1-5, R, K
- Bryan De La Rosa, C: 1-3, 2B (5), RBI, K
- Blake Brown, RF: 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K, SB (2)
- Matt Marksberry: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 2:3 GO:FO
- Ryan Gunther: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 3:2 GO:FO
- Colby Holmes: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 4:2 GO:FO
- Michael Swanner: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 2:0 GO:FO
Danville lost a heartbreaker on Thursday, falling to Burlington in the 11th inning. Johan Camargo continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-5. The 19-year-old is on an absolute tear as of late, slashing .442/.500/.558 with a double and a couple of triples in his past ten games. Catcher Bryan De La Rosa doubled, his fifth of the season and second in as many days. Lefty Matt Marksberry, a 15th-round pick out of Campbell University, struck out eight in four innings of work, allowing only three hits and two walks. Ryan Gunther and Colby Holmes combined for six innings of scoreless relief, allowing only four hits and two walks, striking out seven.
GCL Braves 3, GCL Tigers 8
- Hector Garcia, CF-RF: 2-4, R, 2B (1), K
- Reed Harper, SS: 1-4, R, 3B (1), CS (3)
- Cody Livesay, CF: 1-1
- Orrin Sears, C: 1-3, K, SB (1)
- Robinson Arno, 1B: 1-4, R, 3B (2), 3 K
- Fernelys Sanchez, LF: 0-3, BB, K
- Ian Hagenmiller, 3B: 0-3, BB, K
- Carlos Salazar: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1:3 GO:FO
- Francisco Gonzalez: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 6:2 GO:FO
- Rafael Rodriguez: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2:1 GO:FO
- Matt Kimbrel: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 2:0 GO:FO
The GCL Braves were pounded by the GCL Tigers, losing 8-3. Leadoff hitter Hector Garcia had a couple of hits, including his first double of the season. Shortstop Reed Harper and first baseman Robinson Arno added triples to the ledger. Third-round pick Carlos Salazar started the game and pitched two scoreless and hitless frames, allowing a walk and striking out two. The California native has struck out eight batters in six professional innings thus far. The recently demoted Matt Kimbrel also pitched a scoreless frame, inducing two groundouts.