Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap - 7/19

(46-48) Gwinnett Braves 3 vs. (38-58) Syracuse Chiefs 5

Box Score

• Cedric Hunter, RF: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, .265/.307/.392
• Mallex Smith, CF: 1-4, 1 3B, .209/.240/.297 (in AAA)
• Alex White, SP: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 Ks, 4.31 ERA

Syracuse pulled ahead of the Braves in the 5th and Gwinnett could not recover as they fell to Syracuse, 5-3. Gwinnett should be counting its blessing that this one was close because despite the fact that they only had 6 hits and 0 walks on the night, a couple timely extra base hits including Cedric Hunter's 4th inning home run kept the game competitive. As for the pitching, Alex White had a rough night with his control as he gave up 3 walks in addition to leaving a few pitches right over the plate that he was punished dearly for. Again, this is a game that felt like it could have been worse, but the bullpen came in and stopped the bleeding but the offense could not get any momentum in to the latter parts of the game.

(38-54) Jacksonville Suns 3 vs. (47-44) Mississippi Braves 5

Box Score

• Emerson Landoni, SS: 3-4, 2 runs, 1 2B, .284/.323/.360
• Kevin Ahrens, 1B: 3-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, .242/.321/.340
• David Rohm, RF: 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, .239/.311/.284
• Steve Janas, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 4 Ks, 3.86 ERA (in AA)

Steve Janas got his first win in AA after some tough luck in his first few outings as Mississippi beat Jacksonville, 5-3. Mustache was his usual excellent self while going 5 innings and giving up only 1 earned run. One thing that stands out on paper with Janas is his low number of walks. In 2015, he has walked a total of 5 batters. Mauricio Cabrera pitched two innings of scoreless relief with only 1 walk, so thats definitely a step in the right direction for him in his first game at AA. The offense had 3 players get multi-hit games including Emerson Landoni who has been raking in his past 10 games, bringing his average up nearly 40 points in that period of time. Also, KD Kang has now hit safely in his past 10 games and 12 of his past 13. One last note on this game, Jason Hursh did pitch 2 innings of relief as he is now all but certainly a relief prospect. He gave up one run on 3 hits

(50-43) Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 vs. (45-48) Carolina Mudcats 0

Box Score

• Connor Lien, RF: 2-4, .299/.349/.435
• Tanner Krietemeier, LF: 2-4, .226/.279/.298
• Blair Walters, SP: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, 2.38 ERA

Blair Walters was again the hard luck loser as despite the fact that he pitched a very solid game, the Mudcats lost to the Blue Rocks, 3-0. Blair has had a very strong year for Carolina with a 2.38 ERA which certainly explains why he has been almost exclusively starting of later after coming in in relief for 7 games earlier in the season. Jorge Zavala had 3 Ks in 1.1 innings of scoreless relief as well. As for the offense, it just wasn't the Mudcats night as not only did Carlos Franco and Keith Curcio get ejected, but only Connor Lien and Tanner Krietemeier managed to get hits, all of which were singles. Lien also got his 13th outfield assist of the year and has really come on of late in the field as well as the plate. '

(47-45) Lakewood BlueClaws 13 vs. (42-51) Rome Braves 3

Box Score

• Erison Mendez, 2B: 2-4, 1 2B, .258/.311/.309
• Jordan Edgerton, 3B: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, .272/.323/.353
• Josh Outman, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0,00 ERA

Tough game for Rome as they were routed by the BlueClaws, 13-3. While the Rome offense hit 4 doubles in the game, their hits were largely scattered and unfortunately the pitching left them in far too big a hole to be able to catch up. Fear not, Ozhaino did get on base in this one with a walk and score a run, although he did have the rare hitless game. As for the pitching, at least Josh Outman had another decent rehab outing. Oriel Caicedo and Francisco Gonzalez combined for 5 innings and gave up 10 runs. Felix Marte didn't want to feel left out and gave up 3 runs in the top of the 9th for the game's final margin.

(9-14) Bristol Pirates 13 vs. (12-13) Danville Braves

Box Score

• Luke Dykstra, 2B: 2-5, .333/.381/.423
• Alejandro Flores, C: 3-4, 2 2B, 1 run, 1 RBI, .185/.313/.259
• Sean McLaughlin, RP: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Another tough game for an affiliate as Danville was also beaten 13-3. Danville did manage to get 13 hits and had 5 players with multi-hit games, but they could only manage 3 runs. This would prove to be an unfortunate game to have trouble pushing runs across as a combination of shaky pitching and defensive miscues (3 errors and a passed ball) would let this game spiral out of control in a hurry. The Braves came to bat in the 1st already down 6-0 and it wouldn't get better as the game progressed.