Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap - 7/6

(48-37) Charlotte Knights 2 vs. (42-42) Gwinnett Braves 1

Box Score

• Mallex Smith, DH: 2-5, 1 SB, 1 run, .317/.385/.389
• Christian Bethancourt, C: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 SB,.338/.358/.446
• Alex White, SP: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

Gwinnett loses a tough one as, despite a strong outing from Alex White and the bullpen, the offense could not get much going and Charlotte defeats Gwinnett 2-1. Mallex Smith reached base a couple of times and scored the game's only run. While he has struggled a little bit in Gwinnett (batting just .232 since his promotion), he has 4 multi-hit games in his past 6 so it looks like he is rounding in to form in AAA. Christian Bethancourt also had a couple of hits to continue his strong performance since being sent down, although he also made an error on a throw. Overall, the offense did get 10 hits in the game, but despite that and 4 errors made by Charlotte, they could only push one run across. Alex White only gave up 2 hits, but several walks and a couple sacrifice flies brought the 2 runs in that would ultimately be the difference. Peter Moylan, Matt Marksberry, and Ryan Kelly combined for 3.1 hitless IP in relief.

(34-45) Jackson Generals 2 vs. (38-41) Mississippi Braves 1

Box Score

• Sean Godfrey, CF: 1-3, 1 BB, .291/.322/.400
• Kevin Ahrens, 1B: 1-4, HR, 1 RBI, .226/.309/.317
• Greg Ross, SP: 7 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Again the offense faltered for the Braves as Jackson also beat the Braves 2-1. The sole run for Mississippi would come on a Kevin Ahrens solo shot in the bottom of the seventh. Sean Godfrey would reach base twice in this one with a single and a walk. While his .200 average since his promotion isn't awe inspiring, he has hit safely in 5 straight and if he can get a couple multi-hit games and continue working on drawing more walks he will be just fine. Other than that though, very little in the way of offense as Mississippi only managed 4 hits the entire game. This was particularly unfortunate as Greg Ross had his second straight strong start as he managed to pitch around 10 hits and 2 walks to only give up 2 runs in 7 innings of work. Mark Lamm would come in and pitch 2 innings of scoreless relief.

(46-35) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2 vs. (40-41) Carolina Mudcats 3

Box Score

• Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 run, .271/.345/.394
• Carlos Franco, 3B: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 RBI, .254/.326/.418
• Kyle Kinman, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K, 1.80 ERA

While the offense didn't exactly blow the doors off in this one either, the Mudcats did emerge victorious over the Pelicans 3-2. The hero of the night was Carlos Franco who hit a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to get the win. Dustin Peterson would score that run while also driving in one of his own earlier in the game. Since the middle of June, Dustin has seen his average drop by 40 points, so hopefully this game is a sign that he is turning things around at the plate. Blair Walters has quietly had an excellent season in Carolina with a 2.67 ERA and continued his good work in this one giving up just 2 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings. Kyle Kinman continued his very strong season out of the bullpen with 2 innings of scoreless relief as well.

(37-44) Rome Braves 1 vs. (38-44) Charleston RiverDogs 0

Box Score

• Ozhaino Albies, SS: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 run, .333/.387/.428
• Joseph Daris, DH: 2-3, .281/.344/.424
• Yean Carlos Gil, SP: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 5.77 ERA

Yean Carlos Gil took matters in to his own hands as he pitched a complete game shutout and Rome wins 1-0. YCG has been an absolutely maddening player this year. He was terrible in Carolina this year, so bad that he was demoted to Rome 4 starts ago. While in Rome, in two of his starts he has given up zero earned runs. In the other, he gave up 9 runs on 9 hits in less than five innings. Ozhaino Albies would score the only run of the game and his double in the 6th extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Since May 25th, Ozzie has gone hitless just once, brought his average up 55 points, and has 18 multi-hit games. Joseph Daris had a good day at the bottom of the order, getting a couple of hits and continuing his strong first full season of pro ball. Overall, Rome only managed to scrape together 6 hits, but the one run was enough today given YCG's strong outing.

(3-10) GCL Braves 4 vs. (2-11) GCL Astros 6

Box Score

• Juan Yepez, 1B:  3-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, .308/.404/.462
• Ronald Acuna, CF: 1-3, 2 BB, .289/.426/.421
• Wes Parsons, SP: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 K

The struggles of the rookie leagues continued as the GCL Braves fell to the Astros 6-4. Juan Yepez had a strong game to continue his good work thus far in rookie ball. Ronald Acuna reached base 3 times as well, while 2015 draft pick Austin Riley had an RBI double. Wes Parsons had another strong rehab outing, pitching 3 scoreless innings. One would probably expect him to make one more rehab start before he returns to action. Alan Rangel had a tough game, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits in just 1.1 innings of work.

(4-8) Danville Braves 4 vs. (7-6) Pulaski Yankees 6 - Game One

Box Score

(4-9) Danville Braves 1 vs. (8-6) Pulaski Yankees 2 - Game Two

Box Score

• Jose Morel, RF: 3-8, HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI, .300/.364/.400
• Carlos Castro, 1B: 3-7, 1 2B, 1 run, 1 RBI, .343/.368/.429
• Josh Graham, SP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• Ryan Lawlor, SP:  1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Its never fun to get swept in a double-header, but thats exactly what happened to Danville on Monday as they fell in both games against Pulaski. There were certainly some bright spots as Jose Morel and Carlos Castro were both very productive in both halves of the double-header. Josh Graham has pitched in 3 games thus far in rookie ball and has yet to give up a run. The 2015 4th rounder out of the University of Oregon is certainly showing why the Braves thought so highly of him as a pitcher. Another former college standout who has yet to give up a run is Ryan Lawlor out of UGA. He pitched 1.2 IP in the second game and recorded all of his outs via strikeout.