Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap 8/10: Austin Riley misses another start, Mallex Smith continues his turnaround

(59-56) Buffalo Bisons 2 vs. (61-53) Gwinnett Braves 0

Box Score

• Mallex Smith, CF: 2-4, .255/.291/.321
• Jordan Lennerton, 1B: 2-3, 1 BB, .232/.319/.355
• Sugar Ray Marimon, SP: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 3.82 ERA
• Jason Hursh, RP: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 K

Gwinnett had no answer for Scott Copeland and the Bisons' pitching as the Braves were shut out 2-0. Sugar Ray Marion had a very decent start, going 6.1 and giving up just 2 earned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. Jason Hursh continued his strong work out of the bullpen with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief as well. However, the offense could not push a single run across despite the 1-4 hitters getting 5 hits on the night. Mallex Smith has really improved of late, hitting safely in 10 of his past 11 games with 7 steals during that time. Other than Smith, the only other Brave with more than one hit was Jordan Lennerton and with only one extra-base hit on the night (a double from Luis Mateo), the Braves were going to have to manufacture runs. Unfortunately, the team went 0-9 with RISP and that was it for their chances.

(58-53) Mississippi Braves 6 vs. (63-47) Biloxi Shuckers 7

Box Score

• Emerson Landoni, SS: 2-5, 1 2B, .290/.328/.366
• Sean Godfrey, CF: 3-5, 1 3B, 3 RBIs, .230/.257/.304
• Steve Janas, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 4.50 ERA
• Jorge Reyes, RP: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 3.67 ERA

Mississippi lost a tough game as Biloxi rallied late to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th inning and then hit a walk off double to beat Mississippi 7-6. Steve Janas, after a rough start in his last outing, returned to form nicely with his 5 inning, 2 earned run outing. He will probably never be a big strikeout pitcher, but Janas throws a lot of strikes, gets a lot of groundballs, and seems to make improvements in every start. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Jorge Reyes had a forgettable day in relief, giving up 3 hits, 2 BB, and 4 runs in one inning of relief. The offense had a very respectable day with Emerson Landoni getting a couple of hits and David Rohm scoring all three times he reached base. Sean Godfrey has struggled a bit since his promotion, but put together a great game in this one with 3 hits and 3 RBIs. Rio Ruiz only made a cameo appearance in this one as a pinch hitter, but his last few games have been very encouraging (9 hits in his previous 5 games) and hopefully he can continue the progress he has made.

(51-61) Potomac Nationals 2 vs. (58-55) Carolina Mudcats 3

Box Score

• Connor Lien, RF: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 run, 3 Ks, .291/.344/.432
• Keith Curcio, CF: 1-5, 2 RBI, .223/.290/.299
• Blair Walters, SP: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 Ks, 2.82 ERA

Carolina scored the go-ahead run late as the Mudcats beat the Nationals 3-2. Blair Walters had yet another solid outing for the Mudcats, going 7 innings and giving up just 2 runs to keep his season ERA under 3. Brad Roney would chip in 2 innings of scoreless relief, which would prove critical as the Mudcats' offense didn't exactly leave much room for error. Keith Curcio drove in two runs in this one while Connor Lien has now hit safely in 13 of his past 14 games, although his strikeouts are also starting to pile up a bit as well.  Dustin Peterson did get a hit, but his performance has been lackluster in the second half, showing very little of the power and production that the Braves saw out of him in the first half of the season. Some prospect lists have Jose Briceno as a top 25 prospect for the Braves, but this year has been miserable for him at the plate as he is now batting just .187.

(47-65) Rome Braves 12 vs. (56-56) Augusta GreenJackets 1

Box Score

• Leudyz Baez, LF: 2-4, 1 RBI, 2 runs, 1 BB, .241/.267/.345
• Braxton Davidson, RF: 0-2, 3 BB, 1 run, .247/.395/.377
• Matt Tellor, 1B: 2-4, 1 run, 3 RBI, 1 BB, .221/.276/.302
• Zach Quintana, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks, 3.01 ERA

Rome put on a much needed strong offensive performance as the Braves routed the GreenJackets 12-1. The Braves wouldn't need much of a lead for Zach Quintana who, other than his last start which was....a learning experience, has been absolutely excellent this year for the Braves. The bullpen would give up just 1 run in 4 innings of work, but the story of this game was the offense. 5 different players would get RBIs in this game, and it would have been better if not for the 4 unearned runs they scored. The 6-9 hitters (Baez-Dykstra-Tellor-Daris) were particularly damaging as they would combine for 8 hits, 6 RBIs, and 7 runs. Special shout outs for Leudys Baez and Luke Dykstra who have made the most of their recent call-ups to Rome and have certainly made a good impression thus far. Omar Obregon has filled in ably for Ozhaino Albies at SS, but one hopes he learns to have some discipline on the base paths at some point as he was caught stealing for the 16th time this season.

(26-20) Pulaski Yankees 8 vs. (20-24) Danville Braves 2

Box Score

• Austin Riley, 3B: DNP
• Jose Morel, RF: 1-4, 1 RBI, .287/.367/.349
• Jake Lanning, 3B: 2-3, 1 run, .257/.325/.311
• Matt Withrow, SP: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 4.31 ERA

The pitching staff had a tough day as 9 walks helped Pulaski defeat Danville 8-2. Ben Libuda has had a tough time of late for Danville and after giving up 4 runs in relief in this game, his ERA is now north of 10. Austin Riley has not played in several days, but he is not on the DL so one wonders if he is nursing a minor ailment. Juan Yepez had a 3 hit day while Jake Lanning chipped in 2 hits of his own. Jose Morel continued his good work with a hit and RBI in this one, but with no XBHs and Riley missing, Danville could not recover from the pitching's struggles.

GCL Braves - No games Sunday

Randy Ventura Quick Update - .346/.434/.420 with 46 steals (caught 8 times), 27 walks and 24 Ks in 188 ABs, 12 XBHs