Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap 8/10: Danville walks off, Allard makes his debut

(62-53) Gwinnett Braves 12 vs. (61-56) Charlotte Knights 3

Box Score

• Mallex Smith, CF: 1-6, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 run, .251/.287/.322
• Eric Young Jr., LF: 2-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI, .255/.342/.330
• Christian Bethancourt, C: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 run, 2 RBI, 1 BB, .314/.347/.462
• Daniel Castro, SS: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 BB, .268/.320/.298
• Kanekoa Texeira, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3.54 ERA

Gwinnett used two 5-run innings to jump all over Charlotte and win by the final margin of 12-3. Every single batter for Gwinnett got at least one hit with 6 of them getting multiple knocks. Mallex Smith had a double and 2 RBIs to continue his good work while Christian Bethancourt showed that its not his work at the plate in AAA thats holding him back. Daniel Castro, after a successful, if short, stint in the majors, had a good day at the plate where he reached base 3 times and scored two runs. As for the pitching staff, Kanekoa Texeira continued his steady work on the mound for Gwinnett (no, he isn't really a "prospect" at 29 years old) while the bullpen went 4 innings and gave up just one run on 3 hits and 3 walks. This would prove to be more than enough given the lead that the offense gave them to work with.

(58-54) Mississippi Braves 4 vs. (64-47) Biloxi Shuckers 5

Box Score

• Rio Ruiz, 3B: 0-4, .220/.330/.277
• Sean Godfrey, LF: 1-5, HR(1), 3 RBI, .229/.255/.321
• Matt Lipka, CF: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 run, 1 BB, 1 SB, .254/.284/.315
• John Gant, SP: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, 1.56 ERA

Biloxi rallied late in a back and forth game to take the lead in the bottom of the 7th and beat Mississippi 5-4. The bulk of the offense for Mississippi came on one swing of Sean Godfrey's bat. Not exactly known for his power, Godfrey has still been known to hit a few homers from time to time and hit his first for Mississippi this year (6th overall this season). Matt Lipka had a good game at the plate, getting on base 3 times and stealing his 15th base of the season. Rio Ruiz went hitless to undo some of the good work he had been doing, but hopefully he can get back on track quickly as opposed to falling back in to a protracted slump again. On the pitching side, John Gant continues to show he was an excellent pick-up for the Braves as he gave up just the 2 earned runs in 5.2 innings. In Gant's 3 starts for Mississippi, he has given up a total of 3 earned runs.

Carolina Mudcats - Day Off

Rome Braves - Day Off

(27-19) Princeton Rays 3 vs. (21-24) Danville Braves 5 - F/11

Box Score

• Austin Riley, 3B: 0-3, 2 BB, .320/.469/.640
• Trey Keegan, C: 3-5, 2 runs, .259/.328/.293
• Ryan Clark, SP: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 5 K, 3.21 ERA
• Dakota Dill, RP: 3 IP, 0 H, 0  ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 3.80 ERA

Danville walked off in the bottom of the 11th inning on Justin Ellison's pinch-hit, 2-run homer with a final score of 5-3. Austin Riley, after missing a few games due to a rumored family event, went hitless in his return but did walk twice and did not strike out. While Justin Ellison was the hero in this one, Trey Keegan was doing yeoman's work in this one as he reached base three times and scored two runs. The pitching for Danville was mostly excellent with Ryan Clark giving up just 1 earned run in 4.2 innings of work and Dakota Dill adding on 3 innings of scoreless relief.

(17-23) GCL Braves 2 vs. (13-25) GCL Yankees2 3 - Game One

Box Score

• Alejandro Salazar, SS: 2-3, .314/.377/.394
• Bradley Keller, DH: 1-3, HR(3), 2 RBI, .306/.365/.471
• Kolby Allard, SP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K

(17-24) GCL Braves 2 vs. (14-25) GCL Yankees2 3 - Game Two

Box Score

• Ronald Acuna, CF: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 run, .258/.376/.424
• Bradley Keller, LF: 1-3, 1 RBI, .306/.365/.471
• Gabino Avalos, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R (0 ER), 5 BB, 1 K, 4.55 ERA

The GCL Braves were swept in their doubleheader against the GCL Yankees2 by twin scores of 3-2, but the real story for them was the debut of Kolby Allard. After signing late and having to go through the usual bullpen sessions and conditioning, the 14th pick in the 2015 draft had a short but very memorable debut. He pitched the first inning and struck out all three batters he faced. He will likely pitch early next week some time and, based on how other pitchers are progressed at this level, its likely he will pitch 2-3 innings in his next start. Bradley Keller, on the offensive side, is really heating up as he hit his 3rd home run in as many games and drove in runs in both halves of the doubleheader.