Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 8/13 - Freeman and Olivera begin rehab in GCL

(63-55) Gwinnett Braves 2, (63-57) Charlotte Knights 4

• Mallex Smith CF: 2-4, 2 SB (24), .255/.296/.326
• Christian Bethancourt DH: 1-4, 2 SO, .327/.359/.476
• Jose Yepez C: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SO, .161/.216/.172
• Victor Mateo SP: Loss (1-1), 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 3.50 ERA

Gwinnett was unable to get much going against the Knights in this one as they managed just 2 runs on 7 hits in the game. Both runs came off the bat of Jose Yepez in the 7th inning who got the start with Christian Bethancourt DH'ing in the game. Victor Mateo pitched fairly well, but he was unable to get out of the jams and allowed 4 runs in his 6 innings of work.

(60-55) Mississippi Braves 1, (60-55) Mobile BayBears 9

• Emerson Landoni 2B: 2-5, .288/.325/.369
• KD Kang RF: 1-4, R, HR (5), RBI, SO, .283/.357/.407
• Rio Ruiz 3B: 0-2, 2 BB, SO, .216/.327/.272
• Zack Bird SP: Loss (1-1), 2 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO, 4.26 ERA

After Mississippi grabbed a quick 1-0 lead, things went downhill very quickly against the BayBears. Mobile scored 9 straight runs, including 5 runs in the bottom of the 2nd to wipe away that 1-0 lead. KD Kang's home run was the only offense to speak of, and Zack Bird had an awful outing with 5 walks and 3 hits allowed in just 2 innings.

(60-56) Carolina Mudcats 4, (53-63) Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 (F/10)

• Keith Curcio 2B-LF: 2-5, R, 2B, HR (2), RBI, SO, .225/.289/.310
• Jacob Schrader 1B: 2-4, R, 2B, BB, .258/.303/.462
• Tanner Krietemeier LF-1B: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SO, .212/.255/.269
• Brandon Barker SP: 6 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 3.00 ERA

The Mudcats' 2 1st-inning runs were enough to get them into extra innings where they would double that total in the 10th inning to take a 4-2 lead. Brad Roney made things interesting in the bottom half, but he allowed only 1 run to pick up the win for Carolina.

(47-68) Rome Braves 4, (67-48) Savannah Sand Gnats 9

• Erison Mendez SS: 3-4, R, 2 2B, RBI, .232/.299/.278
• Wigberto Nevarez 3B: 1-4, 2 RBI, SO, .154/.209/.221
• Leudys Baez LF: 1-4, R, 2 SO, .222/.243/.333
• Braxton Davidson DH: 0-3, BB, 3 SO, .242/.388/.367
• Sean Furney SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO, 3.00 ERA

After falling behind early, the Rome Braves fought back to score 1 run in the 6th and 3 runs in the 7th to tie the game at 4-4. The Rome bullpen faltered from there giving up 5 runs over the next two innings to hand Savannah a fairly easy 9-4 victory. Erison Mendez led the team with 3 hits, while Braxton Davidson had a rough night at the plate striking out 3 times.

(24-25) Danville Braves 6, (22-27) Burlington Royals 3

• Carlos Castro DH: 4-5, R, RBI, .337/.360/.440
• Carlos Martinez 3-4, R, .253/.352/.333
• Ray-Patrick Didder RF: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, SB (8), .248/.358/.339
• Juan Yepez 1B: 1-4, R, 2B, RBI, SO, .143/.162/.171
• Austin Riley 3B: 1-5, 2 SO, CS, .325/.449/.600
• Trevor Belicek SP: Win (4-0), 5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 2.87 ERA

Danville used a strong start from Trevor Belicek to get out to an early lead that would be more than enough to get the Braves the win on Thursday. Belicek moved to 4-0 on the season with the win. The 2 Carlos' in the lineup for Danville combined to go 7-9 in the game.

(19-25) GCL Braves 8, (25-16) GCL Tigers 4

• Alejandro Salazar SS: 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB, .311/.386/.392
• Freddie Freeman 1B: 0-3, 2 SO, .286/.286/.714
• Hector Olivera 3B: 0-2, .000/.000/.000
• Bradley Keller LF: 0-5, 5 SO, .303/.360/.444
• Jaret Hellinger SP: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 3.47 ERA

It was an uneventful night for the 2 Braves that were rehabbing in the GCL. Freddie Freeman was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts, while Hector Olivera was 0-2 in the game. Bradley Keller was the highlight of the game in a bad way as he achieved the rare 5-strikeout game in his 0-5 performance at the plate. You can really only go up from there.