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(70-61) Gwinnett Braves 1 vs. (69-63) Charlotte Knights 3
- Mallex Smith, CF: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 run, HBP, .286/.331/.372
- Hector Olivera, 3B: 1-4
- Cedric Hunter, DH: 1-4, 1 2B, .285/.328/.425
- David Carpenter, RP: 1 IP, 3 K, 1.17 ERA
A tough night on offense for Gwinnett as they failed to do much at all against Charlotte and lost 3-1. Mallex Smith did reach base three times out of the leadoff spot and has hit safely in 12 of his past 13. Hector Olivera (who is expected to join Atlanta when rosters expand next week) got himself another hit. Cedric Hunter continued his good work by extending his hit streak to 20 games with a double. Unfortunately for Gwinnett, they went 1 for 7 with RISP and only managed to get one run in. The pitching was pretty good with Kanekoa Texeira, Danny Burawa, and David Carpenter combined to give up just 3 runs, although Texeira lived dangerously with 4 walks and giving up a couple of homers.
(65-61) Mississippi Braves 1 vs. (58-69) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3
- Rio Ruiz, 3B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, .232/.333/.308
- Kevin Ahrens, 1B: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 run, .233/.310/.354
- Stephen Janas, SP: 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 1 K, 4.65 ERA
- Ryne Harper, RP: 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K, 1.98 ERA
Offense continued to elude the Braves affiliates as Mississippi was defeated 3-1 by the Blue Wahoos. One can't blame Rio Ruiz, who has really turned a corner of late. He drove in Mississippi's only run and extended his own hit streak to 11 games during which he has brought his average up 15 points. Kevin Ahrens scored that run, but other than that it was a VERY quiet night on offense for the Braves. As for the pitching, Stephen Janas was his usual excellent self. His stat line for his season at Mississippi is very misleading given that in 8 of his 11 starts at Mississippi, he has given up 2 earned runs or less (with his other starts being 7,6, and 7 ER). He is a pitcher that generates a lot of groundballs, so the BABIP gods can at times, especially in the minors with defense being questionable at times, be unkind.
(58-70) Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 vs. (66-62) Carolina Mudcats 0
- Dustin Peterson, LF: 2-4, .263/.330/.368
- Jacob Schrader, DH: 2-4, 1 2B, .262/.309/.464
- Blair Walters, SP: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2.93 ERA
Still little in the way of offense as Carolina was shut out by Wilmington 5-0. Dustin Peterson with his two-hit night has now hit safely in 11 of his past 12 games and looks like the player that got fans excited in the first half. Jacob Schrader chipped in 2 hits including a double as well, but the Mudcats only managed 6 hits total on the evening. Its a real shame because Blair Walters was excellent again for the Mudcats, going 5.2 innings and giving up just 2 earned runs to keep his ERA below 3 on the season. The bullpen struggled while giving up 3 more runs, although it ultimately did not matter given the offense's struggles.
(53-75) Rome Braves 13 vs. (53-73) Lexington Legends 9
- Omar Obregon, SS: 4-6, 3 runs, .270/.334/.313
- Braxton Davidson, RF: 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, SB(1), .245/.388/.379
- Tanner Murphy, C: 1-4, HR(6), 3 RBI, .188/.273/.297
- Luke Dykstra, 2B: 4-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs, .301/.338/.387
- Trevor Belicek, SP: 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 3.72 ERA
There's the offense! And....in Rome of all places as the Braves beat the Legends 13-9. Rome scored 6 runs in the top of the 9th to steal this game back from the Legends. Home runs from Matt Tellor and Tanner Murphy were the big blows to keep Rome in it, but big thanks belong to Omar Obregon and Luke Dykstra who were putting pressuring on Lexington all night, getting on base and keeping innings alive. Braxton Davidson had himself a night with a couple of hits and RBI as well as his first stolen base! Its safe to say that Braxton isn't exactly a threat to steal bases often, but it was nice to see him take one when the opportunity presented itself. Trevor Belicek had a rockier start than his debut in Rome, but still did some good work. The bullpen struggled quite a bit, but one cannot blame Alec Grosser as he was demoted to Danville earlier this week.
(30-32) Danville Braves 3 vs. (28-34) Burlington Royals 4
- Austin Riley, 3B: 1-4, 1 2B, .326/.410/.522
- Juan Yepez, 1B: 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBIs, 1 run, .244/.282/.372
- Ryan Clark, SP: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 3.21 ERA
- Dalton Geekie, RP: 2 IP, 0 BB, 1 K, 0,00 ERA
Danville lost a close back and forth game to Burlington 4-3. Austin Riley took his foot off the gas a bit, but still hit a double and kept his triple slash line looking quite healthy. Juan Yepez, after an absolutely miserable start to his time in Danville, has really started heating up and had a great game with 3 hits including 2 doubles as he paced the offense. Ryan Clark made a good start for Danville, and Alec Grosser relieved him and took the loss as he gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in an inning of work. Dalton Geekie stopped the bleeding as he continued this good work across two levels of rookie ball.
(34-22) GCL Tigers 9 vs. (25-32) GCL Braves 10 - F/11
- Jonathan Morales, C: 2-3, 1 2B, HR (7), 3 RBI, 2 BB, 3 runs, .274/.353/.492
- Kelvin Estevez, RF: 4-6, HR, 3 RBIs, .324/.342/.459 (at GCL)
- Ruben Perez, DH: 3-5, 1 2B, .160/.258/.210
- Felix Falcon, SP: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 4.46 ERA
Kelvin Estevez had himself a night as the GCL Braves beat the Tigers 10-9 in extra innings. Estevez hit a game tying home run in the bottom of the ninth and then took matters in to his own hands again as he hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th. Jonathan Morales hit his 3rd home run in as many games as he continues to heat up and add much needed depth at catcher in the system. Felix Falcon had a weird start, with a lot of unearned runs, but he also seemed very hittable on this day and only lasted 3 innings.