Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: Austin Riley homers again

(72-62) Gwinnett Braves 2, (74-60) Norfolk Tides 0

Box Score

• Mallex Smith, CF: 1-3, R, .286/.331/.376
• Cedric Hunter, LF: 1-3, HBP, RBI, .285/.330/.434
• Hector Olivera, 3B: 1-4, 2B, RBI, .222/.263/.278
• Ryan Weber, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2.11 ERA
• Bullpen: 3IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Gwinnett's pitching was outstanding all night, especially Ryan Weber, who had to fill in late for projected starter Jake Brigham who was called up hours before the game. Brandon Cunniff, David Carpenter, and Ryan Kelly combined in the bullpen to not allow a hit over 3 innings. Hector Olivera played a nice game at 3rd, making a good backhand play in the first inning and hitting an absolute rocket to dead center for a ground rule double. After seeing his 21 game hitting streak snapped, Cedric Hunter wasted no time in getting another started with a first inning single. He also drove in an insurance run in the 8th when Dana Eveland brushed his jersey with the bases loaded. Gwinnett is now 2 back of Norfolk for the division lead with 5 games remaining between the teams. 4 of those are will be in Norfolk after September call ups, so the teams may look a bit different in their next series.

(67-62) Mississippi Braves 8 vs. (74-55) Biloxi Shuckers 2

Box Score

• Rio Ruiz, 3B: 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI, .237/.336/.323
• Emerson Landoni, SS: 2-5, RBI, R, .302/.340/.388
• KD Kang, RF: 2-4, 2 RBI, BB, .276/.356/.393
• John Gant, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1.54 ERA

John Gant seems to like his new scenery, because he has pitched nothing but good games since coming over from the Mets. In 6 starts he is 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 39K/11BB in 35 IP. Mississippi's 3 runs in the second was more than enough for Mississippi, and Rio Ruiz's bases loaded double in the 6th was the final nail in the coffin. Emerson Landoni continued his ridiculous play in the second half, and has hit .354/.382/.478 since the all star break. Mississippi is now half a game back of Pensacola for a playoff spot, and has a game in hand.

(66-65) Carolina Mudcats 0 vs. (70-62) Lynchburg Hillcats 2

Box Score

• Dustin Peterson, LF: 0-4, .257/.324/.359
• Connor Lien, RF: 1-4, .283/.342/.410
• Johan Camargo, SS: 0-3, .257/.308/.339
• Jose Briceno, C: 0-3, .180/.214/.262
• Yean Carlos Gil, SP: 7 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 2.75 ERA

Carolina again fell in the battle of the Cats, with Yean Carlos Gil getting a tough luck loss. Gil has actually been pretty good in his second stint with Carolina, putting up a 3.05 ERA and only walking 4 in 20.2IP. Justin Jackson pitched an inning of scoreless relief to lower his ERA with Carolina to 2.28. Carolina did not have an extra base hit on the day, and were only able to get 5 hits and 1 walk on the day. Dustin Peterson went hitless for the second straight day after seeing his 7 game hitting streak snapped on Thursday.

(54-77) Rome Braves 4 vs. (68-63) Greeneville Drive 10

Box Score

• Braxton Davidson, RF: 1-5, 3 K, .243/.384/.373
• Tanner Murphy, C: 1-5, RBI, .189/.272/.298
• Leudys Baez, DH: 1-4, R, .229/.261/.373
• Chad Sobotka, SP: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 7.45 ERA

Chad Sobotka's return from the DL was not a pretty one, as errors and walks led to 4 runs and his removal after just two-thirds of an inning. Matt Tellor has been hitting well since his slow start with Rome. He went 3-5 with 2 doubles on the night and is now hitting .234/.282/.329 after being at .145/.208/.218 on June 13. Joseph Daris went 3-3 with and RBI, hit by pitch, 2 doubles, and a system leading 12th double. Dakota Dill made his first appearance with Rome, throwing 2 innings of scoreless, 1-hit ball with 3 strikeouts. Rome actually out hit Greeneville on the day 14-13, but were hurt by committing 3 errors and being out walked 8-0.

(33-32) Danville Braves 10 vs. (23-41) Bluefield Blue Jays 3

Box Score

• Austin Riley, 3B: 2-4, HR, 2B, BB, RBI, 2 R, .347/.432/.594
• Juan Yepez. 1B: 0-4, 3 K, .270/.309/.449
• Ronald Acuna, CF: 3-5, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, 2 R, .291/.391/.509
• Daniel Cordero, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1.80 ERA

Austin Riley continues to torch the lower minor leagues, and hit his 12th home run of the season in just his 57th game. His slash line over 2 levels is .300/.381/.546, and his .927 OPS leads all Braves minor leaguers with a minimum of 200 plate appearances. Ronald Acuna had a disappointing ending to a fantastic night, flying out in the 8th to come up a single short of his first cycle as a professional. This game was Danville's last at home on the season, and moved them over .500 for the first time since they were 3-2 on June 28th. They have won 6 of their last 7 and are 15-13 in August.

(27-33) GCL Braves 6 vs (19-41) GCL Astros 2

Box Score

• Collin Yelich, DH: 1-3, 2 BB, 3 R, .242/.369/.306
• Jonathan Morales, C: 2-3, RBI, .304/.377/.511
• Robert Nesovic, RF: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI
• Gilbert Suarez, SP: 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 4.54 ERA

The final game of the GCL season was a good one for the Braves, who went out on a high not behind Robert Nesovic's 3 hits. Odalvi Javier recorded his first win on the season after throwing 3 innings of scoreless relief to lower his ERA to 2.37. Jonathan Morales ended his season on fire, hitting .338/.407/.649 with 6 home runs in August. Evertz Orosco came ib for the save, throwing and inning and a third scoreless with one strikeout to lower his ERA to 2.33