Braves Minor League Recap: Jake Schrader homers; Austin Riley keeps hitting

(72-63) Gwinnett Braves 3, (75-60) Norfolk Tides 4

Box Score

• Mallex Smith, CF: 1-4, R, .285/.330/.373

• Cedric Hunter, LF: 1-4, RBI, .285/.329/.432

• Hector Olivera, 3B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, HBP, .231/.286/.308

• Kanekoa Texeira, SP: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.71 ERA

What started as a chance to claim the lead in the division turned into a disappointing split with the first place Tides. Christian Walker hit the go ahead 2 run in the 7th, and after getting a double from Sean Kazmar and a single from Jordan Lennerton, Gwinnett was unable to plate the tying run. Cedric Hunter drove in his system-leading 71st run of the season, and has now hit in 23 of his last 24. Hector Olivera also had a ground rule double for the second consecutive night, and hit a couple more hard balls on the night. He also reached on hit by pitch in his final plate appearance. Olivera has had hits in 3 straight games and 4 of his last 5.

(67-63) Mississippi Braves 3 vs. (75-55) Biloxi Shuckers 4

Box Score

• Rio Ruiz, 3B: 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI, .237/.336/.323

• Emerson Landoni, SS: 0-4, .302/.340/.388

• KD Kang, RF: 1-4, 1 R, .276/.355/.391

• Andrew Thurman, SP: 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 4.58 ERA

Rio Ruiz added another hit in the 4th with a single, extending his system long hitting streak to 15 games. Unfortunately Emerson Landoni was unable to record a hit, ending his 10 game hitting streak. Landoni was placed on the DL on July 25, and since his return on July 31 is hitting .354/.392/.460 with a home run and 9 doubles-4 more than he had in the first 3 months combined. Steve Rodriguez had 2 hits and an RBI on the night. Kyle Kinman and Tyler Jones bothed pitched perfect outings-Jones going an inning and Kinman coming in to strike out the lone batter he faced

(67-65) Carolina Mudcats 5 vs. (70-63) Lynchburg Hillcats 3

Box Score

• Dustin Peterson, LF: 1-3, BB, .257/.324/.359

• Connor Lien, CF: 1-3, 2 BB, .284/.345/.409

• Johan Camargo, SS: 0-3, .255/.306/.336

• Jacob Schrader, 1B: 3-4, HR, 2 R, .268/.313/.477

• Matt Bywater, SP: 3 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.61 ERA

Carolina snapped a 4 game losing streak with the help of Jake Schrader's minors-leading 15th home run of the season. Schrader also stole his 1st base of the season and 4th of his career. The bullpen was really good in this one, with Andy Otero, Richie Tate, and Bradley Roney combining for 6IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 9 K. Joey Meneses had 3 hits and 2 RBIs on the day before being pulled for a pinch runner late. Going back to the bullpen, Andy Otero (winning pitcher) has been phenomenal lately with a 0.95 ERA with 21K/3BB in 19 IP over his last 10 appearances.

(55-77) Rome Braves 4 vs. (68-64) Greeneville Drive 3

Box Score

• Braxton Davidson, RF: 1-4, .243/.383/.372

• Stephen Gaylor, CF: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 R, .279/.368/.342

• Joseph Daris, LF: 0-3, SB, R, .229/.261/.373

• Sean Furney, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2.81 ERA

Rome couldn't hold an early 2-1 lead provided by Matt Tellor's RBI double, but they were able to reclaim that lead with the help of a fielding error in a 2 run 5th. Sean Furney continued to build on his solid season with another nice start. Sean McLaughlin got the save, but not without trouble, as he allowed 2 walks and an unearned run over 2 innings. Over his past 10 games Braxton Davidson is hitting .278/.350/.417 with a home run. Luke Dykstra went 1-2 with a sac bunt to push his average up to .297.

(33-33) Danville Braves 1 vs. (39-27) Kingsport Mets 2

Box Score

• Austin Riley, 3B: 3-4, HR, 2B, BB, RBI, 2 R, .362/.442/.610

• Juan Yepez. 1B: 1-4, .270/.309/.449

• Ronald Acuna, CF: 1-5, .291/.391/.509

• Matt Withrow, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.56 ERA

I know we say this every night, but Austin Riley dominated another game with Danville. This one didn't include a home run, but he raised his 2015 OPS to .941 and his OPS with Danville to 1.052. Justin Ellison also had a nice game, getting 2 its and a double to drive in Danville's only run. Alec Grosser had his first good appearance in what feels like months, throwing a scoreless inning of relief and striking out 2. Danville out hit Kingsport 13-8, but was only 1-9 with runners in scoring position on the night.