Braves Minor League Recap 9/1: Ahrens Homers, Yepez stays hot

(72-65) Gwinnett Braves 3, (70-68) Durham Bulls 6

Box Score

• Mallex Smith, CF: 2-4,2B, R, SB, .285/.331/.375

• Cedric Hunter, LF: 0-3, BB, RBI, .283/.328/.428

• Joey Terdoslavich, DH: 1-4, RBI, .290/.400/.460

• Victor Mateo, SP: 5 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 6.03 ERA

Gwinnett fell another game behind the Tides, and now sit 4 back going into a 4 game series in Norfolk. It starts with a Wednesday, and Gwinnett will need to win at least 3 to stay alive. Victor Mateo has struggled since his call up from Mississippi, allowing 3 or more runs in 4 of 7 starts. Hunter Cervenka pitched another scoreless inning out of the bullpen, and has yet to give up a run in 15.1IP with Gwinnett. Mallex Smith had a really good day, and was named International League Player of the Month for August.

(67-63) Mississippi Braves 4 vs. (75-55) Biloxi Shuckers 5

Box Score

• Rio Ruiz, 3B: 0-4, .237/.336/.323

• Levi Hyams, 2B: 3-4, 2B,  BB, .302/.340/.38

• Kevin Ahrens, 1B: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, .276/.355/.391

• Greg Ross, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 3.99 ERA

Mississippi had the lead, first place in the division, and the season series in Biloxi's inaugural season well in hand with a 4-1 lead after 6 innings. Unfortunately, things went awry in the 7th, as Mauricio Cabrera and Andrew Barbosa imploded and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while only recording 2 outs. The offense shut down after the 5th inning, and Mississippi lost a very disappointing game. Rio Ruiz went hitless for the second straight game, something he hasn't done since August 9-11 at Biloxi, who seem to be the only team that can shut him down at this point. Since the beginning of August Ruiz is hitting .189 (7-37) against Biloxi and .342 (25-73) against everyone else.

(68-65) Carolina Mudcats 8 vs. (62-72) Frederick Keys 5

Box Score

• Dustin Peterson, LF: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, .260/.326/.362

• Connor Lien, CF: 1-4, 2 RBI, .283/.343/.407

• Johan Camargo, SS: 1-1, 2 BB, .257/.311/.338

• Keith Curcio, CF: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .237/.297/.331

• Blair Walters, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3.00 ERA

Carolina had a really good day today, with 4 batters getting 2 or more hits and 3 batters reaching base at least 3 times. Every batter except DH Joey Meneses reacherd base at least once. You literally had ONE job, Joey. Carolina had the lead the entire way, scoring on the 4th batter of the game. They had a 3-0 lead after 2, a lead they extended to 8-2 in the top of the 6th. Bradley Roney had another good outing, striking out3 of the 4 batters he faced on 13 pitches to get the save. This was important, as he had to come in with the bases loaded and no outs after Jorge Zavala had a rough outing (hit by pitch, walk, walk).

(56-78) Rome Braves 3 vs. (69-65) Greeneville Drive 9

Box Score

• Leudys Baez, LF: 1-4, .231/.260/.363

• Luis Valenzuela, SS: 1-4, .356/.378/.491

• Joseph Daris, RF: 2-4, R, .278/.344/.407

• Zach Quintana, SP: 4 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 3.43 ERA

Greeneville scored runs early and often, getting 8 off of starter Zach Quintana (2 unearned). Rome scored early too, but didn't put up a run after the 4th inning. Rome made 3 errors on the day, with 3rd inning errors by Jordan Edgerton and Leudys Baez being the most costly. Newly acquired shortstop Luis Valenzuela got an infield single in his second at bat in the 4th inning. Dakota Dill had a really good relief appearance, striking out 7 while allowing just 2 hits in 3 innings. Chad Sobotka also made a relief appearance, allowing a run on 3 hits in 2 innings.

(34-34) Danville Braves 2 vs. (40-28) Kingsport Mets 6

Box Score

• Austin Riley, 3B: 1-4, BB, .351/.443/.586

• Juan Yepez. 1B: 3-4, BB .291/.324/.466

• Ronald Acuna, CF: 1-4, BB, .290/.388/.464

• Patrick Weigel, SP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 4.53 ERA

Danville's last game of the season got off to a nice start when they took an early 2-1, but quickly went south in the 4th when Patrick Weigel allowed 2 runs before being pulled for Ben Libuda. Libuda then allowed all three inherited runners to score on a double by Kevin Kaczmarski, and Danville's offense sputtered the rest of the way. Juan Yepez ended the season as one of the hottest hitters in the system, hitting safely in 9 of his last 10 and slashing .425/.442/700 with 2 home runs in that span. Ronald Acuna ended his season on a 9 game hitting streak, during which he was 13-35 (.371). Then there's Austin Riley, who over his last 10 games hit .457/.535/.857 to cap off one of the most ridiculous professional debuts in years.