:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60019919/512499674.jpg.0.jpg)
Gwinnett Stripers 7, Syracuse Chiefs 1
- Danny Santana, CF: 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 runs, .251/.269/.492
- Rio Ruiz, 3B: 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI, .257/.311/.369
- Lucas Sims, SP: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 1.45 ERA
Lucas Sims was strong on the mound yet again for Gwinnett and the offense came alive for the Stripers as they defeated Syracuse by the score of 7-1. Lucas pitched into the seventh inning and has given up one earned run or less in his last 6 starts in Gwinnett. He has bounced back and forth between starting in Gwinnett and relieving in Atlanta which is likely part of why he has struggled in his time in the majors. It also hasn’t helped that he is walking way too many batters this year (23 in 37.1 innings in the minors and 7 in 9.1 innings in the majors), but as a starter in the minors, he has been able to work around that issue thus far. David Peterson closed the game out for Gwinnett with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.
Danny Santana had a pair of hits including his 8th home run of the season. It still remains humorous how little he walks while occupying a spot at the top of the order (5 BB in 44 games at Triple-A). Carlos Franco had a two hit game as well and Rio Ruiz, who has been manning the hot corner as Austin Riley recovers from a sprained knee, had a triple and 2 RBIs. Also, a hat tip to Lucas Sims at the plate as well as helped his own cause with an RBI single in the 2nd inning.
Mississippi Braves 1, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3
- Tyler Neslony, RF: 1-4, .246/.288/.311
- Carlos Martinez, C: 1-4, RBI, .200/.238/.250
- Bryse Wilson, SP: 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 7 K, 6.42 ERA
Bryse Wilson bounced back from a pair of rough outings, but the Mississippi offense struggled in the Braves loss to Pensacola by the score of 3-1. After a dominant start to the season in high-A, Bryse has struggled at times in Double-A. In his previous two starts, he failed to escape the third inning and gave up a total of 13 earned runs in those games. He was much better this go-around as he went seven innings and gave up just two earned runs while striking out seven batters. He will be just fine. Chad Sobotka came on in relief and pitched the final two innings for Mississippi with no earned runs allowed and striking out three batters. Sobotka has been really good (2.14 ERA across two levels) as a reliever this year and long as he can limit his walks, he could easily see time at Triple-A or even with the big league club with his big time fastball and age.
On offense, there isn’t much to talk about as the Braves managed just one run on four hits with that run being driven in by Carlos Martinez. Both Travis Demeritte and Alex Jackson had the night off and the only Tyler Marlette had an extra-base hit for Mississippi. Tyler Neslony did have one of Mississippi’s hits, which is welcome news as he has struggled mightily of late. After an April that saw him with a .761 OPS and getting some folks all hot and bothered as one of the better performers on Mississippi’s roster, he had a .520 OPS in the month of May and has a .434 OPS in June so far.
Florida Fire Frogs 7, Jupiter Hammerheads 5
- Braxton Davidson, 1B: 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 3 runs, .172/.276/.366
- Brett Cumberand, C: 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 runs, .228/.364/.380
- Connor Johnstone, SP: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3.48 ERA
The Fire Frogs came alive and a ragtag pitching staff did just enough to secure a 7-4 win for Florida. Lets talk about Braxton Davidson for a minute because his performance of late is worth mentioning. We haven’t exactly been bullish on Braxton’s status as a prospect, but he has always had very real raw power and it has been showing up in a big way of late. Braxton is batting .394 over his last 10 games with four home runs. He still has a ways to go as he is still batting well below .200, but this is a very promising stretch for Braxton and is a friendly reminder that he is just 21 years old and is still figuring things out. Brett Cumberland connected for his sixth home run of the season and Raysheandall Michel connected for his first of the season. Cristian Pache went 0-4 in the game and has just four hits in his last eight games.
On the mound, Florida went with a bullpen only approach with Connor Johnstone pitching the first 3.1 innings and gave up four runs. Justin Kelly and Mauricio Cabrera pitched the next 2.2 innings and while they did not give up a run, they also combined to walk five batters. Josh Graham pitched two scoreless innings after that while striking out four batters before Thomas Burrows closed the game out and made things a bit more interesting than they should have been in the game’s final frame with three hits and two walks, but he ended up only giving up one earned run and secured the win for the Fire Frogs.
Rome Braves 1, Kannapolis Intimidators 4
- Drew Waters, CF: 1-4, .304/.360/.550
- William Contreras, DH: 2-4, .281/.358/.419
- Dilmer Mejia, SP: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 7.27 ERA
- Freddy Tarnok, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0.88 ERA
The Rome offense just couldn’t get going as the Braves fell to Kannapolis by the score of 4-1. Drew Waters had another hit in this one and has now hit safely in 13 straight games for Rome. He has been a man on a mission this season, in particular after his return from the disabled list. William Contreras had a pair of hits in the game as well while Jean Carlos Encarnacion was a late scratch from the game, but so far we have no indication that it will be a prolonged absence from Rome’s lineup.
Dilmer Mejia got the start for Rome and gave up four runs in four innings of work, but lets focus a bit on what Freddy Tarnok has done this year. The counting stats jump off the page and after his three inning appearance on Sunday, he has struck out 43 batters in 30.2 innings this year. While he has certainly walked to many batters this year, he has walked just one batter total in his last three appearances (nine innings in total). The Braves have been very conscious of limiting the young right-hander’s innings, but it would not be that surprising to see him start sliding into the rotation before too long.