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Friday was just ugly. Three games played and three losses. To make matters worse, only one run was scored combined between the three teams in action, and one of the teams was nearly no hit.
Durham Bulls 2, Gwinnett Stripers 1- 10 innings
- Michael Reed, LF: 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI, .442/.571/.605
- Matt Wisler, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 4.00 ERA
- Jacob Webb, RP: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
This is a tough loss. The Stripers, particularly starter Matt Wisler and the two relievers who directly followed him, pitched very well. Wisler went six with giving up just a single run, and striking out 10. It was one of the best starts of the year for Wisler. Rex Brothers and Jacob Webb combined for three perfect innings, and added four more strikeouts to the total. The game went into extras tied at one apiece, when the normally lights out Evan Phillips gave up a single- which allowed the runner starting the inning on second to score the game winning run. It’s never a fun thing to lose a game because of a rule tweak meant to improve the speed of games, and this loss is simple that.
Of course the rule tweak isn’t the only reason for the loss. The Stripers wouldn’t even have been in extra innings if they had any life in their offense. Outside of another monster game from Michael Reed- two for three with a double, pair of walks, and the Stripers’ lone RBI- the rest of the team went 4-33 on the night with just two more walks. If you take Danny Santana’s two hits out of it as well, it looks even worse. And there was no power, as Reed and a Rob Brantly double were the only extra base hits on the evening off of Forrest Snow and the Bulls pitching staff.
Next Game: Saturday 6/16 visiting Durham @ 6:35 PM. Probable Starters: Gwinnett-TBD, Durham-Chih-Wei Hu
Biloxi Shuckers 5, Mississippi Braves 0
- Daniel Lockhart, 3B: 1-4, .239/.323/.362
- Bryse Wilson, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 5.90 ERA
- Phil Pfeifer, RP: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 27.00 ERA
After struggling a little since his recent promotion to Double A, Bryse Wilson seemed to find some comfort on Friday night. Pitching to a very strong Biloxi offense, one that features Corey Ray, Keston Hiura, Lucas Erceg, and more, Wilson pitched one of his best games since the promotion. Wilson went six strong innings, picking up seven strikeouts and allowing just two runs. Sean McLaughlin followed, and gave up three runs to open the game up for Biloxi, but then the recently demoted Phil Pfeifer pitched a scoreless eighth with a pair of strikeouts.
The Braves were nearly no hit by Brewers prospect Zack Brown. In fact Brown, who took his no hitter into the final out of the game before Daniel Lockhart got a single to fall in to center, nearly had a perfect game as well. Brown didn’t walk anyone, and through the first seven innings he was perfect- only for an error by centerfielder Corey Ray on a Tyler Marlette ball to lead off the eighth. Brown dominated and the Braves just had no answer.
Next Game: Saturday 6/16 visiting Biloxi @ 7:35 PM. Probable Starters: Mississippi-Andres Santiago, Biloxi-Kodi Medeiros
Lexington Legends 4, Rome Braves 0
- Derian Cruz, 2B: 2-3, 2B, .244/.277/.360
- Isranel Wilson, RF: 1-4, 3B, .234/.324/.386
- Odalvi Javier, SP: 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 3.95 ERA
The Braves offense wasted a great outing by Odalvi Javier, as they failed to score. Javier went eight innings, giving up just a single run on six hits and a walk while striking out seven. It was one of the better starts of the season for Javier, and was his longest outing. Freddy Tarnok came in for the ninth and struggled a bit with his command, throwing as many balls(13) as strikes, before surrendering the 21st homer of the season to Royals prospect Seuly Matias- a two run shot. That’s not a misprint as Matias has a .632 slugging percentage on the year. After a quick walk and the homer to Matias, Tarnok was able to escape from the inning without any further damage.
The real story offensively was talented but inconsistent Royals prospect Nolan Watson shut the Braves down in a complete game shutout performance. The star at the plate was Derian Cruz, who had a single and double in his three at bats. Cruz has just a .637 OPS on the year, but he’s played better than his numbers indicate of late, and could be slowly turning the corner. The Braves also got an Izzy Wilson triple, Drew Slugbauer double, and singles from Luis Mejia and William Contreras.
Next Game: Saturday 6/16 hosting Lexington @ 6 PM. Probable Starters: Rome-Huascar Ynoa, Lexington-TBD