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(34-43) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (40-35) Norfolk Tides 3
Michael Reed, CF: 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, .368/.481/.563
Ronald Acuna, LF: 1-4, .221/.309/.279
Kolby Allard, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 2.60 ERA
Michael Reed continued his insane season at the plate, but he wasn’t enough for the Stripers to take a win. Gwinnett fell behind by a run in the first inning but Kolby Allard locked down after that giving the offense a chance to get going. Reed then led off the fourth inning with a double and came in to score the tying run in the game on a single from Rio Ruiz. Two innings later is was once again Reed to lead off the inning, this time with a solo home run that gave Gwinnett their first lead of the game. Unfortunately, the pitching couldn’t hold on much longer and the Stripers failed to produce a baserunner in the final three innings leading to a 3-2 loss. Ronald Acuna had a pedestrian performance, with a single in one of his four at bats and no strikeouts.
Kolby Allard allowed a home run and a double with one out in the first inning, but in typical Allard fashion settled in nicely to the game and was effective through most of it. Following that double Allard retired the next twelve batters he faced before walking a guy and then striking out the next two to retire the side. Allard had seven strikeouts through 5 innings, one off of his season high, and Allard had struck out at least 7 batters in each of his last 4 outings after doing it just once in his previous 12 appearances. Things began to fall apart a bit for Allard in the sixth inning, as he allowed 2 doubles and a walk in the inning that brought in two runs and gave Norfolk back the lead he had just been given. Elian Leyva pitched the final 2 1⁄3 innings and didn’t allow a hit or a run, but the offense couldn’t do enough to get a win.
Next Game: 6/27 vs (40-35) Norfolk Tides @ 12:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Wes Parsons (3-1, 2.83 ERA)
NOR: John Means (3-1, 3.79 ERA)
(32-44) Mississippi Braves 5, (31-43) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6
Alex Jackson, C: 2-3, BB, .215/.298/.361
Travis Demeritte, LF: 2-4, 3B, .229/.332/.383
Kyle Wright, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 13 K, 4.15 ERA
Kyle Wright’s strikeout dominance was the headline of the day, but it wasn’t enough for Mississippi to take down Jacksonville. Offensively the Braves had a strong showing, with Alex Jackson and his recent run of success contributing heavily to the mix. Travis Demeritte tripled with one out in the second inning and then came in to score on a single from Luis Valenzuela for the first Braves run of the game. Later in the inning Kyle Wright helped himself with an RBI single, scoring Jackson who had walked immediately following Demeritte. Jackson singled to start to the seventh inning and came in to score on Luis Marte’s game tying home run, his first of the season. In the 9th inning, then trailing by two runs, Demeritte, Jackson, and Valenzuela each singled with none out in the inning. Demeritte scored on the latter’s single, and the game was within a run with none out. A failed sacrifice bunt had AJax thrown out at third base, and then a force out put runners at the corners. After defensive indifference moved the runner to second base the Jumbo Shrimp intentionally walked relief pitcher Corbin Clouse, seriously they did check the game log, and it actually worked as they struck out Brandon Downes to end the game and prevent a serious scoring threat from advancing any further. Jackson’s early season run of poor BABIP and home run rate luck seems to finally be regressing, and he’s been strong in Jun hitting .283/.358/.517.
On the mound things got off to a bit of a rocky start for Wright and he allowed hits to the first two batters he faced scoring a run. A wild pitch then scored a second run and Wright walked a batter before striking out the next 3 he faced. A passed ball and a wild pitch allowed the third run of the game to score and for a batter to reach on a strike out, but Wright was able to strand him with a ground out. Wright then struck out the side in the second and third innings, and after 3 complete had already logged a career high 9 strikeouts. Wright finished the outing with 13 strikeouts, but due to pitch count related to that poor first inning he had to be pulled after 5 2⁄3 innings. Chad Sobotka struck out 3 batters in an inning and a third of scoreless relief. At this point the Braves had tied things up, but that didn’t last for long with Adam McCreery allowing two runs on 2 walks and a hit in his only inning of work. McCreery didn’t strike a single batter of his six faced out, which is notable because each of the other pitchers struck out at least half the batters they faced. Corbin Clouse pitched the ninth inning, with 2 strikeouts and no walks or runs allowed.
Next Game: 6/28 vs (34-40) Pensacola Blue Wahoos @ 7:35 PM ET
Probable Starters TBD
(30-41) Florida Fire Frogs 1, (32-41) Dunedin Blue Jays 5
Brett Cumberland, C: 0-2, 2 BB, .232/.356/.396
Cristian Pache, CF: 0-4, .272/.296/.404
Ian Anderson, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 3.46 ERA
Nothing much went right for the Fire Frogs, and they were beaten 5-1 by the Blue Jays. Dunedin had taken their first lead in the fourth inning but Florida answered in the bottom of the frame, with Garrison Schwartz doubling to lead off the inning and coming around to score on a ground out and a wild pitch. That was all the offense had left to muster, and they never threatened to cross home plate with the last 10 batters of the game being set down in order. Brett Cumberland drew two more walks in the game to add to his team-leading 37. Cumbo was also picked off and subsequently caught stealing and is now officially 1-8 on stolen bases this season not that anybody really cares about his baserunning abilities.
Ian Anderson struggled with his control throughout the game, and though it didn’t show up with many runs scored he was far from his best. Anderson walked three batters in the game and had two wild pitches with only 53 of his 94 strikes falling in the strike zone. Anderson was effective early in the game despite these troubles, but in his sixth and final inning it really came home to roost as he allowed 2 walks and 2 hits but only one run. Despite not having his best stuff Anderson was overall fairly effective in preventing runs from scoring and continues to strike out batters. Anderson kept the ball on the ground and didn’t give up much solid contact (no extra base hits) which prevented big innings from occurring. Thomas Burrows struggled in his inning of work, needing 40 pitches to get out of it and only landing 20 of those in the strike zone. Burrows only allowed one run but it could have been much worse, and he has had serious struggles since his promotion from Rome.
Next Game: 6/27 vs (32-41) Dunedin Blue Jays @ 11:00 AM ET
Probable Starters
FLO: Joey Wentz (1-2, 3.34 ERA)
DUN: Angel Perdomo (1-4, 3.42 ERA)
(43-32) Rome Braves 4, (27-48) Greenville Drive 3
Drew Waters, CF: 2-4, HR, RBI, .298/.348/.535
Isranel Wilson, RF: 1-4, .229/.323/.380
William Contreras, DH: 2-4, .299/.367/.421
Freddy Tarnok, RP: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1.26 ERA
The Rome offense fought back from an early 3-0 deficit to take the win, with Freddy Tarnok once again turning in a fantastic performance on the mound. The Braves were shut out through four innings and trailed 3-0, despite putting 5 hits on the board and getting a runner to third base in two separate innings. They finally broke through on the board in the 5th inning when Drew Waters connected for his 7th home run of the season and first since May 27th. The Braves then tied the game in the 6th inning thanks to Austin Bush, who drove in WIlliam Contreras with his 5th home run of the season. Marcos Almonte singled with one out in the seventh inning, and Rile Delgado broke the tie in the game with with an RBI double that proved to be the game winner. William Contreras had two hits in the game, and in each month this season he has improved his all three triple slash categories and in June is hitting .329/.387/.459.
Alan Rangel got the start for Rome, and cruised easily through the first two innings before running into a tough third inning. Rangel allowed three hits in the inning, including a home run, to account for three runs and put Rome in an early hole. Rangel finished the game strong with his only other hit allowed coming on a bunt single, and he departed after 5 having thrown 64 pitches. This brought in Freddy Tarnok, who came back from an 7 day layoff following the All Star game with seemingly no rust. Tarnok cruise through a career high 4 innings and 71 pitches, finishing strong by striking out the final three batters he faced in the game. Over his last 5 outings Tarnok has increased his workload and pitched 14 innings, but has handled it well with only 2 runs allowed, 17 strikeouts, and a dramatic decrease in walks down to only 4 over those 14 innings.
Next Game: 6/27 vs (36-36) Charleston Riverdogs 7:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Huascar Ynoa (5-7, 4.26 ERA)
CSC: Deivi Garcia (0-1, 3.60 ERA)
(3-5) Danville Braves 2, (1-7) Burlington Royals 0
Greyson Jenista, RF: 1-4, HR, RBI .233/.281/.567
Justin Dean, LF: 1-4, .333/.412/.400
Jose Montilla, SP: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1.38 ERA
Danville’s pitchers combined for a shutout and the offense did enough to get them a win over the Royals. The Braves got their first run early in the contest, when a walk to Michael Mateja set up an RBI double by Luis Mejia. The Braves added a run in the 6th inning off of the bat of second round pick Greyson Jenista, who hit his third home run of the season to stretch the lead out to two runs. This was enough for the Braves pitching staff in this one, as they easily handled the Royals offense throughout. Jenista’s home run was his third in his last 4 games, thought he hasn’t managed much production outside of those as he only has a .200 BABIP in the early stages.
Jose Montilla filled up innings for the Braves, finishing seven shutout frames on just 80 pitches. Montilla didn’t face any sort of trouble in the first four innings of the game, but a walk almost led to a run in the 5th inning. With two outs Montilla allowed the free pass and then a double, but Greyson Jenista and Nicholas Vizcaino were able to combine to throw out the runner coming home to preserve the lead and the shutout. Montilla continues to cruise through the next two innings, leaving for Zach Guth to make his second appearance of the season. Guth didn’t allow a hit or a run over his two innings of work, but did walk a batter who reached all the way around to third base but was stranded there preventing the lead from being chipped into.
Next Game: 6/28 vs (3-5) Elizabethton Twins 7:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
DAN: Ricardo Sanchez (0-0, 4.76 ERA)
ELZ: TBD
(4-3) GCL Braves 4, (3-4) GCL Phillies East 5
CJ Alexander, 3B: 2-4, .391/.462/.565
Jeremy Fernandez, CF: 3-5, RBI, .400/.423/.680
Albinson Volquez, SP: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.38 ERA
Late runs cost the GCL Braves dearly in their 5-4 loss to the Phillies. The Braves took an early lead in the third inning when Joel Reyes led off the inning with a walk, and the Braves were able to load the bases on two hits from Luis Ovando and Jeremy Fernandez. A sacrifice fly brought in the first run of the game and then Mason Berne came through with an RBI single to score Luis Ovando and make it 2-0 in favor of the Braves. Ovando singled and then stole second base in the 4th inning, setting the stage for Jeremy Fernandez who knocked him in to extend the lead to 3-0. After the Phillies had cut two runs off of that lead the Braves were able to manage another run of insurance in the seventh when Joel Reyes led off the inning with a double and then came around to score on two wild pitches. The Braves had a 4-2 lead at this point, but the pitching couldn’t hold onto that in the last two innings and the offense stranded a runner on base in each of the last two innings.
20 year old Albinson Volquez got the start for the GCL Braves, his second of the season, and was solid once again for the team. This was the first time in his career that Volquez went more than five innings in an appearance, and it perhaps wasn’t the best decision as he was clearly fatigued by the time he reached the sixth. Volquez was pitching a shutout to this point, but after recording the first out allowed a walk, a hit, hit a batter, and then allowed another hit to score two runs and cut the Braves lead from 3 runs to 1. After getting a strikeout for the second out Volquez was pulled for Yoeli Lopez, who allowed a single to his only batter faced but saw a baserunner thrown out at home by Christian Zamora to end the inning and preserve the Braves lead. Mitch Stallings made his professional debut with a perfect inning of relief in the seventh and struck out a batter. This set the stage for Alex Aquino in the 8th and 9th innings, who was brought in to preserve a 4-2 lead. Aquino allowed a run in the 8th inning to cut the lead to one run, and then in the ninth allowed a walk, a hit, and hit a batter to load the bases before giving up a game-tying sacrifice fly. He was then pulled for Alex Camacho, who gave up a single to the first batter he faced giving the Phillies their first lead of the game. Camacho struck out the next two batters he faced to end the inning.