(33-25) Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 7, (24-33) Gwinnett Stripers 1

Box Score

• Michael Reed, CF: 1-for-4, .337/.467/503
• Rio Ruiz, 3B: 1-for-3, HR, RBI, .254/.312/.357
• Max Fried, SP: 5.0IP 9H 7ER 2BB 2K
• Josh Ravin, RP: 1.0IP 0H 0R 1BB 1K

It was a struggle from the get go for Max Fried who reportedly had slightly diminished velocity in his start. The lefty, who has been yo-yo’d around by the Atlanta organization has had a bit of a rough year - and who can blame him as he’s sat in Atlanta at times, he’s been used as a reliever, and he’s been used a starter. I’m not trying to make excuses for Max but it would be nice for the organization to choose a role for him and let him focus on it. In his five innings he yielded four extra-base hits including two by former Braves farmhand Joey Meneses. After Fried, the trio of Peterson (1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K0), Bell (2.0IP 1H 0R 0BB 0K), and Ravin (1.0IP 0H 0R 1BB 1K) locked down the final four innings but it was too much for the Gwinnett offense to bounce back from. Ravin has yet to give up an earned run in 17 games for Gwinnett and is biting at the opportunity to return to Atlanta. In 17 games Ravin has a 0.00 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and .125 BAA, 14.7 K/9, and a rapidly improving 4.5 BB/9 rate.

The offense was held at bay by the Iron Pigs starter Enyel De Los Santos who went eight innings giving up five hits, and one earned run while striking out seven. The lone run came courtesy of a mammoth Rio Ruiz homer in the fifth inning. Rob Brantly was the only other Gwinnett hitter to record an extra-base hit.

(31-29) Montgomery Biscuits 5, (25-35) Mississippi Braves 2

Box Score

• Alex Jackson, C: 0-for-3, BB, R, .172/.254/.285
• Travis Demeritte, LF: 1-for-3, HR, 2RBI, BB, .225/.333/.396
• Michael Mader, SP: 3.2IP 3H 4R 3ER 4BB 2K

Just like Gwinnett, Mississippi fell down early and the offense struggled. Mader didn’t necessarily give up a lot of hard contact but he failed to generate much weak contact (two groundouts), and struggled keeping base runners in check (three stolen bases). With Mader struggling, Enderson Franco came in and did a fantastic job over his 5.1 innings of work. I have a soft spot for Franco who continues to do whatever you want from him - and never complains. He’s the consummate professional who has pitched everywhere from A-ball to AAA in the span on one and a half seasons. Every organization needs a player like this and I hope he gets rewarded sometime in the future so he can live out his dream because players like him should be rewarded.

The offense was held in check by six different Montgomery pitchers who gave up a combined seven walks and struck out ten. The offense went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, stranded ten runners, committed two errors, and outside of a Travis Demeritte ninth inning homerun - was held scoreless. It was an especially rough game for Alex Jackson who went 0-for-3, gave up four stolen bases, and committed two errors. With Michael Reed in Gwinnett the Mississippi offense has become rather stagnant and the losses have begin to mount.

(24-32) Florida Fire Frogs 4, (30-25) Bradenton Marauders 3

Box Score

• Cristian Pache, CF: 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, 2R, .290/.313/.425
• Brett Cumberland, DH: 2-for-4, HR, 3RBI, R, .225/.369/.363
• Ian Anderson, SP: 7.0IP 5H 2ER 3BB 5K

The Fire Frogs were finally on MiLB.tv and I missed it, rats. Our very own Garrett Spain made sure to comment on how dominant Ian Anderson looked in this start. Despite the walks, and the two earned runs apparently Ian has taken a leap in his development and has made at least one talking chop writer very happy. I’ve always been huge on Ian as I consider him one of our highest ceiling pitchers in the organization so to hear someone like Garrett praise him - makes me very happy. Ian gave up a third inning two-run homerun and decided that was enough and shut down Bradenton the rest of his outing. Dan Lietz recorded the two inning save.

Cristian Pache had another two-hit game of which both of the hits were of the extra-base variety. As the season has progressed Pache has begun to hit for more power and you are seeing that slugging percentage begin to climb as it now sits at .425 on the season. The next thing you really want to see is Pache begin to take more walks because the on-base percentage isn’t great but you are beginning to see the development of a very talented player who is taking a step forward in his progression. A very exciting time for Braves fans all around. The big blow by the offense came from Brett Cumberland who hit a two-run homerun in the fifth inning. Of note, the mounting strikeout total for Braxton Davidson is extremely concerning. Garrett made note of how different his swing looks this year, and how it appears to be much slower than when he first was drafted - this explains the 90 strikeouts in 51 games. He is up to a 44% K-rate and the clock is ticking on him despite being just 21 years of age.

(36-23) Rome Braves 8, (21-36) Asheville Tourists 6

Box Score

• Drew Waters, CF: 1-for-4, BB, R, .302/.362/.560
• Riley Delgado, SS: 4-for-5, 2R, .322/.373/.401
• William Contreras, C: 2-for-5, .291/.371/.439
• Jefrey Ramos, LF: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 3RBI, R, .248/.280/.401
• Isranel Wilson, RF: 2-for-4, 2B, R, .224/.326/.372

The big bats were out to play in this eight run explosion for the Rome offense (though this seems to happen quite a bit). Five players had multi-hit games, there were five extra-base hits, two walks, and just five strikouts. Drew Waters continues to be a hitting machine - with his 15th double of the season. Jefrey Ramos contributed his 13th double of the season to go along with his fourth homer of the season - a 494 foot blast. William Contreras continues to get on base as well, going 2-for-5, and after starting at extended spring training to start the season the catcher has caught on fire for Rome and has been dynamic not only behind the plate, but at the plate as well. With the struggles of Alex Jackson, Brett Cumberland, and the release of Kade Scivicque, it’s clear Contreras is seizing the opportunity to become the organizations top catcher - something I think we would all love to see.

Alan Rangel was cruising until he hit a wall in the sixth inning and gave up four runs. Walter Borkovich picked up his fourth hold of the season with 1.1 innings of work, and Kevlin Rodriguez picked up his sixth save of the season with a two inning effort.

(4-1) DSL Dodgers Robinson 4, (2-3) DSL Braves 3

Box Score