:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60442339/1001825464.jpg.0.jpg)
Friday saw a ton to talk about. Kyle Wright was dominant, Touki Toussaint pitched very well himself, Kyle Muller had a shutout going through seven, and John Curtis had a perfect game going when he was removed for pitch count reasons after five innings.
It’s hard to imagine asking for more, but we got it anyway. Travis Demeritte crushed a long homer and a double, as did Jean Carlos Encarnacion. We saw Drew Waters and Jefrey Ramos carry the Rome offense, while recent draftees Greyson Jenista and CJ Alexander had strong performances as well.
Gwinnett Stripers 7, Pawtucket Red Sox 4
- Austin Riley, 3B: 1-4, BB, RBI, .302/.365/.432
- Touki Toussaint, SP: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 2.92 ERA
- Jacob Webb, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 4.50 ERA
Touki Toussaint made his first start in 15 days as his last minute trip to the Futures Game had his schedule altered a bit. Touki went an out shy of six innings while giving up three runs on six hits and a pair of walks, adding eight strikeouts in his second start with Gwinnett. A scoreless inning and a third by Jason Hursh was followed by Miguel Socolovich giving up a run in the eighth that had the Braves down big. Following a comeback Jacob Webb worked a scoreless ninth inning to pick up the save.
Jalen Beeks and the Pawtucket bullpen were in complete control, leading 4-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth...but the Stripers bats came alive and they scored six runs in the inning for the comeback win. Alex Jackson was able to triple in a pair of runs, while Lane Adams doubled in a pair of runs and Austin Riley singled in another run during that big inning. Dustin Peterson also had two hits including a double in the win.
Next Game: Saturday 7/21 hosting Pawtucket @ 6:05 PM. Probable Starters: Gwinnett-Lucas Sims, Pawtucket-Chandler Shepherd
Mississippi Braves 4, Montgomery Biscuits 1
- Travis Demeritte, LF: 2-3, BB, 2B, HR, .221/.311/.408
- Ray-Patrick Didder, SS: 2-4, 2B, .259/.375/.333
- Kyle Wright, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.91 ERA
Kyle Wright was dominant, giving up a run on two hits and a walk over seven innings. Results haven’t always been ideal for Wright this year, but games like this show you why the Braves invested so much into him in the 2017 draft. Scoreless innings by Kelvin Vasquez and Chad Sobotka followed as the Braves earned a 4-1 win.
Travis Demeritte was the offensive star, going two for three with a walk and having those hits go for a double and a very long home run. Recently promoted Ray-Patrick Didder had two hits including a double, as did Alejandro Salazar. No one else managed to have more than one hit, and those were the only guys to record extra base hits.
Next Game: Saturday 7/21 visting Montgomery @ 7:05 PM. Probable Starters: Mississippi-Ricardo Sanchez, Montgomery-TBD
Clearwater Threshers 4, Florida Fire Frogs 2
- Cristian Pache, CF: 2-4, 2B, .287/.313/.435
- Isranel Wilson, LF: 2-3, BB, .254/.338/.388
- Kyle Muller, SP: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 3.38 ERA
Kyle Muller’s final line looked fine but hardly tells the whole story. Muller had been working on a shutout and had it going through seven innings. He ran out of gas in the eighth, and recorded just one out as he allowed all four earned runs to score. Chase Johnson-Mullins pitched a shaky two thirds of an inning.
At the plate Cristian Pache just keeps going as he had another multi-hit night and another extra base hit. Last night’s double was his 18th as the power increase is very real for him. Izzy Wilson had a pair of singles and a walk as he continues to show he is ready for High A. The only other multi-hit game or extra base knock came from a Kevin Josephina double.
Next Game: Saturday 7/21 visiting Clearwater @ 6:15 PM. Probable Starters: Florida-TBD, Clearwater-Adonis Medina
Rome Braves 4, Charleston Riverdogs 1
- Drew Waters, CF: 1-3, RBI, .301/.348/.520
- Jefrey Ramos, LF: 1-3, 3B, 3 RBI, .250/.283/.439
- Alan Rangel, SP; 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 5.15 ERA
Alan Rangel was’t quite dominant, but very good over six innings. Rangel gave up just one run on four hits and a pair of walks, striking out two. Rangel has had an uneven season, but a start like this remainds you not to write him off. Kelvin Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning for the save in the first of two seven inning games as part of a double header.
The Braves young outfield won this game as a Jefrey Ramos base clearing triple opened the game’s scoring with a 3-0 lead, and Drew Waters singled home they fourth run of the night. However that’s it as the Braves managed just three hits, those two and a Brendan Venter double.
Rome Braves 8, Charleston Riverdogs 1
- Drew Waters, CF: 3-4, .301/.348/.520
- Jefrey Ramos, LF: 2-4, 2 R, .250/.283/.439
- John Curtis, SP: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 2.40 ERA
Reliever turned started John Curtis was as dominant as he could have been, pitching five perfect innings. It’s too bad that Curtis isn’t fully stretched out to pitch deeper because he was removed at the end of five innings with a pitch count of 71 despite being two innings away from a perfect game. Daysbel Hernandez came in to finish it off, and while he completed the win he wasn’t able to complete the perfect game, or shutout.
The same guys from the first game were at it again as Drew Waters had three hits, while Jefrey Ramos had two- including his second triple of the night. I haven’t even mentioned Jean Carlos Encarnacion hitting his 21st double and 9th homer while batting in four runs. Greyson Jenista went two for three himself, and we got to witness the the ninth homer of the season from Drew Slugbauer,
Next Game: Saturday 7/21 hosting Charleston @ 6 PM. Probable Starters: Rome-Keith Weisenberg, Charleston-Miguel Yajure
Pulaski Yankees 9, Danville Braves 6- 10 innings
- Greg Cullen, 2B: 2-4, BB, 2 R, 3B, .284/.357/.386
- CJ Alexander, 3B: 1-2, 3 RBI, 2B, .379/.449/.534
- Zach Seipel, RP, 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 3.12 ERA
The Braves used six pitchers with no one lasting longer than two innings in this one. Tanner Lawson got the start and gave up two runs over the first two innings. Jake Higginbotham followed and allowed a run over his two innings. Luis Gamez was next and the first guy to not allow a run, though he pitched just one inning. Bradey Welsh gave up three runs in his two innings as Danville gave up the lead at this point. Two scoreless innings from Zach Seipel, with three strikeouts, got the game into extra innings. Jacob Belinda came in for the tenth and gave up three runs, costing the Braves a chance at winning.
CJ Alexander doubled and picked up three RBI thanks to a pair of sacrifice flies in this one. The Braves 20th round pick just keeps on hitting and is having little trouble producing at a high clip so far. Greg Cullen reached base three times with a walk, single, and triple of his own. With a double Carlos Baerga Jr. was the only other player with an extra base hit, while the only multi-hit game outside of Cullen came from Ray Soderman as he singled in two.
Next Game: Saturday 7/21 hosting Johnson City @ 7 PM. Probable Starters: Danville-Dilmer Mejia, Johnson City-TBD
GCL Braves- PPD Wet Field
Here’s a shocking story for you...it rained in Orlando.
Next Game: Monday 7/23 hosting GCL Yankees East @ 12 PM. Probable Starters: GCL Braves-TBD, GCL Yankees East-TBD