Atlanta Braves Minor League Recaps: Bryce Elder throws seven shutout innings

It was a busy day down on the farm for the affiliates of the Atlanta Braves, with two games ending in walk off wins and a four win day all around. Gwinnett’s Bryce Elder had the star pitching performance of the day with his seven scoreless innings, and Vaughn Grissom continued his tear with another three hit performance in Mississippi.

(43-45) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (57-41) Durham Bulls 1

Box Score

• Hernan Perez, 2B: 2-4, 2B, .231/.269/.333
• Mike Ford, 1B: 1-3, BB, 2B, .200/.440/.360
• Chadwick Tromp, C: 2-4, RBI, .270/.301/.459
• Bryce Elder, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 4.78 ERA
• Seth Elledge, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 2.25 ERA

This was a tight contest throughout, with Bryce Elder and a line of Bulls pitchers having nice days on the mound. Gwinnett was able to strike first in the third inning scoring a run on a sacrifice fly from Preston Tucker. This 1-0 lead held through eight inning, with Gwinnett recording just scattered hits throughout those middle frames. A blown save put the spotlight back on the Stripers bats in the bottom of the ninth, and they immediately went to work with a leadoff walk from Mike Ford. Ford was pinch run for by Braden Shewmake, and Shewmake made use of his role by swiping second base and moving up to third on the throw. With a runner on third and no outs it should have been a cake walk for the Stripers to a win, and it was, as Chadwick Tromp delivered a walk-off single.

Bryce Elder made up for the anemic showing from the Gwinnett hitters with by far his best start of the season. Elder got off to a phenomenal start with two strikeouts in a scoreless first inning, but that was not a strikeout pace he was going to keep throughout. His biggest troubles came in the third inning when a leadoff single had him sweating through some pitches. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second base, but the inning ended on an infield single into the shit in which the runner attempted to score and was thrown out easily. Elder recorded nine of his outs on ground balls and needed only 81 pitches to get through those seven innings. Seth Elledge held the game in the eighth inning, but Jesus Cruz allowed a solo home run in the ninth inning that tied the game.

Next Game: 7/16 vs (47-41) Durham Bulls @ 6:05 PM ET

(41-44) Mississippi Braves 6, (50-35) Rocket City Trash Pandas

Box Score

• Vaughn Grissom, SS: 3-4, SB, HBP, .556/.579/.722
• Cody Milligan, 2B: 1-4, RBI, .247/.323/.259
• Justyn-Henry Malloy, LF: 1-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI, .250/.368/.438
• Tanner Gordon, SP: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 6.91 ERA
• Lisandro Santos, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA

The Mississippi Braves are on a roll of late, and came back in this one to erase an early 3-0 deficit in a win. Cody Milligan and Vaughn Grissom led off the bottom of the first inning with two hits, but they were stranded there and Mississippi trailed 3-0 after an inning and a half. That specific deficit didn’t last long though, as they chipped one run away in the bottom of the second inning on a Trey Harris RBI single. Hendrik Clementina lifted a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to bring Mississippi back within one, and that score of 3-2 held for four innings. Down to their last at bat in the bottom of the ninth, Clementina led off the inning with a single, and Harris followed with another single to flip the lineup over to the top of the order. Cody Milligan tied the game on a sacrifice fly and Vaughn Grissom was hit by a pitch to move the winning run into scoring position. The position of neither runner mattered however, as Justyn-Henry Malloy absolutely tanked one for a three-run walk off home run.

Tanner Gordon had early struggles on the mound but he and the Mississippi bullpen got things together late and cruised through seven consecutive scoreless innings to close the game. The first three batters of the game reached against Gordon with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly scoring two runs before he finally escaped. Another leadoff baserunner in the second inning led to a run which scored on a two out single. Gordon pitched two scoreless innings after this and struck out the final three batters he faced in the game. Coleman Huntley battled his command a bit with two walks in two innings of work, but he was able to go scoreless for those innings to keep the game close. Lisandro Santos turned in a dominant two inning effort, striking out three batters and walking none. Odalvi Javier took the win in this game as his scoreless ninth inning lowered his ERA to 2.52.

Next Game: 7/16 vs (50-35) Rocket City Trash Pandas @ 7:05 PM ET

(50-35) Rome Braves 10, (51-32) Bowling Green Hot Rods 5

Box Score

• Bryson Horne, 1B: 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI, .276/.344/.422
• Jacob Pearson, LF: 2-4, BB, .269/.357/.380
• Beau Philip, 3B: 2-3, BB, .224/.341/.337
• Roddery Munoz, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 4.40 ERA
• Jose Montilla, RP: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA

Rome continues on their winning ways, using a huge fourth inning to vault to their 50th win of the season. An early 1-0 deficit was nothing Rome’s bats couldn’t handle, as Jacob Pearson ripped a two-run single in the third inning that game them the lead. Bryson Horne brought home Pearson with a single later in the inning, and the Braves kept on adding to this lead. Three consecutive walks and a hit batter set the stage for a huge fourth inning, and Christian Robinson ensured that would be the case with a two-RBI double. Following a walk to load the bases and wild pitch and another two-RBI double this time from Horne gave the Braves six runs in the fourth inning and a 9-1 lead. Willie Carter hit a garbage time home run in the seventh inning for the tenth run of the game and Rome cruised to an easy win.

Roddery Munoz had a decent all around outing, though two big home runs were obviously damaging to him and put a damper on what otherwise looked like it could be one of his better ones. The first of these was just a solo shot in the second inning, and he responded by striking out six batters over the next three innings with just one more hit allowed. Following those two big innings by the offense Munoz got bit again, allowing a two run home run in the fifth inning that didn't actually mean anything but did hurt his performance. Both of Munoz’s walks came in his final two innings, and the innings dragged on a bit more once he started to wear down and miss his spots more often. Overall, it was a strong outing that bordered on dominant for the first four innings before he faded down the stretch and allowed that final home run. Ben Dum had a fascinating outing, going 1 ²⁄₃ hitless innings but allowing two runs due to six walks. Both of those runs came off of a single against Jose Montilla, as Dum left the bases loaded with two outs. Montilla had a solid outing with two strikeouts over 1 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings, shaking off some command inconsistencies in his first inning to close out the game in the ninth.

Next Game: 7/16 vs (51-32) Bowling Green Hot Rods @ 6:00 PM ET

(42-41) Augusta GreenJackets 9, (46-38) Fredericksburg Nationals 4

Box Score

• Braulio Vasquez, 1B: 3-3, 2B, SB, RBI, .243/.338/.356
• Geraldo Quintero, 3B: 2-4, SB, .274/.358/.449
• Eliezel Stephens, 2B: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, .346/.404/.481
• Jordan Perez, SP: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.72 ERA
• James Acuna, RP: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2.88 ERA

(42-42) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (47-38) Fredericksburg Nationals 10

Box Score

• Braulio Vasquez, 1B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, .243/.338/.356
• Geraldo Quintero, 3B: 1-3, .274/.358/.449
• Caleb Durbin, SS: 1-3, HR, .242/.367/.371
• Luis Vargas, SP: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 8 K, 3.89 ERA
• Darling Florentino, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 5.79 ERA

We love Augusta double headers here at Battery Power, and both of these games were basically identical formulas. An Eliezel Stevens home run put Augusta up 2-1 in the second inning of the first game and Jordano Perez had a solid outing to keep them on top. Perez went 3 innings with the only run he allowed coming on a solo home run in the first. Rolddy Munoz pitched a scoreless fourth inning, and while he struggled in the fifth all five of his outs came on strikeouts and Augusta broke the game open to make his poor inning irrelevant. An error and a walk led off that fourth inning and it snowballed from their into a six run frame. Braulio Vasquez opened it up with a two run double and following two more singles Kadon Morton delivered the big hit with a three run home run that iced the game. James Acuna closed out this big lead, allowing one run over 2 ¹⁄₃ innings to send Augusta to the break having won all three games in the series.

Game two was tighter for most of the game, but the snowball inning went to the wrong team and Augusta took a blowout loss. Luis Vargas struggled with his command, and that was not more apparent than it was in the top of the first when he walked the bases loaded and allowed a run on a single. Fortunately, Vargas was able to escape with that being the only run scored and Caleb Durbin led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run. Both teams stayed locked at one run until the fourth inning, when Braulio Vasquez doubled to score Stephen Paolini and give Augusta a short-lived 2-1 lead. Vargas left a runner on after recording the first two outs of the fifth inning, and reliever Estarlin Rodriguez allowed a game-tying double before he was able to record the final out. Fredericksburg took a 3-2 lead on a solo home run with two outs in the sixth inning, and that set the gears in motion as five walks and three hits scored eight runs in the inning before Kadon Morton was able to put a stop to the disaster with a phenomenal play. Morton collected a ball ripped off of the top of the wall in right field and chucked an absolute seed to second base to get the batter trying for a double. Morton has 15 outfield assists in 68 games this season, which is an absolutely ridiculous number and his arm talent absolutely matches this number.

Next Game: 7/16 vs (47-38) Fredericksburg Nationals @ 6:05 PM ET