Despite rain knocking out one of the games, it was a still a good July 4th overall for the Braves minor league affiliates as they went a combined 2-1. Dylan Dodd threw five no-hit innings, Gwinnett pulled away late, and Augusta lost in horrifying fashion. Lets get into the games.
Gwinnett Stripers 6, Charlotte Knights 3
- Drew Waters, CF: 0-3, 2 BB, 2 R, SB, .714 OPS
- Joe Dunand, 3B: 2-3, 2 2B, R, .797 OPS
- Nolan Kingham, SP: 5 IP, 9 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 4 K, 3.86 ERA
After a rocky first inning for Nolan Kingham, the Gwinnett pitching staff threw eight shutout innings as the Stripers took down Charlotte by the final score of 6-3. We have been a bit surprised to see the Braves start to stretch Kingham back out as a starter this season as we liked how his stuff played up after he was moved to the bullpen in Mississippi. However, the results have been okay so far although he wasn’t exactly missing bats early on Monday. Kingham would throw four scoreless after a three-run first inning and then Brandyn Sittinger, Jay Jackson, Jacob Webb, and Michael Tonkin would give up no runs on two hits over the game’s final four innings.
Gwinnett’s offense wasn’t exactly overpowering on July 4th as they had just two extra-base hits on the evening (both doubles from Joe Dunand), but they did a good enough job of taking advantage of scoring chances and seven walks sure helped the cause. Drew Waters drew a pair of walks and stole a base despite being held hitless. Ryan Goins had a two-run single in the eighth inning to give the Stripers some breathing room for the game’s final frame and Braden Shewmake had a hit and a walk as he continues to try to get going at the plate in Triple-A.
Mississippi Braves, Pensacola Blue Wahoos - Postponed
Rain sucks
Rome Braves 2, Asheville Tourists 1
- Tyler Tolve, C: 1-4, HR, RBI, .717 OPS
- Vaughn Grissom, SS: 1-4, .879 OPS
- Dylan Dodd, SP: 5 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 3.61 ERA
Dylan Dodd was dominant over five no-hit innings as Rome squeaked by Asheville by the final score of 2-1. Other than a dumb run scoring thanks to some suspect defense behind him, Dodd was awesome while striking out nine batters on 81 pitches. Dodd started the season really struggling the second (or more) time through the batting order in high-A, but that has really changed since around mid-May as he has pitched deep into games and figured out which of his pitches he can lean on to get outs as a starter. Hat tip to the Rome bullpen for throwing four scoreless innings of relief after Dodd came out, but they had no room for error in this pitcher’s duel.
The Rome offense was scant, but they did just enough to secure a W on Monday. Tyler Tolve connected for his fourth home run of the season and if you watch him take batting practice ever, you would be surprised that he only has four. Bryson Horne had the sole multi-hit game for the Braves while Vaughn Grissom kept his streak of reaching base alive with a single in the eighth inning. Have we mentioned that Vaughn Grissom has been insane lately? We would not be surprised at all if he ends up in Double-A after the draft.
Augusta GreenJackets 10, Charleston RiverDogs 11
- Caleb Durbin, 3B: 1-3, 2 BB, 4 R, .751 OPS
- Geraldo Quintero, 2B: 1-4, 2 RBI, BB, .805 OPS
- JJ Niekro, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2.09 ERA
We won’t linger long here as these are the sorts of losses that are infuriating as Augusta, despite being gifted with 10 runs thanks largely to drawing 13 walks while also getting a great start from JJ Niekro, completely imploded as they fell to Charleston 11-10. Niekro has been an incredibly steady presence for Augusta on the mound and he got the job done again on July 4th as it was his 13th appearance this season where he gave up two earned runs or less. So how did Augusta lose a game they were winning 7-1 in the 7th inning. Well, they did so by giving up 10 RUNS in the bottom half of that inning in a bullpen implosion for the ages.
What made this loss all the more tragic is that Augusta was exceedingly lucky to have scored 10 runs as they had just five hits in the game. Again, 13 walks certainly helped the cause and Charleston making six errors was also quite helpful. Augusta went 2-17 with runners in scoring position, still somehow put up 10 runs, and then still found a way to lose. Absolutely tilting.
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