Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: Ian Anderson spins 5 1⁄3 scoreless innings

It was a rainy night in the southeast, and because of that we have a bit of a light slate for you in this recap. Send your prayers to Eric who will have a couple of double headers to cover Saturday, but I have an easy one down on the Atlanta Braves farm system. Our two affiliates that were in action both took home close wins with Ian Anderson giving us the most important performance of the day.

(57-58) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (58-56) Memphis RedBirds 0

Box Score

• Ehire Adrianza, SS: 1-3, BB, .286/.375/.386
• Hernan Perez, RF: 1-2, 2B, BB, .249/.290/.361
• Alex Dickerson, LF: 1-3, RBI, .243/.305/.412
• Ian Anderson, SP: 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA
• Silvino Bracho, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 3.00 ERA

The Gwinnett Stripers treated us to a low-scoring affair as their staff shut down the International League’s top offense on the way to a win. After a quick first inning Hernan Perez led off in the second with a double to give Gwinnett their first runner in scoring position. Two ground outs later and Perez had trotted around to score, giving Gwinnett their first run of the game. This obviously was of great importance and was even more so given that Gwinnett really didn’t do anything to indicate they planned on scoring more. The only time they advanced anyone else to scoring position was the seventh inning when Perez walked and stole second base but was advanced no further.

Ian Anderson was not at all easy to hit on Friday night, nor was he particularly easy to predict. He got off to a rough start with a couple of walks in the first inning but overall settled in to never really let the RedBirds get a good look at him. The good news from this start was that he used his curveball quite frequently and to great success, flashing one of the more consistent benders we’ve seen from him as a professional. The bad was that his command was lacking elsewhere, particularly with his changeup, and most of his walks came due to him getting ahead of batters and then not being able to finish out at bats. He faced seven full counts in this game, and a few pitches here and there were the difference between what he did and a line that could have ended completely differently in either direction. He was solid through the middle innings but the command was completely gone by the sixth and after a leadoff single and a walk he was pulled in favor of Thomas Burrows. Burrows issued a walk to load the bases, but escaped with a double play to preserve Gwinnett’s one run lead. After Jesus Cruz cruised through the seventh inning Silvino Bracho came on to pitch the eighth and got into trouble. After hitting a batter while trying to do his funky delivery to throw off timing, he allowed a two out double that put both men in scoring position. The next batter lifted a fly ball to right field but it fell harmlessly into the glove of Hernan Perez to retire the side. Jay Jackson retired the side with no issue in the ninth inning and it was another Gwinnett Stripers winner to start the weekend strong.

Next Game: 8/20 vs (58-56) Memphis RedBirds @ 6:05 PM ET

(51-60) Mississippi Braves, (56-50) Pensacola Blue Wahoos PPD

Next Game: 8/20 vs (56-50) Pensacola Blue Wahoos @ 6:05 PM ET

(67-44) Rome Braves, (47-62) Greensboro Grasshoppers PPD

Next Game: 8/20 vs (47-62) Greensboro Grasshoppers @ 4:00 PM ET

(58-53) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (74-38) Charleston RiverDogs 2

Box Score

• Keshawn Ogans, 2B: 1-4, .341/.400/.415
• Stephen Paolini, CF: 1-4, 3B, RBI, .220/.321/.324
• Justin Janas, 1B: 2-3, 2B, .345/.355/.414
• Luis Vargas, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 3.75 ERA
• Rob Griswold, RP: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 4.35 ERA

This was on of those games that Augusta really probably should not have won, as they went 0-4 with runners in scoring position and didn’t hit a single home run yet scored four runs. Charleston starter JJ Goss simply had command over them for the first five innings, but he ran short on gas in the sixth and Augusta capitalized. Mahki Backstrom took a walk to lead off the inning and in his third look at Goss leadoff man Stephen Paolini cut the RiverDogs 2-0 lead in half with an RBI triple. Goss then skipped one to the backstop and Paolini was able to sneak home to tie the game. Justin Janas has been hot this series for Augusta and he led off the seventh inning with an opposite field double to set the table. A wild pitch got him over to third base and Janas scored the go ahead run when Francisco Floyd grounded into a double play. Augusta added insurance in the eighth inning, but it came in a bit of an odd way. Kadon Morton lead off with a double, but found himself caught when he broke to third on a hard line drive from Paolini that was snagged by the first baseman. Fortunately for Morton the first baseman made an errant throw and the left fielder whiffed on the ball while backing the play up allowing Morton to come in and score.

Luis Vargas had a solid outing this game as the RiverDogs struggled to do anything but beat the ball into the ground. Vargas recorded ten ground outs in the game and only threw 74 pitches over 5 ²⁄₃ innings. He did not however have the best control with only 44 of his 74 pitches finding the strike zone and that hurt him in the second inning. After a one out walk Vargas threw a wild pitch which allowed the runner to advance to scoring position where a single would give Charleston an early lead. Following that Vargas didn’t allow another hit until the sixth inning, but that hit lead to insurance runs. Shane Sasaki led off with a double in his third at bat of the game and came around to score the second run on a couple of ground outs. After a two out single Vargas was lifted for Rob Griswold who had a fantastic relief outing. Griswold got the win and covered most of the rest of the game with 2 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings of relief to shut down the RiverDogs after Augusta fought back in the game. Juan Mateo closed the game out on five pitches to give Augusta a hard-fought win over a strong Charleston squad.

Next Game: 8/20 vs (74-38) Charleston RiverDogs @ 6:05 PM ET