Braves Minor League Recap: Rome tosses a no-hitter

Wednesday was a notable day for the Braves system as Rome saw a combined no hitter from Daniel Martinez and Luis Vargas to headline the action. Overall the day was a split of four games and saw a three-hit game from Nacho Alvarez along with a two-hit day for Vaughn Grissom.

Gwinnett Stripers 8, Charlotte Knights 5

Boxscore

• Vaughn Grissom, SS: 2-5, 2B, RBI, .331/.407/.493
• Joe Dunand, 1B: 3-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, .343/.439/.643
• Tanner Gordon, SP: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 8.28 ERA

Tanner Gordon had been having a rough season, but that didn’t matter last night as he went seven innings allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks. Gordon was so efficient that he managed his seven innings on less than 80 pitches (79), with 60 of the 79 being for strikes. For a guy who had given up 26 runs in just 22.1 innings in Gwinnett, this was a much needed outing. Danny Young followed with a scoreless eighth. Ty Tice came in to close out an 8-2 lead in the ninth but allowed three runs while recording just one out, requiring Dereck Rodriguez to come in and get the final two outs to pick up a save.

Joe Dunand led the way for the offense, going 3-4 with four RBI, including a three-run homer in the seventh that ended up being the winning runs. Forrest Wall added a three run homer of his own, and those two plays led to 75% of the Stripers runs. Vaughn Grissom went 2-5 with a double and an RBI, while Braden Shewmake was 2-4 with a run scored.

Biloxi Shuckers 4, Mississippi Braves 3

Boxscore

• Cade Bunnell, 1B: 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI, .229/.332/.401
• Jesse Franklin, LF: 1-4, 2B, .236/.300/.403
• Alan Rangel, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 4.25 ERA

Alan Rangel turned in an Alan Rangel-like start - solid but unspectacular, getting the job done. Rangel went six innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks, striking out seven. Domingo Gonzalez, Daysbel Hernandez, and Alex Segal each added a scoreless inning out of the bullpen in relief.

The offense never really got going in this one for Mississippi. Despite the three runs, they managed just five hits and three walks. Cade Bunnell was the star of the day, going 2-4 with a double and homer, scoring two of the three Braves runs and being the only player to reach base more than once in this one. Jesse Franklin and Landon Stephens added doubles in the loss.

Rome Braves 3, Hickory Crawdads 0

Boxscore

• Nacho Alvarez, SS: 3-3, 2 R, .273/.416/.335
• Geraldo Quintero, LF: 2-4, 3 RBI, .223/.303/.309
• Daniel Martinez, SP: 4.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, 1.46 ERA
• Luis Vargas, RP: 4.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 5.27 ERA

Rome had a combined no hitter from Daniel Martinez and Luis Vargas last night. Martinez got the start and went the first four and two thirds before giving way to Vargas, who went the final four and a third innings to complete the no hitter. Martinez walked three and struck out eight, throwing 78 pitches, while Vargas didn’t allow any walks or strikeout anyone and needed just 29 pitches to get the final 13 outs. Rome allowed just four base runners, the three Martinez walks and one on a shortstop error.

The star for the offense had to be Geraldo Quintero, who went 2-4 and batted in all three Rome runs. Nacho Alvarez went 3-3 and scored two of the three runs, while Eliezel Stevens went 2-3 with a walk to also reach base three times. The lone extra base hit was a Keshawn Ogans double.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7, Augusta GreenJackets 3

Boxscore

• Jeremy Celedonio, DH: 2-4, 2B, R, .168/.312/.343
• Dawson Dimon, C: 0-1, 3 BB, .157/.270/.229
• Spencer Schwellenbach, SP: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 2.94 ERA
• Jared Johnson, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 4.05 ERA

Wednesday was just a tough one for Spencer Schwellenbach, who surrendered six runs in four and a third innings. It appeared he never really had it going, giving up a pair of homers in the first, a run in the second, another homer in the third, and then the two runs which chased him from the game in the fifth. Jason Franks followed and allowed one more run in the fifth while picking up the final two outs of the inning. Jared Johnson threw a clean sixth and picked up a pair of strikeouts, then Samuel Strickland threw three scoreless innings of relief to finish this game out.

This was another game where the offense didn’t get going at all despite the three runs scored. The GreenJackets managed just four hits, two of them coming from Jeremy Celedonio, with eight walks - though three came from Dawson Dimon. Outside of the Celedonio double and single, a double from EJ Exposito and a single from Ethan Workinger made up all of the Augusta hits. Celedonio and Dimon were joined by Exposito and Bryson Worrell as the players who reached base multiple times.