Braves Minor League Recap: Spencer Schwellenbach tosses five scoreless innings for Rome

Spencer Schwellenbach dazzled for Rome on Wednesday, while Kyle Wright struggled in his second rehab start as he looks to make his return to the majors. Meanwhile, Augusta’s game was cancelled due to weather as Mississippi brought home the lone win on the day.

(58-67) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (62-65) Memphis Redbirds 6

• Forrest Wall, LF: 2-4, R
• Jesus Aguilar, DH: 1-4, RBI
• Braden Shewmake, 2B: 1-3
• Kyle Wright, SP: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, K

Box Score

Kyle Wright wasn’t as sharp in his second rehab start as he makes his way back from injury. Wright failed to get out of the second inning, as he allowed three runs on three hits, as Memphis took a 3-0 lead while Wright exited with two gone in the bottom of the second inning. Lucas Luetge would take over for the righthander and wouldn’t perform much better, allowing three runs of his own as Memphis tacked on three more runs to give them a 6-0 lead.

At the plate, it was just as much of a struggle for Gwinnett as the offense was able to scrape together just three hits through the first seven frames.

The Stripers finally got on the board in the top of the eighth inning. Joe Hudson walked before moving up to second on a groundout. Hudson advanced to third on a Forrest Wall single as two batters later, Jesus Aguilar singled into left field to score Hudson, making it a 6-1 Memphis lead.

The Redbirds got that run back rather quickly, as Striper reliever Dylan Dodd allowed one run as Memphis extended their lead to 7-1 which would hold as the final a Gwinnett fell without putting up much of a fight in this one.

(53-68) Mississippi Braves 3, (55-67) Rocket City Trash Pandas 2

• Cal Conley, 2B: 2-4, 2B, R
• Bryson Horne, DH: 2-4
• Jesse Franklin V, 1-4, RBI
• Daniel Martinez, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

Box Score

Mississippi pitchers were on their A-game on Wednesday night, striking out a whopping 18 Trash Pandas in the narrow, one-run victory.

While the overall numbers were excellent, things got off to a rocky start for the Braves. After tossing a scoreless first inning — striking out the side — Mississippi starter Daniel Martinez allowed one run in both the second and third innings, as Rocket City took a 2-0 lead.

Martinez settled down after that, tossing two scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth, while striking out nine total batters in what turned out to be a quality start.

Trey Riley took over for Martinez in the top of the sixth, and despite walking the bases loaded, struck out the side, giving himself a scoreless inning.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi offense was nowhere to be found through the first five innings. They finally got on the board in the home half of the sixth. Cade Bunnell drew a leadoff walk and two batters later, Bryson Horne singled. Hendrik Clementina walked to load the bases and with Landon Stephens at the dish, Bunnell scored on a balk to cut the deficit in half as Mississippi now trailed 2-1.

In the top of the seventh, Domingo Gonzalez took over for Riley and notched two strikeouts of his own, holding Rocket City scoreless in the inning. In the home half, the Braves finally tied things up. Conley led off with a double, before Jesse Franklin V laced a one-out single into center field to plate Conley, tying the game at 2-2.

Gonzalez would tally two more strikeouts in the top of the eighth, keeping the game tied. In the bottom of the inning, Clementina notched a one-out single and subsequently advanced to second on a wild pitch. He later advanced to third on a single off the bat of Cody MIlligan before scoring on a wild pitch, giving Mississippi their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Tyler Owens would be called on to slam the door shut, and would do so while notching strikeouts 17 and 18 on the night to give the Braves the win.

(59-63) Rome Braves 1, (58-59) Winston-Salem Dash 2

• Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., CF: 2-4, 2B, 3B
• Ethan Workinger, RF: 1-4, 2B
• Spencer Schwellenbach, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 5 K

Box Score

Rome got a stellar start from Spencer Schwellenbach, but it proved to not be enough as the offense mustered just one run on six hits in the loss.

On the mound, Schwellenbach tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five. With the performance, the 23-year-old lowered his ERA to 3.52 at High-A.

At the plate, the Braves managed just four hits through the first seven innings.

Winston-Salem took the first lead of the game in the home half of the seventh inning, as Rome reliever Shay Shanaman allowed two runs (one earned) in 1.1 innings of work.

The Braves were able to cut the lead in half in the following frame, scoring one run in the top of the eighth. Kadon Morton drew a one-out walk before Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. doubled him to third. In the next at-bat, Nacho Alvarez grounded out, allowing Morton to score to make it 2-1.

The Braves had a chance to tie the game in the top of the ninth as they loaded the bases with nobody out. However, Adam Zebrowski and Ethan Workinger struckout before Morton flew out to end the game.

(55-65) Augusta GreenJackets, (53-65) Salem Red Sox (POSTPONED)

Due to Hurricane Idalia making its way onto land, Augusta’s game was postponed and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday.