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It was a full-slated day down on the farm, with a total of eight games played. Braves affiliates came away with wins in five out of the eight total games played so let’s dive into the action.
(47-58) Gwinnett Stripers 5, (50-55) Indianapolis Indians 3
- Luke Williams, LF: 2-5, HR, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Vaughn Grissom, 2B: 2-2, R, 2 BB
- Joe Dunad, 1B: 1-4, 2B, RBI
- Michael Soroka, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 4 BB, 8 K
Gwinnett plated three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to win Friday’s matchup against Indianapolis.
Michael Soroka started the game for the Stripers and despite allowing one run in the first inning, turned in a quality performance. Completing five innings, Soroka allowed four hits, four walks and struck out eight.
While Soroka was dealing on the mound, the Stripers’ offense went to work. Trailing 1-0, Gwinnett finally got on the board in the bottom of the third. Vaughn Grissom worked a one-out walk as Jesus Aguilar singled him to second. After Braden Shewmake flew out, Joe Dunad doubled into center field to plate Grissom, as Aguilar was thrown out at home trying to score on the play to end the inning.
The first lead of the game for Gwinnett came in the bottom of the fifth inning, and it didn’t take long for it to happen. In the first at-bat for the Stripers in the frame, Luke Williams sent the 1-1 pitch over the left center field wall for a solo homer to give Gwinnett the 2-1 lead. However, as Jackson Stephens took over for Soroka in the top of the sixth, Indianapolis would retake the lead, plating two runs off the right-hander to make it 3-2 Indians.
The Stripers wouldn’t score again until their final time up to bat, but they made it count. Shewmake led off the inning with a single into center field before Dunad flew out for the first out of the frame. Shewmake then stole second and third, putting the tying run just 90 feet away. Shewmake then scored on a single off the bat of Joe Hudson to knot the game at 3-3. Magneuris Sierra came on to pinch-run for Hudson and immediately stole second base. Yolmer Sanchez decided to get in on the action and singled into left field, scoring Sierra to give the Stripers the 4-3 lead. Justin Dean then grounded into a force out, and then stole second base. After Luke Williams followed that up with a single, which scored Dean, he also stole second base, giving Gwinnett five stolen bases in the inning which is only the second time an Atlanta Triple-A affiliate has stolen five bases in an inning.
Leading 5-3, Grant Holmes would be called upon to slam the door and would do so, facing just four batters in the top of the ninth inning as Gwinnett won 5-3.
(45-54) Mississippi Braves 5, (52-48) Montgomery Biscuits 3
- Jesse Franklin V, LF: 1-3, HR, 3 RBI
- Cal Conley, 2B: 2-4, RBI
- Tyler Tolve, C: 3-4, 2B, R
- Nolan Kingham, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 K
Mississippi scored in their first and final times up to bat in this one en route to a 5-3 win over Montgomery.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Braves would tally three runs, all off the bat of Jesse Franklin V. Tyler Tolve singled with one out as Luke Waddell followed that up with a single as well to put Tolve in scoring position. After Drew Lugbauer struck out, Franklin sent an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for a three-run homer, giving Mississippi the early lead.
On the mound, Nolan Kingham put up a solid outing, going six innings allowing just two runs despite scattering seven hits. One of those runs came in top of the fourth and the other came in the top of the sixth as Montgomery cut the Mississippi lead to 3-2 temporarily.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Braves got one of those runs back to make it a 4-2 lead. Cody Milligan drew a one-out walk before Tolve singled him to second. Waddell grounded out to advance Milligan to third base which would benefit the Braves as he was later able to score on a wild pitch.
The Biscuits scored a run in the top of the eighth to cut the Braves lead to 4-3. However, Mississippi would bounce right back and get the run back in the bottom of the inning. After Franklin flew out to start off the inning, Cade Bunnell doubled into right field as Cal Conley followed that up with an RBI-single into center field to extend the Braves’ lead to 5-3 which would hold as the final.
(44-55) Rome Braves 3, (52-47) Greenville Drive 5 (Game 1)
- Drake Baldwin, C: 2-4, 2B, R
- David McCabe, 3B 1-3, 2B, RBI
- Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3K
One inning doomed Rome in the first of two games on Friday as they lost by a 5-3 final.
Rome got the scoring started, as Bryson Horne laced a ground ball single back up the middle to plate Bryson Worrell, staking the Braves to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
The Braves added on in the top of the third as David McCabe doubled home Drake Baldwin extended their lead to 2-0.
Starter Cedric De Granpre was solid through the first three innings, allowing just one run as Gerlado Quintero single home Andrew Keck to extend the Rome lead to 3-1 on the night. However, De Grandpre gave up the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, allowing four runs as Greenville took a a 5-3 lead.
Offensively, there wasn’t much going for Rome for the rest of the game despite putting a runner in scoring position in the top of the fifth as they ended up falling by the 5-3 final.
(45-55) Rome Braves 9, (52-48) Greenville Drive 5 (Makeup of Aug. 3)
- KeShawn Ogans, 2B: 3-4, 5 RBI, R
- Ethan Workinger, RF: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
- J.J. Niekro, SP: 2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Things went much better for Rome in game two, as they beat Greenville to split on the day, but it would take a late-inning offensive barrage to get the job done.
The Braves wasted no time scoring in this one as they plated one run in the top of the first. Nacho Alvarez and Geraldo Quintero lace back-to-back one-out singles to get things started on offense. Two batters later, KeShawn Ogans notched his first of five RBI in the game on a two-out single to score Avarez, making it 1-0 Braves.
Rome extended their lead in the top of the third, scoring twice. Alvarez and Quintero single to kick off the frame as David McCabe followed that up with a single of his own to load the bases. Ogans then came through with another single, scoring Alvarez and Quintero to extend the Braves’ lead to 3-0.
On the mound, J.J. Niekro tossed two scoreless innings before the bottom fell out. Niekro allowed the first three batters to reach before Jose Montilla took over, after which the Drive scored five runs as Greenville took the 5-3 lead.
In terms of offense, it was hard to come by leading up until the top of the seventh. Rome scored six times, taking a commanding 9-5 lead that would hold as the final.
Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. doubled to leadoff before Alvarez drew an infield single. Quintero then drew a walk to load the bases as McCabe reached on an error which plated Kilpatrick Jr. to cut the lead to 5-4. Ogans then singled home Alvarez and Quintero to allow Rome to take the 6-5 lead before Ethan Workinger doubled in McCabe and Ogans to extend the lead to 8-5. The final blow from Rome came off the bat of Justin Janas who singled into right field to score Workinger to make it 9-5.
(46-52) Augusta GreenJackets 6, (51-47) Columbia Fireflies 2
- Cam Magee, SS: 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
- Jair Casanova, LF: 2-3, 2B, RBI
- Owen Murphy, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 9 K
Owen Murphy got off to a bit of a rough start for Augusta but battled back quite nicely to help lead the GreenJackets to the win on Friday.
Columbia jumped on the 2022 Braves first-rounder early, sending a solo homer over the wall to take a 1-0 lead. Murphy would settle down after the homer, striking out nine across five total innings to keep the opposition at bay.
Meanwhile at the plate, Augusta scored twice in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-1 lead. In the fourth, both runs came courtesy of a two-run homer off the bat of Cam Magee. Adding on in the fifth, Jace Grady doubled in Nick Clarno to make it 3-1 Augusta. In the very next at-bat, Jacob Godman singled to score Grady, extending the GreenJacket lead to 4-1. In the home half of the sixth, Magee doubled to start before Cody Acton walked. Both Magee and Acton would steal as E.J. Exposito took advantage and drove Magee in on a sac fly to make it 5-1 GreenJackets. After Clarno popped out, Jair Casanova singled to score Acton, extending the lead to 6-1 Augusta.
Columbia would get one run back in the top of the seventh inning , but the Augusta bullpen would stave off a comeback and take the victory.
(21-21) FCL Braves 1, (19-23) FCL Rays 2
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 1-4, 3B, RBI
- Douglas Glod, RF: 1-3
- Riley Frey, SP: 3 IP, BB, K
2023 draftee Isaiah Drake notched his first extra-base hit of his professional career in what was otherwise a disappointing day for the FCL team. As a whole, the Braves tallied just four hits, with Drake’s third inning triple being the lone one hit for extra bases, which gave the Braves the first lead of the game.
Leading 1-0, starter Riley Frey more than did his part keeping the Braves in the game. Across three scoreless innings, Frey held the Rays hitless while issuing just one walk and striking out four batters.
The rest of the pitching staff would also do their part to keep the game close, as 2023 14th-rounder Mitch Farris also spun three innings, but allowed one earned run while striking out three in his pro debut.
Reliever Zack Austin took over for Farris in the top of the seventh, and while he would be tabbed with the loss after allowing one unearned run, he would actually allow just one hit and struck out a pair as the Rays took the game by a 2-1 final.
(7-15) DSL Braves 7, (8-14) DSL A’s 0 (Completion of July 4 Game)
- Roiber Niazoa, 1B: 2-4, 2B
- Carlos Monteverde, DH: 2-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB
- Luis Arestigueta, SP: 3 IP, BB, K
Game one on the day for the DSL squad was the completion of a game from July 4, hence the noticeable difference in records as seen above and in game two below.
Overall, it was a very fruitful first of two games for the DSL Braves on Friday, shutting out the A’s in a 7-0 win.
Neither team plated a run in the first inning, but the Braves broke through in the bottom of the second as Carlos Cordero grounded out to score Josnaider Orellana to make it 1-0. The Braves would break things open in the home half of the third inning, scoring thrice more. Carlos Monteverde walked to leadoff the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch. John Gil followed that up with a walk of his own to put two runners on before the next two Braves flied out. Orellana then singled to load the bases before all three baserunners took advantage of a passed ball and an error as all three scored on one play without the ball even being put in play to extend the lead to 4-0.
The rest of the scoring barrage from the Braves came in the bottom of the sixth as they scored three more times. Orellana led off with a single before Roiber Niazoa doubled him to third. Cordero brought Orellana home on a sac fly to make it 5-0 Braves. After Luis Guanipa was hit by a pitch, John Estevez lined a single into center field, scoring Niazoa to extend the lead to 6-0. Guanipa would score two batters later as Gil singled him in to cap off the 7-0 win.
On the mound, Luis Arestigueta got the start and tossed three scoreless innings, before Rayven Antonio took over and followed up with four scoreless frames of his own. Cristobal Abreu finished off the game with a pair of scoreless innings to give the pitching staff a stellar afternoon.
(12-29) DSL Braves 8, (19-21) DSL A’s (Game 2) 7
- Luis Guanipa, DH: 1-4, 2B, BB
- Michael Baez, C: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, Sac Fly
- John Estevez, LF: 2-4, HR
- Johan Ramos, SP: IP, H, R
It was an all-hands-on-deck kind of game in game two for the DSL Braves as they would need five arms to get through the game in the narrow 8-7 loss in just eight innings.
The A’s scored one unearned run in the bottom of the first inning off of Braves starter Johan Ramos, who would give way to the bullpen after just one frame.
The Braves would actually tie the game as Roiber Niazoa doubled to score Elian Garcia. But the tie game would soon turn lopsided in favor of the A’s.
While Edward Cedano spun one scoreless inning in the second, he would allow four runs and record just one out in the bottom of the third before being pulled in favor of Daury Zapata who would allow an additional run, making it 6-1 A’s.
The Braves actually managed to retie the game, scoring once in the top of the sixth — as John Gil scored on a wild pitch — to make it 6-2 before the team scored four times in the seventh. Michael Baez led off with a line drive homer over the left field fence, making it 6-3 A’s before John Estevez launched a solo homer of his own just two batters later, cutting the lead to 6-4. Junior Garcia later tripled Mario Baez home before Gil singled to score Garcia, knotting the game at 6-6.
Josnaider Orellana started the top of the eighth at second base and soon advanced to third on a wild pitch before Michael Baez brought him home via sac fly, giving the Braves a 7-6 lead headed into the final half inning.
However, the A’s would score twice in the bottom of the eighth, winning the game by a final of 8-7.
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