Braves MILB Recap: Jared Shuster makes Triple A debut

Thursday saw just one win for the Atlanta Braves’ minor league teams, but there were some positives down in the system. A solid Triple A debut by Jared Shuster, Vaughn Grissom continuing to hit Double A pitching, and a few more recent promotions among the standouts.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5, Gwinnett Stripers 0

Box Score

• Alex Dickerson, RF: 1-3, 2B, .705 OPS
• Jared Shuster, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• Jay Jackson, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1.00 ERA

Jared Shuster’s Triple A debut was solid, but he ran into Marlins top prospect Edward Cabrera and the Gwinnett offense just didn’t have much of a chance in this one. Shuster gave up three runs (two earned) in five innings, allowing five hits, two walks and picked up four strikeouts. He allowed a run apiece in each of the first three innings, including a homer, but mostly pitched well. After a scoreless inning from Thomas Burrows, Silvino Bracho and Tyler Ferguson each allowed a run in an inning of work before Jay Jackson struck out the side to finish this game off.

With Edward Cabrera on the mound against them, things were predictably ugly for Gwinnett on Thursday. The Stripers managed just three hits and three walks while being shut out. Alex Dickerson’s double was the only extra base hit, and Ryan Goins and Braden Shewmake each added singles for the other hits.

Mississippi Braves 8, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 5

Box Score

• Vaughn Grissom, SS: 2-4, R, RBI, BB, 2B, SB, 1.006 OPS
• Justin Dean, RF: 2-5, R, 3 RBI, HR, SB, .722 OPS
• Justyn-Henry Malloy, 1B: 2-4, R, BB, .827 OPS

The 8-5 final score doesn’t tell you just how well the Braves pitching staff fared in this one. Allan Winans gave up one run on a hit and a walk over four innings. Hayden Deal followed with two scoreless innings. Then the final 2 2/3 innings saw Troy Bacon and Indigo Diaz allow a run combined. The Pensacola damage came between the two pairs of pitchers as the recently promoted all the way from the FCL Jason Creasy allowed three runs in just a third of an inning.

Offense wasn’t a problem as Mississippi scored eight runs as they cranked out 14 hits and drew seven walks. Vaughn Grissom went 2-for-4 with a walk, double, stolen base, run scored, and RBI as he continues his hot start after being promoted. Justyn-Henry Malloy added two more hits with a walk and scored a run. Justin Dean homered stole a base, and drove in three runs while Drew Lugbauer had two hits, including his 21st homer of the season. As if that’s not enough Cody Milligan had three hits and Trey Harris added two himself. Seven of the nine Mississippi starters had at least one hit, and those seven guys who recorded a hit also all scored a run in the process.

Hickory Crawdads 6, Rome Braves 1

Box Score

• Cade Bunnell, 3B: 1-3, BB, R, RBI, HR, .602 OPS
• Cal Conley, SS: 1-4, 2B, SB, .940 OPS
• Luis De Avila, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 3.72 ERA

Luis De Avila turned in a strong start against a Hickory lineup led by Luisangel Acuna. De Avila allowed three runs (two earned) over six innings and struck out 10. Austin Smith followed and was hit hard for three runs before Ben Dum came in to get the final two outs.

The best way to describe the offense in this one is saying they never showed up. Rome managed a solo homer from Cade Bunnell for all of their scoring, while recording just five combined hits. Beyond the Bunnell homer, Cal Conley and Javier Valdes each had doubles, while Caleb Durbin and Beau Philip accounted for the other two hits for the Braves.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans 8, Augusta GreenJackets 4

Box Score

• Braulio Vasquez, 1B: 2-4, .706 OPS
• Francisco Floyd, SS: 1-3, BB, R, RBI, HR, .821 OPS
• Luis Vargas, SP: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 3.76 ERA

This was another game where looking at the final score doesn’t tell the whole story. Luis Vargas got the start and was solid, giving up a pair of runs on three hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. Up 4-3 going into the top of the ninth, the wheels came off when Rob Griswold allowed five runs to send the GreenJackets to the loss.

The offense was led by a pair of homers, including one by recently promoted shortstop Francisco Floyd as well as Victor De Hoyos. However that was essentially all of the offense, as outside of those solo homers and a pair of hits from singles machine Braulio Vasquez, the Augusta lineup managed just one additional hit on the night. Three Myrtle Beach pitchers combined to strike out 18 GreenJackets.