Braves MILB Recap: Ozzie Albies begins rehab assignment in Gwinnett

Thursday was a tough day on the farm as the Atlanta Braves system got swept and the offense really struggled to get going across all levels. On the positive side we saw Ozzie Albies continue his rehab assignment, Keshawn Ogans had a good debut in High-A, and we saw Nacho Alvarez play another game at short.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 3, Gwinnett Stripers 1

Box Score

• Ozzie Albies, DH: 0-4
• Rylan Bannon, 2B: 2-4, RBI, .795 OPS
• Ian Anderson, SP: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Ian Anderson got the start and made it one out shy of six innings. Anderson gave up three runs (two earned) with a walk and five strikeouts, but was a little too hittable giving up nine hits on the night. After Anderson the pen shut down the Jumbo Shrimp with Victor Vodnik, Odalvi Javier and Jesus Cruz closing things out. The bullpen allowed just two hits and two walks without allowing any additonal runs home over the final 3 1/3 innings.

On the hitting side, Ozzie Albies began his rehab assignment by going 0-for-4 with a strikeout on a night without much offense, as Gwinnett combined for just five hits and one walk. Rylan Bannon singled twice and picked up the lone RBI, while the lone extra base hit was an Alex Dickerson double. Tyler White and Delino DeShields Jr (who scored the only run) had the rest of the Stripers’ hits.

Tennessee Smokies 7, Mississippi Braves 1

Box Score

• Jalen Miller, 2B: 2-4, 2B, BB, .721 OPS
• Tanner Gordon, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 5.50 ERA
• Indigo Diaz, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 3.22 ERA

Despite the ugly final score Tanner Gordon turned in a fine start on Thursday, giving up just one run on three hits and two walks over five innings while striking out six. The bullpen was what made this one a blowout, as AJ Puckett and Hayden Deal each gave up three runs over an inning of work, putting this one out of reach. Indigo Diaz pitched a solid inning with a pair of strikeouts once this was already out of hand, and Jason Creasy also threw a scoreless frame.

Like Gwinnett the Mississippi offense didn’t do much. They combined for six hits and seven walks, with Jalen Miller leading the way by going 2-for-4 with a walk and a double.

Greenville Drive 4, Rome Braves 1

Box Score

• Keshawn Ogans, SS: 1-3
• Jacob Pearson, RF: 2-4, 2B, R, .725 OPS
• Ian Mejia, SP: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

With 11th round pick Ian Mejia on the bump this turned into a bullpen game due to his limited workload. Mejia was a mixed bag, going 2 2/3 innings while giving up a pair of runs on four hits and a walk, but five of the eight outs he recorded came via strikeout. Rolddy Munoz followed and allowed a run and struck out four in 2 1/3 innings. After a clean inning by Alec Barger, Ben Dum allowed a run in his inning of work, and then Isrrael De La Cruz went the final two scoreless,, picking up five strikeouts.

Jacob Pearson had two hits, including a double and scored the lone run for Rome. Making his High-A debut, recent draft pick Keshawn Ogans went 1-for-3 at the plate, hitting out of the two hole. Brandol Mezquita had a single and drove in Rome’s only run of the game. .

Salem Red Sox 10, Augusta GreenJackets 5

Box Score

• David McCabe, 3B: 1-5, R, 2 RBI
• Mahki Backstrom, DH: 1-4, R, .747 OPS
• Nacho Alvarez, SS: 0-3, R, 2 BB

Augusta went with a bullpen game with Landon Leach allowing one run over three innings. Things got ugly from there as Rainiery Rodriguez allowed five runs over four innings. Darling Florentino allowed three more in his inning of work. Malcolm Van Buren allowed the final run during his inning in the ninth.

Augusta may have scored five runs, but this was yet another example of the lack of offense on Thursday night as they managed just three hits. Nine walks and a pair of Salem errors helped the Jackets plate five runs. David McCabe went 1-for-5 at the plate, but scored a run and knocked in two. Mahki Backstrom and Justin Janas both had hits, while Janas also plated a run. The most notable thing about the lineup was Nacho Alvarez playing shortstop again while going hitless with a pair of walks and scoring a run.