The Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates had their fair share of struggles scoring runs on Tuesday night as across three games they combined to score just 6 runs. However, despite allowing a cumulative total of 13, they were able to pick up one win on the day, thanks to a gem by J.J. Niekro.
(6-4) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (6-4) Omaha Storm Chasers 10
- Sandy Leon 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
- Phillips Evans 1-3 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- Huscar Ynoa 1 ⅔ IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 K
Leon and Evans had great nights as highlighted above, the rest of the Stripers offense, not so much. Eli White got lifted after one at bat with what is a presumed injury and five different Stripers hitters failed to reach base. When the Stripers offense did get clicking and get runners in scoring position, they went a collective 0 for 9, a stat line you can’t do much worse than. In addition to their struggles at the plate they also made some outs on the bases with JP Martinez getting picked off and caught stealing.
Saying Huscar Ynoa struggled would be putting it mildly. After a strong outing last week where he threw four shutout innings, he fell apart in the second inning yesterday. The righty allowed seven of the nine batters he faced in the frame to reach base safely, resulting in six runs against. Taylor Widener, who relieved Ynoa also had his fair share of struggles allowing four runs across 3 ⅓ innings in relief of the starter.
(1-3) Mississippi Braves 2, (2-2) Biloxi Shuckers 0 F/8
- Justin Dean 2-3, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB
- Cal Conley, 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB
- J.J. Niekro 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5K
The bats for the Braves never really woke up as they picked up just five base knocks, but it was enough to scratch across two runs. Outside of Dean and Conley, Braves hitters combined to go 1 for 17 with 9 strikeouts. Dean, Conley and Geraldo Quintero did prove to be dangerous on the base paths as each of them picked up a stolen base with Dean stealing third. Mississippi did make the most of their opportunities as well with runners in scoring position going 2 for 6. Tyler Tolve’s early season struggles continued last night with his 0 for 3 dropping his batting average to .077.
Niekro spun a gem against the Shuckers, where he filled up the strike zone landing 52 of his 75 pitches for strikes whilst only allowing 4 of the 22 batters he faced to reach safely. The only time Niekro allowed a base runner to reach scoring position was in the third inning where he had runners on first and second before striking out Brock Wilken to end the frame. After Niekro, was Jonathan Hughes who pitched the final inning of the game where he allowed just one to reach against him. Hughes did flirt with some danger though as he threw 10 balls compared to 9 strikes and had to record two outs with a man in scoring position.
(2-2) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (2-2) Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3
- Isaiah Drake 1-4, 1 K
- Diego Benitez 2-4, 1 RBI, 2 K
- Cade Kuehler 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Despite picking up 7 hits, 3 more than the Cannon Ballers, the GreenJackets scratched across a single run which came in the 8th. Their struggles can largely be attributed to the fact that they struck out a whopping 14 times with Jace Grady being the only GreenJacket to not be retired via the K. Despite it being only three games in, Benitez’s 2-4 day brought his early season batting average to a healthy .364.
The GreenJackets posted seven, yes you read that right, seven fielding errors last night. Starting pitcher Cade Kuehler had to pitch around four errors on the night, with three of those coming via Benitez throwing errors to start the first, second and third innings. Despite the heaping of errors behind him, Kuehler was able to limit the damage as he allowed just two Cannon Ballers to reach home, but unfortunately, that was enough to saddle him with an undeserved loss.
