(59-62) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (57-62) Louisville Bats 1
- Nacho Alvarez Jr., SS: 1-for-4, RBI, K, .292/.408/.481
- Drake Baldwin, C: 0-for-4, .304/.422/.481
- Justin Dean, RF: 2-for-3, R, BB, 3 SB, .258/.390/.355
- Brian Anderson, 1B: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, .200/.317/.257
- Yuli Gurriel, 3B: 0-for-3, BB, .297/.364/.490
- Bryce Elder, P: 8.1IP 7H 1ER 0BB 5K, 3.58 ERA
Bryce Elder turned in an absolute gem for the Stripers — limiting the poorly named Bats to just seven hits (with one extra-base hit) and zero walks over 8.1 innings of work. Bryce was pretty efficient as he only needed 95 pitches to go through those 8.1 innings and induced a pair of double plays to get out of some trouble. Other than some light traffic, Elder cruised while generating 12 ground balls with a majority (of course) coming via his sinking fastball. He was followed by Tommy Doyle, who needed just 10 pitches himself to retire the final two hitters of the game and preserve the win for the Stripers in a game that lasted just over two hours (2:08).
Offensively, a majority of the damage came from the bottom of the lineup but the first run of the game came in the third inning when Justin Dean singled, stole second, and then took third on a throwing error to setup a runner on third with two outs for Nacho Alvarez. Nacho took advantage, singling to straightaway center and putting the Stripers up 1-0. The Bats would respond in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game, but it was Brian Anderson who hit his first homer for the Stripers in the fifth inning to re-take the lead 3-1.
(54-59) Mississippi Braves 2, (36-77) Chattanooga Lookouts 3
- Lucas Braun, P: 6.2IP 5H 1ER 1BB 10K, 2.67 ERA
- Ethan Workinger, LF: 3-for-4, 2B, RBI, .279/.319/.395
- David McCabe, DH: 0-for-1, 3 BB, .140/.315/.209
Mississippi went up early in this one, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first thanks to an Ethan Workinger ground-rule double that scored David Fletcher and a Cody Milligan ground out in the first put the Braves up 2-0. They would collect just six more hits after the first, with three of the eight total hits being by Ethan Workinger.
Lucas, making his ninth start in Double-A, dazzled — striking out 10 over 6.2 innings of work. Lucas recorded eight strikeouts through the games first four innings itself.
Other than his 10 strikeouts, Lucas also generated five groundouts and overall is having one of the best years amongst Braves prospects across the entire organization. Elison Joseph, having a solid year for himself, came in and pitched decently well. He walked a pair but also struck out three, including this one with a pair of runners on base.
With the game in Mississippi’s fortune heading into the bottom of the ninth, Rolddy Munoz had a night to forget as he walked three batters and gave up two hits in a disastrous ninth inning. This allowed the Lookouts to add a couple of runs and swing the game in their favor — ultimately giving them the win at 3-2. Former Braves prospect Patrick Weigel worked an eight pitch bottom of the ninth to pick up the save for the Lookouts.
(56-55) Rome Emperors 3, (55-60) Greenville Drive 4
- Drew Compton, 1B: 1-for-4, R, .260/.364/.373
- Jace Grady, RF: 1-for-3, BB, RBI, .203/.316/.305
- Riley Frey, P: 5IP 5H 3ER 2BB 4K, 2.39 ERA
Rome dropped a close one on the road against the Greenville Drive last night. The Rome offense had its chances despite collecting just five hits (all singles) because they did draw five walks — however they would go just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Rome found themselves down in the bottom of the first after Rome starting pitcher Riley Frey gave up a two run homer to Ronald Rosario to put the Drive up 2-0. They would tack on another run (Riley’s final run) in the bottom of the third courtesy of a solo shot by Bryan Gonzalez.
Rome would respond in the top of the sixth when E.J. Exposito grounded into a double play with runners on first and third, scoring Drew Compton and closing the deficit to 3-1. They would then tack on another pair of runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Jace Grady, and a run scoring single by E.J. Exposito to tie the game at 3 each.
Unfortunately, Giomar Diaz would surrender a run in the bottom half of the seventh which swung the game back into the favor of the Drive at 4-3 — which would end up being the final score.
(40-71) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (68-45) Carolina Mudcats 5
- Luis Guanipa, CF: 2-for-5, R, SB, .178/.237/.200
- John Gil, SS: 1-for-4, BB, R, .229/.305/.301
- Patrick Clohisy, LF: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R, .286/.381/.343
- Titus Dumitru, DH: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, .212/.297/.242
- Garrett Baumann, P: 4.0IP 5H 3ER 1BB 5K, 3.65 ERA
The GreenJackets got off to a super quick start in this game, scoring two in the first inning with the first one coming on a Titus Dumitru single that scored Luis Guanipa who had earlier singled and stole second base. Titus would take second on the throw home, which would then setup Will Verdung who would single Titus in to give the GreenJackets a two run lead. The lead would not last long as the Mudcats would answer with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second to swing the game back in their favor at 3-2.
The game would remain at a stalemate for the next three innings where the GreenJackets pitching staff would face the minimum but would finally falter in the bottom of the sixth. That was when Reibyn Corona would give up a pair of earned runs, extending the Mudcats lead to 5-2. The GreenJackets would then have a response of their own in the 8th inning when Patrick Clohisy singled in John Gil to make the game 5-3 with runners on second and third. Titus Dumitru would once again come through, this time singling to the second baseman, allowing Junior Garcia to score and make the game 5-4 with two runners on and just one out. Unfortunately, not long after Vill Verdung would ground into a double play — ending the threat and keeping the Mudcats up a run.
After blanking the Mudcats in the bottom half of the inning, the GreenJackets would threaten in the top of the ninth when Harry Owen hit a single with two outs to keep the game alive. Luis Guanipa followed it up with a single of his own, giving Augusta a chance to complete the comeback but John Gil would strikeout to end the game.
