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Sunday saw a clean sweep for the minor league teams in the Atlanta Braves organization, as all four teams in action posted wins. The biggest headlines of the day would be a pair of pitchers taken in the 2023 MLB Draft pitching very well as Lucas Braun struck out eight and Garrett Baumann allowed just one run in six and two thirds innings. We also got to witness EJ Exposito continue his assault on High-A pitching as he launched his eighth homer of the season in just 23 games – already tying the eight he hit in 110 games for Low-A Augusta last season.
Gwinnett Stripers 6, Charlotte Knights 4
- Bryson Worrell, LF: 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
- AJ Smith-Shawver, SP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 5.96 ERA
- Daysbel Hernandez, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1.76 ERA
AJ Smith-Shawver got the ball on Sunday, and unfortunately didn’t have his best command. AJSS got one out shy of four innings, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three. He threw 39 of his 72 pitches for strikes against the 33 balls as he spent the afternoon battling his command. He did however have his stuff and was able to collect a bunch of swing and misses. After AJSS the bullpen was excellent the rest of the way, not only allowing no further runs to score, but also not allowing any additional base hits. An inning and a third from Brian Moran, one from Patrick Halligan, two from Daysbel Hernandez, and the final one from Ken Giles allowed the Stripers to rally in the bottom of the ninth to come back and win this game.
In just his second Triple-A game Bryson Worrell was the star on Sunday. Worrell went two for four with a double, two runs scored, and two batted in to go with a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Outside of Worrell’s big game it was a balanced attack as the only other Striper to reach base more than once was Yuli Gurriel, who was two for four with a double of his own. Seven of the nine starters went on to record a base hit, and eight of the nine reached base safely.
Mississippi Braves 3, Rocket City Trash Pandas 1
- Nacho Alvarez, SS: 1-3, HBP, .275/.388/.321
- Drake Baldwin, C: 1-3, RBI, .236/.303/.292
- Drew Parrish, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.47 ERA
Drew Parrish picked up the win with five shutout innings to start the game, allowing just two hits and no walks and needing just 64 pitches to get through five. Domingo Gonzalez followed and allowed the lone Trash Panda run over a pair of relief innings. Jake McSteen and Hayden Harris each made it one scoreless frame, and the four pitchers combined to allow the one run on four hits and one walk as they shut down Rocket City’s offense.
The offense did just enough to pick up the win behind great pitching. Cade Bunnell doubled and five other Braves collected a single to account for all of the base hits on the way to scoring the three runs. Nacho Alvarez reached base a pair of times between having one of those singles and being hit by a pitch, and Drake Baldwin singled and batted in a run in the win.
Rome Emperors 8, Brooklyn Cyclones 2
- EJ Exposito, SS: 2-3, HR, RBI 2 R, BB, .298/.375/.667
- Stephen Paolini, RF: 2-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI, .220/.337/.341
- Lucas Braun, SP: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 6.35 ERA
- Jared Johnson, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.60 ERA
Lucas Braun got the start and turned in a strong outing, going one out shy of six complete innings and giving up a pair of runs on five hits and no walks. Braun also struck out a season high eight batters. Chad Bryant followed and went the next two and a third innings without giving up a run and adding three more strikeouts before Jared Johnson came in and struck out the side in the ninth inning. Combined the three pitchers gave up the two runs on six hits and two walks, and they also struck out 14 Brooklyn hitters in the process.
The Rome offense was led by four guys on Sunday as the quartet all filled up the boxscore. EJ Exposito is probably the headliner as he was two for three with a walk and crushed his eighth homer of the season already. Stephen Paolini was two for four with a double, and picked up three runs batted in of his own. Nick Clarno was one for one with three walks, a stolen base, and two batted in. Finally Kevin Kilpatrick was two for five with a pair of stolen bases and a run scored. Those four really led the offense in a game where eight of the nine starters went on to reach base.
Augusta GreenJackets 2, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 1
- Jace Grady, RF: 2-3, BB, RBI, .284/.368/.450
- Diego Benitez, DH: 2-3, BB, .136/.233/.194
- Garrett Baumann, SP: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 2.18 ERA
Garrett Baumann got the start and the young righty had an excellent afternoon. Baumann went six and two thirds while allowing one run on seven hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts. This continues the great start to Baumann’s first full professional season, as he’s now 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA and 0.94 WHIP through 33 innings. William Silva relieved Baumann and didn’t allow any runs in an inning and a third, and then Giomar Diaz pitched a scoreless frame to pick up the save.
The Augusta offense struggled to get much going in this one outside of three players. The team combined for nine hits and three walks, but the trio went for six of the nine hits and all three walks. Jace Grady, Diego Benitez, and Pier-Olivier Boucher were each two for three with a walk – all of those hits being singles, except for a Boucher double. The only other extra base hit came as a double from the bat of Joe Olsavsky.
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