It was an incredibly busy day down on the farm for Atlanta’s minor league squads, with a total of seven games now in the books. Rome walked things off and Geraldo Quintero had arguably his best game of the season in what were a few of Friday’s highlights.
(34-39) Gwinnett Stripers 0, (32-40) Charlotte Knights 4
- Chadwick Tromp, 1B: 2-3, BB
- Drake Baldwin, C: 1-3, BB
- Luke Waddell, 3B: 1-3, BB
- Darius Vines, SP: 6 IP, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Despite getting a solid performance on the mound from Darius Vines, Gwinnett’s offense couldn’t carry its own weight, losing to Charlotte while being limited to just five hits on the night.
However, things didn’t look so bleak at the plate for the Stripers from the get-go. In the top of the first, Drake Baldwin drew a two-out walk before Chadwick Tromp singled him to second base. Eli White then drew a walk of his own to load the bases, but Alejo Lopez struck out swinging to leave the bases full to end the inning.
Ultimately, the Knights took advantage of the Stripers failure to capitalize and scored two runs in the home half of the first frame. The offensive woes for the Stripers would continue, as Gwinnett managed to put a pair of runners in scoring position but failed to bring them home in the top of the second.
The Knights would tag Vines for an additional run in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 3-0.
At the dish, Gwinnett would put a few runners on from the second inning onward, but constantly failed to put any runs on the board. Meanwhile, in the bottom of the eighth, reliever Brooks Wilson allowed Charlotte to score an insurance run to make it 4-0.
Down to their last at-bat in the top of the ninth, the Stripers would put up a bit of a fight. Chadwick Tromp ledoff with a single and following a pair of strikeouts, Luke Waddell tallied a single of his own. After a wild pitch, Sandy Leon walked to load the bases, but Andrew Velazquez popped out to third base to end the game.
(30-36) Mississippi Braves 7, (39-27) Tennessee Smokies 2
- Geraldo Quintero, 2B: 3-4, HR, 2 2B, RBI, 3 R
- Bryson Worrell, RF: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
- Javier Valdes, DH: 1-4, HR, RBI, R
- Luis De Avila, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Mississippi was one of only two Braves minor league affiliates to come away with a win on Friday, beating Tennessee to reach the 30-win threshold on the season.
The Braves wasted no time scoring, as Justin Dean started things off with a triple and Cal Conley brought him home on a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. That lead would stand until the bottom of the fourth, when the Smokies tied the game by scoring a run off of Mississippi starter Luis De Avila.
Mississippi retook the lead in the next frame, as Geraldo Quintero and Sebastian Rivero notched back-to-back doubles to make it 2-1 Braves. However, De Avila allowed another run in the home half as the Smokies tied things up once again. But that would be the last time things would be tied as Mississippi flipped the offensive switch and ran away with the game.
In the top of the seventh, Quintero homered to give Mississippi the lead back once and for all. After a scoreless eighth, the Braves piled on, scoring four runs. Javier Valdes got in on the action, homering to start the inning, extending the lead to 4-2. Quintero followed that up with his third extra-base-hit of the night — another double — and proceeded to steal third base. After Brandon Parker walked, Bryson Worrell launched a three-run homer over the right center field wall to give Mississippi the 7-2 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Domingo Gonzalez came on to slam the door and struck out the side to close out the win.
(37-28) Rome Emperors 6, (26-41) Greenville Drive 5
- Jace Grady, DH: 1-4, 2 RBI, BB
- Stephen Paolini, RF: 2-3, 3B, RBI, R, BB
- Adam Zebrowski, C: 2-4, RBI, R, BB
- Jhancarlos Lara, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Speaking of minor league squads winning their respective games, Rome won in exciting fashion on Friday, walking it off against Greenville.
Things didn’t start out on a positive note, as Greenville took the first lead of the game. In the top of the second, the Drive notched one run off Rome starter Jhancarlos Lara to take a 1-0 lead. Then, Greenville scored twice more in the top of the fourth, bringing the score to 3-0. All told, Lara’s line at the end of the night featured five innings of three-run ball while striking out four.
The Emperors managed to tie the game in one single swoop in the bottom of the fifth. E.J. Exposito singled before Stephen Paolini tripled him across the plate to make it 3-1. Paolini then scored on a Carlos Arroyo groundout to cut the deficit to 3-2. Sabin Ceballos would single later in the inning before Adam Zebrowski also singled to bring him home and tie the game at 3-3.
The Drive would retake the lead, scoring one run in each of the sixth and seventh innings to take a 5-3 lead.
After their three-run outburst in the fifth, things appeared fairly bleak for the Emperors headed into their final at-bat of the game. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Rome got a little magic in their favor.
Ethan Workinger drew a walk with two gone and Zebrowski singled him to third. Then, Drew Compton singled into right field, but after the Greenville right fielder misplayed the ball, Workinger scored and Zebrowski moved up to third with Compton advancing to second. After Janas replaced Compton as a pinch-runner, Jace Grady singled on a fly ball into center field to score both Janas and Zebrowksi to give Rome the 6-5 lead and the walkoff victory.
(27-39) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (35-32) Salem Red Sox 10
- Joe Olsavsky, 3B: 2-3, R, BB
- Cam Magee, 2B: 1-4, 2B, R, BB
- Adam Maier, SP: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 K
While Augusta held a two-run lead at one point in this one, the GreenJackets were unable to hold onto that lead and ultimately came away with a loss.
In the top of the first Cam Magee singled to start the game and took advantage of a wild pitch to move up to second base before swiping third on a steal. Then, Magee scored on another wild pitch to stake Augusta to a 1-0 lead before starter Adam Maier ever took the mound.
The GreenJackets added on to their lead in the top of the fourth, as Harry Owen singled home Will Verdung to make it 2-0 Augusta.
Meanwhile on the mound, Adam Maier cruised through the first three innings, blanking Salem along the way. But the right hander ran into trouble in the fourth, as the Red Sox tagged him for four runs to take a 4-2 lead. Salem would proceed to tack on two more runs in the fifth, giving them a 6-2 lead while forcing Maier out of the game after 4.1 innings of work.
Kadon Morton came on in relief and unfortunately followed in his predecessor’s footsteps, allowing four more runs while the Red Sox extended their lead to eight runs on the night.
The GreenJackets did manage to get two of those runs back in the top of the eighth inning — on an RBI single from Joe Olavsky and an error of the bat of Jeremy Celedonio — to make it 10-4. It would be too little, too late, however, as the GreenJackets ultimately fell.
(8-23) FCL Braves 4, (20-12) FCL Rays 8 (GAME ONE)
- Alexander Martinez, C: 1-3, 2B, BB
- Wilmer De La Cruz, 2B: 1-3, RBI, BB
- John Estevez, RF: 1-2, R, 2 BB
- Jhonly Taveras, SP: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, K
A late comeback attempt wasn’t enough to propel the FCL Braves to a win as the squad lost game one in the first of two games on the day against the FCL Rays.
Things appeared to get off on a positive note for the Braves as Mario Baez, John Estevez and Douglas Glod drew three consecutive walks to load the bases. However, Alexander Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Meanwhile, starter Jhonly Taveras only lasted 1.2 innings for the Braves and in those frames, he scattered four hits, walked four and allowed four runs as the Rays jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. The Rays added another run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-0.
The Braves finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three runs to cut the deficit to 5-3, all while only tallying one hit in the inning. Elian Garcia walked to start the frame and proceeded to steal second base before Baez notched an infield single to put runners on first and second. A wild pitch moved both runners up prior to Estevez walking to load the bases. Then, another wild pitch allowed Garcia to score to make it 5-1. Later in the inning — with the bases still juiced — Angel Nieblas drew a bases-loaded walk of his own to plate Baez to make it 5-2. Wilmer De La Cruz followed that up with — you guessed it — another walk to score Estevez.
The Braves cut the Rays’ lead down further, scoring once in the top of the sixth as John Gil crossed the plate on a throwing error to make it 5-4. However, while the Rays tacked on three more runs to their tally in the bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 8-4 on the day which would hold as the final in game one.
(8-24) FCL Braves 2, (21-12) FCL Rays 4 (GAME TWO)
- John Estevez, CF: 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI
- John Gil, DH: 1-3, 2B, R
- Rayven Antonio, SP: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K
Things didn’t go much better for the Braves in game two, as they once again lost to be swept on the day.
The Rays plated one run off Braves starter Rayven Antonio in the top of the first inning to give themselves a 1-0 lead. However, the FCL Braves finally took their first lead of the day in the bottom of the third, when they scored twice to mount a 2-1 lead.
Alen Pineda ledoff with a walk and two batters later, John Gil doubled him to third. Then, John Estevez tripled home both Pineda and Gil to give the Braves the advantage. With Estevez at third, Douglas Glod struck out looking to end the inning.
That lead did not last long, as the Rays tied the game in the top of the fourth, scoring once, and eventually retook the lead in the top of the fifth, bringing home a pair of runners to give them a 4-2 lead.
While the Braves notched a two-out single by Carlos Cordero in the bottom of the seventh inning, that would be the only offense the team would get in the final three innings as they ultimately fell in game two.
(4-8) DSL Braves 0, (8-5) DSL Blue Jays 9
- Carlos Monteverde, 1B: 1-3
- Sebastian Estiven, SP: 1 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, K
If the 9-0 score wasn’t a good enough indication of how Friday’s contest went for the Braves’ DSL squad, the offense was limited to just three hits on the day while starter Sebastian Estiven was knocked around for eight runs in just one inning of work.
Estiven managed to get through the first inning allowing just one run, but the wheels came off in the second frame as the 22-year-old righthander allowed seven earned runs, bringing his total tally allowed on the day to eight. The DSL Blue Jays squad tagged the Braves for an additional run in the top of the fourth to make it a 9-0 game.
That would prove to be more than enough to keep the Braves at bay, as the offense registered just three hits in the shutout loss, dropping the team to a 4-8 on the year thus far.
