Tuesday was sort of a blah day for the Braves and its minor league system. Atlanta blew a two-run lead against Toronto at home, Mississippi was rained out, and only one of the remaining three farm clubs managed a win. In fact, after numerous home runs hit by all four Braves minor league clubs in Week 1, not a single long ball was hit yesterday.
Here are the recaps from Tuesday’s action…
AAA – Gwinnett Stripers (5-2)
L, 4-0 vs. Louisville
- SP, K. Wright – (L), 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
- LF, D. Waters – 2 for 4, SB
- Bullpen – 4 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Gwinnett ran into some strong pitching in their series opener against Louisville on Tuesday as the Bats pitchers combined for just three hits allowed and nine strikeouts in nine scoreless innings. Drew Waters’ two hits, plus a single by Orlando Arcia, was all the Stripers could manage in their 2021 home opener.
Kyle Wright works hard in the 2nd and 3rd after a slow start in the first inning.
Wright has knocked down 6 straight in consecutive innings! pic.twitter.com/TcjpQkssFh
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) May 11, 2021
Making his second start of 2021 for Gwinnett, Kyle Wright’s outing on Tuesday got interesting right from the start. After working around a single, a flyout, and a walk against the first three batters in the 1st inning, Wright then allowed three straight hits (single, double, single) that resulted in a quick 3-0 deficit for the Stripers. The 25-year-old righty eventually settled down, facing only the minimum in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, including a pair of strikeouts. However, a rough 4th inning pushed Wright’s pitch count up, and following a solid 5th, his day was over at 89 pitches (56 strikes).
https://twitter.com/GoStripers/status/1392324895061815304?s=19
The storyline from Tuesday’s Gwinnett game was its bullpen and the good work by Atlanta’s Chris Martin, who pitched the 8th inning and allowed one hit with two strikeouts. Considering Tuesday was Martin’s third appearance for the Stripers and the fact he looked sharp, it’s probably safe to say he’ll be activated from the IL as early as Wednesday.
Jasseel De La Cruz (IP, K), Victor Arano (IP, 2 H, 2 K), and Thomas Burrows (IP, H, ER, 2 BB) also made appearances out of Gwinnett’s bullpen.
AA – Mississippi Braves (2-4)
PPD vs. Biloxi
The M-Braves series opener versus Biloxi was postponed on Tuesday due to wet grounds. The two teams will make up the game by playing a doubleheader on Friday.
A+ – Rome Braves (5-2)
W, 8-2 vs. Greensboro
- SP, A. Puckett – 4 ⅓ IP, H, 3 BB, 2 K
- 1B, B. Ball – 2 for 3, 2B, 4 RBI
- CF, M. Harris – 2 for 5, 2B, RBI
The expected contributors on offense were at it again for Rome on Tuesday. In the 3rd inning, with the Braves already up 1-0 with one out and Riley Delgado at first after a walk, Michael Harris came to the plate and singled to center to put runners on the corners. Next up, slugger Bryce Ball slapped a line-drive double to right to score both Delgado and Harris, putting Rome up by three. In the 5th, Ball struck once more when he (again) knocked in Delgado with an RBI single to make it 4-0.
The Braves also rallied in the 6th inning. Jesse Franklin — who stole two bases in this one — led off the frame with a line-drive single, stole second, and then was brought in by a Shean Michel sac-fly to right.
Greensboro hit back-to-back home runs in their half of the 6th, but Rome’s offense wasn’t finished…
In the final inning, the Braves sent seven batters to the plate, and after back-to-back singles to lead off the frame, Rome tallied three consecutive RBI thanks to Harris (RBI double), Ball (sac-fly), and Logan Brown (RBI double). Speaking of Brown, the Braves catcher committed catcher interference twice in this one as part of Rome’s three errors as a team.
Former 2nd round pick (by the Royals in 2016), righty A.J. Puckett got the start Tuesday for Rome, and as you can see by his line, the 25-year-old was pitching to contact throughout the entire outing. Puckett worked a clean 1st featuring all batted-ball outs before pitching around a walk and one of those aforementioned catcher interferences by Brown. The 3rd included more groundouts and flyouts, to also go with a fielding error and a double. Puckett went three up-and-three down in the 4th frame, but in the 5th, his outing unraveled as he walked the lead-off batter, then hit a batter and walked another before getting his second and final strikeout… and the hook.
Relievers Lisandro Santos and Tanner Gordon finished Tuesday’s game, with Santos earning the win despite allowing those two homers by Greensboro in the 6th inning. Gordon allowed two hits and walked two while pitching the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, notching the save.
A – Augusta GreenJackets (3-4)
L, 4-2 vs. Myrtle Beach
- SP, A. Barger – 4 ⅔ IP, 3 H, R, 3 BB, 6 K
- 3B, V. Grissom – 1 for 4, RBI
- CF, S. Paolini – 2 for 4, 2B, R
The GreenJackets spoiled a 2-1 lead as Myrtle Beach tallied three runs in the 8th inning to hand Augusta its fourth loss of the 2021 season.
The Braves newest affiliate got to work quickly in this one. Following a lead-off double by Stephen Paolini, Vaugn Grissom poked a grounder to second for the first out, though it didn’t stop Paolini from scoring the first run to give Augusta a 1-0 advantage in the 1st. After the Pelicans answered with a run of their own in 3rd, the GreenJackets’ Bryson Horne came to the plate in the 4th inning and knocked in Landon Stephens with a line-drive RBI single to give Augusta a 2-1 lead; however, that was all the scoring the GreenJackets could muster as they finished the game just 1 for 8 with RISP.
One of Augusta’s top arms, Alec Barger, took the bump on Tuesday, and his 68-pitch outing was certainly strong enough to earn him a win. Barger’s only real stressful inning was in the 3rd when he walked the lead-off batter and then allowed a single, although he bounced back and got the next three batters out. That sequence in the 3rd frame was the only time Myrtle Beach could get two-straight batters on base in a single inning during Barger’s start, as the righty had plenty of swing and miss in this one.
Relievers Gabriel Rodriguez, Estarlin Rodriguez, and Benjamin Dum pitched the final 3 ⅓ innings for Augusta, combining to allow three runs from two hits to go with seven strikeouts. The loss went to Estarlin Rodriguez (2 ER), and the blown save was charged to Dum (ER).
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Wednesday’s MiLB slate (May 12)
Louisville @ Gwinnett – 7:05 PM
Mississippi @ Biloxi – 7:35 PM
Rome @ Greensboro – 12:00 PM / SP, Ricky DeVito
Augusta @ Myrtle Beach – 7:05 PM / SP, Darius Vines
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