It was a chock-full slate down on the farm with six games, including a pair of doubleheaders. There were also plenty of individual performances that stood out, so let’s dive in.
(60-60) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (55-65) Durham Bulls 4
- Lizandro Espinoza, CF: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Brett Wisely, SS: 2-3, R
- Herick Hernandez, SP: 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, BB, 4 K
Box Score
Game one didn’t go the way Gwinnett hoped it would, as the Stripers fell by a 4-2 final to drop to .500 on the season in what has been a somewhat prolonged skid for the club.
Herick Hernandez got the start and got hit around pretty heavily — limiting the lefty to just two innings of work. In those two frames, Durham
tagged Hernandez for four runs on five hits — including one double, triple and a homer each.
On the one hand, the fact he allowed three extra-base hits in two innings isn’t great, but Hernandez still managed to strikeout four batters and only walked one. The main ding against Hernandez has been his command, and for someone who was rumored to be on the cusp of a big league call-up in the near future, all he needs to do is continue to keep his command in check and bounce back in his next start and Atlanta could be calling soon.
Meanwhile at the plate, runs were difficult to come by for the Stripers. Despite getting seven hits, Gwinnett only managed a pair of runs in the first game of their doubleheader.
Those two runs came courtesy of Lisandro Espinoza as he launched not only his first career triple-A hit, but his first long ball as well.
As Brett Wisely stood on second base, Espinoza launched the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the sixth over the left field wall for a two-run shot to cut the Gwinnett deficit in half at 4-2.
While Elieser Hernandez, Hayden Harris and Joel Payamps managed to string together five scoreless innings out of the bullpen, their offense couldn’t put any additional offense together as Gwinnett was handed the loss.
(61-60) Gwinnett Stripers 7, (55-66) Durham Bulls 0 (GAME TWO)
- Rowdy Tellez, 1B: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Patrick Clohisy, CF: 1-1, RBI, 3 R, 2 BB
- Brett Wisely, SS: 1-3, 2 RBI
- Bailey Falter, SP: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Box Score
While game one was a disappointment, game two was a much different state of affairs for the Stripers who won in shutout fashion.
Bailey Falter got the start and while he only spun two innings, he managed to keep the Bulls off the board while limiting the opposition to just two hits and striking out a pair.
The real momentum shift in game two was the offense, as Gwinnett broke out for seven runs on eight hits.
Rowdy Tellez got the scoring started with an RBI-single in the first inning to plate Patrick Clohisy, as Clohisy came through in the second inning with an RBI-single of his own to score Jose Azocar to make it a 2-0 game.
Perhaps the most exciting play of the game came in the bottom of the fourth as Brewer Hicklen singled home Clohisy to make it a 3-0 game. But it wasn’t Hicklen’s hit that turned heads, it was Clohisy’s baserunning as he miraculously avoided a tag, scoring from third on the play.
Leading 3-0, Tellez came through once again in the bottom of the fourth, this time launching a two-run homer to extend the Gwinnett advantage to 5-0.
Brett Wisely capped off the scoring for Gwinnett in the sixth, lacing a two-RBI double into right field to plate Luke Williams and Clohisy — giving the latter three runs scored on the night as the Stripers got back to over .500 in game two.
(54-57) Columbus Clingstones 6, (61-55) Montgomery Biscuits 0
- Adam Zebrowski, C: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB
- Carson Taylor, DH: 1-4, HR, 4 RBI, R
- Owen Carey, RF: 2-2, 2 R, 2 BB
- Brett Sears, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, BB, 8 K
Box Score
Columbus tallied the second shutout of the night for Atlanta’s farm systems, beating Montgomery by a 6-0 final on Wednesday behind a stellar start for Brett Sears who continues to see his stock skyrocket as a prospect.
Across six innings, Sears got tagged for seven hits and a walk, but managed to work out of each jam he found himself in to hold Montgomery scoreless. Sears also struck out eight in the process.
It’s a nice bounceback start for Sears after he gave up three runs in five innings in his last outing in which he also gave up four walks and hit three batters as well. For the season, he’s carrying an ERA of 3.33 and should be the next man called up to triple-A Gwinnett whenever an opening becomes available.
At the plate, Adam Zebrowski — more on him later — got things started with an RBI-single on a line drive to right field to plate Owen Carey and make it a 1-0 game in the bottom of the second inning.
Things pretty much stood pat from that point until the seventh frame when Zebrowski launched his 12th homer of the season over the left center field wall to extend the Clingstones’ lead to 2-0.
The biggest blow of the night for the Columbus offense came courtesy of Carson Taylor who, in the bottom of the eighth inning, launched a grand slam to make it a 6-0 game which ultimately held as the final.
(54-58) Rome Emperors 1, (53-65) Hub City Spartanburgers 5 (GAME ONE)
- Dixon Williams, DH: 1-2, R, BB
- Will Verdung, 1B: 0-2, RBI
- Zach Royse, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, ER, BB, 7 K
Box Score
In the second doubleheader down on the farm, Rome — like their triple-A counterparts — came up on the short end of the stick in their respective game one.
Zach Royse got the start and was downright excellent, tossing six innings of two-run (one earned) ball while striking out seven batters.
However, the Emperors didn’t come out swinging, as they were limited to just one hit and one run on the night.
The lone run came courtesy of Will Verdung who brought home Dixon Williams on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning. Unfortunately that was the only offense the Emperors could string together in their final at-bat in the loss.
(55-58) Rome Emperors 2, (53-66) Hub City Spartanburgers 0 (GAME TWO)
- Luis Guanipa, RF-CF: 3-4, 3B, 2B, 2 R
- Dixon Williams, CF: 2-2, 2B
- Mathieu Curtis, SP: 3 IP, 3 K
Box Score
Again, like Gwinnett, game two went much better for Rome on Wednesday.
With the Emperors playing as the away team, Luis Guanipa got things started with a leadoff triple in the top of the first inning. Conor Essenburg then brought Guanipa home via sacrifice fly to give Rome the 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile Mathieu Curtis got the start on the mound and tossed three perfect innings before being relieved by the bullpen. It was only the second start of the year for Curtis in what was a very encouraging performance.
The Rome offense went stagnant for the next five innings, but tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh, as Guanipa scored on a Will Verdung RBI-single to extend the Emperors’ lead to 2-0 on the night.
As for the rest of the Rome pitching staff, Jarret Whorff and David Rodriguez combined to toss four innings of scoreless ball, striking out five along the way.
(62-53) Augusta GreenJackets 3, (57-58) Columbia Fireflies 6
- Manuel Campos, SS: 2-5
- Caden Merritt, RF: 1-4, 3B
- Jacob Jarrell, C: 1-4, 2 RBI
- Yander Pinero, SP: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K
Box Score
Yander Pinero got the first low-A start of his career and things didn’t exactly go according to plan for the 19-year-old.
Pinero lasted just two-thirds of an inning, allowing two runs on three hits, while also issuing two walks and striking out one.
Meanwhile, his offense didn’t do much to alleviate the pressure.
It took a couple of innings, but Augusta finally got on the board in the top of the third as Jacob Jarrell singled into center field, plating Joe Olsavsky and Caleb Klein to make it a 3-2 deficit for the GreenJackets.
Augusta actually managed to tie things up in the top of the fifth as Matt Scannell drew a bases-loaded walk to make it a 3-3 game.
However, that was the last of the offense Augusta was able to scrounge up in this one as the GreenJackets ultimately fell by a 6-3 final.
