It was a condensed Tuesday of Atlanta Braves minor league baseball, as only two affiliates were in action. Still, there was plenty of excitement to go around especially from the Rome offense who had a terrific day despite a low run output. Braves second round pick Alex Lodise hit a third inning home run, which opened the score but also marked his first foray into fence play in the professional ranks.
(55-69) Columbus Clingstones 3, (72-55) Montgomery Biscuits 11
- Ethan Workinger, DH: 1-3 BB, .228/.300/.400
- Patrick Clohisy, CF: 0-4, .276/.331/.397
- Ian Anderson, SP: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 1 K, 5.40 ERA
It was a tale of two teams on Tuesday evening, as one of the affiliates put out an exciting
win while the other fell flat to say the least. Ian Anderson’s first start since June was as disastrous as the few before he hit the injured list as he walked five batters over 1 2/3 innings. While Anderson’s control has never been the strong suit of his game it has been truly abysmal this season as he now has 32 walks to 27 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. It’s been unplayable, but by some miracle he only allowed one run despite having more baserunners than recorded outs, and Columbus had at least a modicum of opportunity to take on an early lead.
After Anderson’s first inning run allowed the Clingstones were able to strike back with hits from Ethan Workinger and then Adam Zebrowski chasing around the former to tie the game. Anderson allowed an unearned run in the second inning, but Brian Moran stranded the bases loaded with a strikeout and then pitched two quick, scoreless innings. Unfortunately the Clingstones had no further luck early in the game. Then, everything fell apart for Moran. Before recording an out in the fifth inning he allowed five runs, and though he and Amos Willingham were able to strike out the final three batters the damage had been more than done.
This game, while unlikely to turn in Columbus’s favor, wasn’t quite yet over with the conclusion of the top half of the fifth inning. The Clingstones mounted themselves a quick rally in the next half inning, leading off with a ten pitch plate appearance from Cody Milligan to work a walk. Cal Conley followed up by lacing a double into the gap. and Columbus looked to be in business with two men on. David Fletcher’s single furthered the good feeling by bringing home yet another run, but in two pitches the rally fizzled out. Kevin Kilpatrick Jr topped a middle-middle fastball and rolled into a double play, which although it forced home a run it also left the bases empty. Patrick Clohisy hit the first pitch of the next at bat hard, but aimed it right at the left fielder who snagged it to close out the most promising inning for Columbus in the game. That would be the last time the Clingstones put together any sort of real threat as Montgomery saw their lead climb and climb until the game was a full blowout. Despite his blank sheet it wasn’t a completely terrible game for Patrick Clohisy. In addition to that liner in the fifth inning he smoked a ball in his final at bat, but a nifty sliding catch wiped away a chance at extra bases and spoiled Clohisy’s chances of getting back in a groove.
Swing and Misses
Brian Moran – 8
Amos Willingham – 7
Ian Anderson – 6
(55-68) Rome Emperors 3, (63-63) Hub City Spartanburgers 2
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 2-4, .275/.327/.314
- Alex Lodise, SS: 1-5, HR, .242/.281/.385
- Cody Miller, 3B: 2-4, 2B, .326/.340/.500
- Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 3.74 ERA
- Riley Frey, RP: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 4.36 ERA
We’re going to start with the good news for Alex Lodise. In addition to a Rome win, he drove a long home run in the third inning, easily clearing the deep power alley in Hub City’s home park to give Rome an early 1-0 lead. The bad news is that he struck out in every other plate appearances. In defense of Lodise, it’s been a long season for him and we already expected some contact and approach issues, but it has gotten to horrible levels in the past week. Since the start of the last series against Winston-Salem, Lodise has struck out in 17 of his 31 plate appearances with only one walk.
Rome as a whole was fairly successful at the plate with a combined 11 hits across the lineup, and the duo of Cody Miller and Isaiah Drake had a huge influence on the game. Miller followed up that Lodise home run but lining a ball down the right field line and turning it into a double, a play that was immediately followed by a hard hit single from Isaiah Drake. Drake’s hit was snagged off of one hop on a diving play by the shortstop, who although he was able to prevent the ball getting into center field likely saving a run, wasn’t able to get up in time to get Drake. Drake then swiped second base, but that stellar stretch and the inning was ended when Logan Braunschweig reached for a ball and popped it routinely into center field for the third out.
Braunschweig made up for that rally-ending out a few innings later, providing a key hit and a run in a then-tied game. Drake’s second hit of the game was a seeing-eye single that snuck up the middle, and Braunschweig followed by hitting a steaming liner over shortstop for a single that moved Drake up a base. A balk would put both into scoring position, allowing for Keshawn Ogans to come up with the biggest hit of the game. While the pitch would shatter Ogans’s bat in his hands, he was able to muscle it off of the end of the bat and roll it through the right side of the infield, and both runners sprinted around and scored to give Rome a 3-1 lead.
Flipping to the other side of the coin, Cedric De Grandpre ended his season with a much-needed dominant outing. July was a tough run for him as his control problems really started to affect his performances in games, but he ended on a positive note with a terrific outing. Still, his command was not great and he threw more balls than we were used to in prior seasons from him, but a key difference was his ability to end at bats early and not run into deep counts. De Grandpre made some of his best pitches in deciding counts, showing a feel for missing bats with three pitches which has been missing a bit in prior starts. His slider in particular was electric as it was the go-to down and glove side off of the plate, and he placed it there frequently with two strikes. However when lefties were sitting on that back-foot slider he had the feel for his changeup to mix it in, tunneling it well and keeping those hitters off balance. He did a terrific job of elevating his fastball throughout the outing, and proved how effective he can be as a starter when his stuff is on. He has improved significantly with his secondaries since he first entered the system, and while his changeup is still inconsistent he does show a much more effective version now.
Swing and Misses
Cedric De Grandpre – 15
Riley Frey – 7
