Friday brought a ton of action with it as Atlanta’s minor league teams were in full action. Let’s get into it.
(35-32) Gwinnett Stripers 5, (36-31) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 4
- Aaron Schunk, 1B: 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- Jim Jarvis, SS: 3-4, R
- Luke Williams, 3B: 1-5, 2B, 2 R
- Austin Gomber, SP: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
They needed extra innings to do it, but Gwinnett came away with a win on Friday, beating Jacksonville 5-4.
The Stripers bounced back from a less-than-stellar start from Austin Gomber, who tossed 2.2 innings while giving up three runs on four hits.
Trailing 1-0, Gwinnett tied things up in the top of the third as Jim Jarvis scored as Luke Williams reached via error to make it a 1-1 game.
The Stripers took their first lead of the game in the top of the sixth. First, Williams scored on a Brett Wisely single to cut the deficit to 3-2 before Brewer Hicklen and DaShawn Kiersey Jr. scored on an Aaron Schunk double to give the Stripers a 4-3 lead.
Jacksonville tied things up in the bottom of the eighth and the Stripers failed to plate another run in regulation.
In the top of the 10th, Gwinnett benefitted from some misfortune on the part of Jacksonville to take a lead.
Luke Williams started the inning at second base before advancing to third on a wild pitch. After a Wisely walk, Williams scampered home on an incredibly wild pitch to give Gwinnett a 5-4 lead.
Rolddy Munoz came on in relief and despite a passed ball, he proceeded to sit down Jacksonville in order to get the save and preserve the win for the Stripers.
(28-30) Columbus Clingstones 6, (30-31) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3
- Will Verdung, 3B: 2-5, 2B, 2 R
- Patrick Clohisy, CF: 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 BB
- Logan Braunschweig, RF: 2-5, RBI, R
- Lucas Braun, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Columbus came out on the positive side of this one, beating Pensacola by three runs to inch closer to .500.
Lucas Braun got the start for the Clingstones on Friday and he put up a respectable outing as he went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits. He also issued a pair of walks and struck out four as well. It’s Braun’s second straight start of at least six innings pitched and two or less runs given up.
Braun got plenty of help at the plate as the Clingstones scored six runs on 11 hits on the night.
Columbus got the scoring started in this one as the Clingstones plated two runs in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Drew Compton and Tyler Tolve laced back-to-back singles before Keshawn Ogans singled home Compton for the first run of the game. Tolve proceeded to score on a Clohisy single to extend the lead to 2-0.
Will Verdung and Patrick Clohisy led the offensive effort as both guys tallied the only two extra base hits for Columbus — a double apiece. Verdung scored two of the Clingstones’ runs, while Clohisy registered two hits and two walks to his credit.
(33-27) Rome Emperors 5, (42-18) Bowling Green Hot Rods 8
- Owen Carey, LF: 1-3, RBI, R, BB
- Eric Hartman, CF: 1-5, R
- Mason Guerra, DH: 1-4, 2 RBI, R
- Isaiah Drake, RF: 1-1, R, 3 BB
- Briggs McKenzie, SP: 1.2 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Briggs McKenzie’s first start at high-A might not have gone according to plan, but it wasn’t necessarily the lefthanders fault.
Across 1.2 innings pitched, McKenzie gave up four runs, only one of which was earned, while striking out two in the process.
McKenzie gave up a soft single in the second inning that was originally called an out, but was overturned despite no official challenge being conducted. He then gave up a pair of bunt singles and his defense committed an error behind him as Bowling Green tallied four runs in the frame. While it wasn’t great, it could have been much worse and it was good to see McKenzie’s composure through the inning.
At the plate, things got off to a scary start as Tate Southisene was hit in the helmet by a pitch. While it could have been much worse, Southisene stayed in the game and was thankfully okay.
Overall it wasn’t the strongest offensive performance for Rome as the Emperors failed to register an extra base hit in this one.
The first run of the game for Rome came in the top of the second as Mason Guerra singled home Isaiah Drake and Owen Carey to make it a 2-0 game. Then, in what was a weird set of circumstances, Colin Burgess reached on an error as the Bowling Green third baseman airmailed a throw to second base, which allowed Guerra to score all the way from first to extend the lead to 3-0.
Trailing 5-3, the Emperors actually tied things up in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI-single off the bat of Eric Hartman and a run-scoring forceout from Owen Carey.
However, the Hot Rods tagged reliever Colin Daniel for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take an 8-5 lead, which held as the final.
(32-29) Augusta GreenJackets 13, (23-36) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3
- Conor Essenburg, CF: 2-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB
- Luis Guanipa, DH: 2-5, 2B, 4 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB
- Juan Mateo, 2B: 3-5, RBI, R, BB
- Alex Lodise, SS: 1-5, 2B, RBI, R
- Cooper McMurray, 1B: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
- Landon Beidelschies, SP: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 7 BB, 3 K
The Augusta offense showed up and showed out Friday as the GreenJackets tallied 13 runs on 15 hits to move to three games over .500 on the season.
Conor Essenburg led the charge with a pair of homers and four total RBI on the night to pace the offense. Essenburg also scored four runs while walking three times as well. Essenburg has been as good as advertised to begin his pro career, as he has homered five times in 97 at-bats while posting an OPS of .941.
Luis Guanipa also had a very solid day as the designated hitter went 2-5 with a double and four RBI. The biggest swing on the night for Guanipa came in the top of the second as he took a fastball above the zone and launched it into the left centerfield gap to clear the loaded bases to give Augusta a 7-2 lead. With his performance on Friday, Guanipa raised his season OPS to .871.
Leading 10-3, Augusta managed to tack on three more runs in their final at-bat. Austin Machado scored on a sacrifice fly from Alex Lodise, while Cody Miller scored on a Guanipa single — giving him his fourth RBI on the night. The final GreenJackets run came as Essenburg scored on an RBI-double from Cooper McMurray — who tallied two doubles on the night.
The one downside, if you could consider it that, is that Landon Beidelscheies — who tossed 4.1 innings of two-run ball — walked a staggering seven batters in the process.
(8-21) FCL Braves 2, (19-10) FCL Rays 6 (SUSPENDED)
- Mario Baez, 3B: 1-2, 2 RBI
- Arlenn Manzanillo, C: 2-2, 2 R
- Manuel Campos, DH: 2-3
- Wuilinyer Tovar, SP: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
This one got suspended in the bottom of the fifth inning due to rain with the FCL Braves trailing the FCL Rays 6-2.
Wuilinyer Tovar got the start on the mound and control issues continue to plague the 18-year-old as he issued four walks in 3.1 innings pitched. On the season, Tovar has walked 10 batters in 17 innings , but he has also struck out 13 over that same stretch.
At the plate, Mario Baez led the charge with a pair of RBI on the day, while Arlenn Manzanillo went 2-2 and scored both runs Baez drove in.
(1-8) DSL Braves 7, (4-5) DSL Rays 12
- Sherrintley Da Costa Gomez, DH: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
- Yasssel Pena, 1B: 2-3, HR, RBI, R
- Starlyn De La Cruz, CF: 1-4, 2 R, BB
- Ezequiel Martinez, SP: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K
Despite putting up seven runs on 12 hits Friday, the DSL Braves will have to continue their search for a second win of the season.
Ezequiel Martinez got the start on the bump and limited the damage to two earned runs across 3.1 innings of work.
Sherrintley Da Costa Gomez continues to impress as the launched his second homer of the season on Friday while driving in three runs and going 3-4 at the plate. Through eight games, Da Costa Gomez is batting .364 with an OPS of 1.290 to go along with it.
Yassel Pena and Starlyn De La Cruz also had solid nights at the plate as well. Pena homered and went 2-3, while De La Cruz went 1-4 with two runs scored and a walk to his credit.
