Sunday saw the Atlanta Braves organization drop three out of four on the final day of the season for Rome and Augusta, but there were still plenty of highlights. Whether it was a dominant outing from JR Ritchie, six one-hit innings from Jacob Shafer, or loud performances at the plate from Cody Miller, Dixon Williams, and especially John Gil, there were a lot of things worth watching despite the losing day.
Durham Bulls 4, Gwinnett Stripers 2
- Eddys Leonard, 3B: 2-3, R, .237/.304/.439
- Conner Capel, RF: 2-2, 2B, 2 BB, RBI, SB, .218/.302/.344
- JR Ritchie, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 2.79 ERA
JR Ritchie turned in a dominant start on Sunday, throwing six shutout innings
as he allowed just two hits and three walks in the process. Ritchie, who saw his Triple-A ERA drop below 3.00 in this game, struck out four and picked up eight whiffs during a 93-pitch outing. With this start Ritchie has now made nine starts for 48.1 innings with Gwinnett, posting a 2.79 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 9.3 K/9, numbers not far off his season numbers of 2.52 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 9.0 K/9 between three levels. Unfortunately the pen couldn’t match Ritchie’s effort and the Stripers came out on the losing end anyway. Austin Cox followed Ritchie, and he gave up a pair of runs in an inning. Next was Davis Daniel, who allowed two runs of his own – though over two innings.
Offensively the two stars were Eddys Leonard and Conner Capel, who each had two-hit games. Capel actually reached base all four times he batted, as he walked twice, doubled, stole a base, batted a run in, and had an outfield assist. Leonard singled twice and scored one of the Stripers runs. Outside of those two the offense was non-existent here, as the rest of the lineup combined for one hit. Jesus Bastidas singled for the lone other hit and drew a walk, while the only other player to reach base was Jonathan Ornelas on a walk.
Swing and Misses
JR Ritchie – 8
Davis Daniel – 2
Montgomery Biscuits 2, Columbus Clingstones 0
- Cal Conley, 2B: 3-4, SB, .200/.260/.243
- Ian Anderson, SP: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 4.50 ERA
- Elison Joseph: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 3.96 ERA
In his second start since mid-June Ian Anderson looked better than he did earlier this week, when he battled command and couldn’t make it through the second inning. In this one Anderson allowed two runs on three hits and no walks over four innings, striking out five and picking up 13 swings and misses. Both of those runs scored in the fifth inning, on a two-run homer by former Rays second round pick Brock Jones. Brian Moran followed with two and two thirds scoreless innings, before Cory Wall and Elison Joseph threw a scoreless frame apiece to complete the pitching. Combined the Stones allowed just the two runs on seven hits and no walks with nine strikeouts.
Despite the fine effort by the Columbus pitching staff, they came out on the losing end as the lineup couldn’t mount any offense. Cal Conley led the way, going three for four with a stolen base, but the rest of the lineup combined for four singles and three walks on their way to being shut out. Adam Zebrowski was the lone player outside of Conley to reach base multiple times, as he singled and walked. Ambioris Tavarez went one for four in the loss.
Swing and Misses
Ian Anderson – 13
Elison Joseph – 4
Hub City Spartanburgers 6, Rome Emperors 1
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 1-3, .303/.346/.336
- Cody Miller, SS: 2-3, BB, R, .297/.357/.422
- Riley Frey, RP: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1.32 ERA
Rome sent Adam Maier out to start in their season finale. Maier lasted for two innings, giving up four runs on three hits and a pair of walks, taking the loss. Riley Frey was next to pitch, and had an excellent game out of the pen. Frey went three and a third scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and no walks with four strikeouts. Rob Griswold was the third Rome pitcher, and he allowed a run while recording the final two outs in the sixth inning. After a scoreless frame by Justin Long, Logan Samuels came in for the eighth and allowed one run during his inning.
The offense didn’t do a ton, though a pair of the top hitting prospects on the team (likely) ended their seasons on high notes. Cody Miller went two for three with a walk and scored a run to bring his Rome OPS to .779 in 16 games here after being promoted from Augusta. Another guy promoted in-season was Isaiah Drake, who went one for three with a hit to keep his batting average with Rome at .303. Colby Jones, Mason Guerra, and Justin Janas also added singles in the loss. Second round draft pick Alex Lodise was not in the lineup for the Emperors final game, so he closed the season going five for his last 17 with three extra base hits.
Swing and Misses
Riley Frey – 5
Rob Griswold – 2
Justin Long – 2
Augusta GreenJackets 10, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 0
- Tate Southisene, 2B: 1-4, BB, R, RBI, .219/.242/.297
- John Gil, SS: 1-4, HR, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB, .257/.353/.377
- Dixon Williams, DH: 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB, .269/.395/.462
- Jacob Shafer, SP: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 2.12 ERA
- Carter Lovasz, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 9.00 ERA
For their final game of the season the GreenJackets turned to ace Jacob Shafer, and he certainly delivered. Shafer threw six no-hit, shutout innings, but left after six due to his pitch count being at 87. Shafer walked three and struck out three, while lowering his ERA to 2.12 and WHIP to 1.12 over 34 innings here. He was followed by recent draft pick Carter Lovasz, who went two scoreless innings, allowing a hit and two walks while striking out four. The final inning was a scoreless, and hitless, inning by Owen Hackman. Combined the three Augusta pitchers shut out Kannapolis, while allowing just one hit in the ballgame.
The Augusta offense closed out the season with one more loud output on Sunday. John Gil led the way, hitting his seventh homer and stealing his 50th base during his 100 games here. Gil’s power started to come on late in the season, as five of those seven homers have come since August 1st, and he also hit 10 of his 25 doubles on the year since then as well. Recent draftee Dixon Williams went two for four with a double, walk, two runs scored, one batted in, and two stolen bases. First round pick Tate Southisene closed out his season with a single and a walk in five trips to the plate, while Owen Carey singled and Juan Mateo added a pair of singles. Undrafted free agent signing Tanner Smith also added an extra base hit when he doubled, and stole third base.
Swing and Misses
Jacob Shafer – 8
Carter Lovasz – 6
