Overall, Atlanta’s minor league affiliates went 3-2 on Wednesday as the Clingstones led the charge with a 9-4 win over Biloxi. But there was plenty of action to highlight at each level, so let’s dive in.
(35-34) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (37-31) Louisville Bats 4 (GAME ONE)
- Tristin English, DH: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Jim Jarvis, SS: 2-4, 3B, BB
- Hurston Waldrep, SP: 3 IP, 4 BB, K
Hurston Waldrep made a rehab start for Gwinnett on Wednesday and while he issued four walks in three innings, the righty didn’t give up a hit or run in the process.
Waldrep only had one strikeout on the night, but he was facing the elements in this one. So, all things considered, it should
be considered a solid night out since he didn’t give up a hit or run in such poor conditions. The Braves probably want to see another start or two from Waldrep at the triple-A level before they consider moving him up to the big league club.
Offensively, it was a bit of a rough first game for the Stripers in their doubleheader despite tallying seven hits compared to Louisville’s nine.
Tristin English had the biggest hit of game one in this one, as he launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie things up and put Gwinnett on the board in a 2-2 game.
In the top of the 10th, with Rolddy Munoz on the mound, Louisville took the lead once again, plating two runs to make it a 4-2 game.
In the home half, Gwinnett actually managed to load the bases, but Aaron Schunk struck out to end the game and strand the tying — and potentially winning run — on base.
(36-34) Gwinnett Stripers 6, (37-32) Louisville Bats 0 (GAME TWO)
- Adam Zebrowski, C: 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Cal Conley, 3B: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Jim Jarvis, SS: 2-4, 2B, R
- DaShawn Kiersey Jr., CF: 1-2, 2B, RBI
- Connor Thomas, SP: 3 IP, H, BB, 3 K
Game two for Gwinnett went much better than game one, as the Stripers plated six runs while shutting Louisville out in the process.
Connor Thomas got the nod as the opener in this one, and tossed three innings of scoreless ball while striking out three and walking one.
Things remained scoreless through the first four innings before the Stripers finally broke through in a huge way. Following a one-out single off the bat of Tristin English, Adam Zebrowski launched a 436-foot homer on the first pitch he saw for a two-run blast to give Gwinnett a 2-0 lead.
After a Cal Conley strikeout — more on him later — Jim Jarvis and DaShawn Kiersey Jr. laced back-to-back doubles to extend the lead to 3-0.
Meanwhile Victor Mederos came on in relief and was also excellent, tossing two scoreless innings and striking out three as well.
Fast-forward to the home half of the sixth inning, and Zebrowski came through again with an RBI-single to plate Schunk and make it a 4-0 game. Then, Cal Conley came through with his first triple-A homer of his career to extend the lead to 6-0, which proved more than enough to stave off the Bats as Gwinnett split on the day.
(28-32) Columbus Clingstones 9, (32-29) Biloxi Shuckers 4
- David McCabe, 1B: 3-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, R
- Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., LF: 4-4, HR, 2B, RBI, 3 R
- Archer Brookman, C: 2-5, HR, RBI, 2 R
- Herick Hernandez, SP: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Columbus rode a stellar offensive outing on Wednesday en route to a 9-4 victory over rival Biloxi to notch their 28th win of the season.
On the mound, Herick Hernandez got the start and while he didn’t have the most efficient outing, it was enough to keep the Clingstones in the game.
Across 4.1 innings of work, Hernandez scattered five hits while giving up three runs and two walks. He did, however, strike out seven batters as well. Despite the somewhat lackluster night, Hernandez still possesses a sterling ERA of 1.97 for Columbus across 40 innings pitched.
Biloxi jumped on the board in the bottom of the second inning taking a 1-0 lead. However, the Clingstones tied things up in the top of the third thanks to an RBI-single from David McCabe, his first of four RBI on the night for the switch-hitter.
Columbus took their first lead in the top of the fifth as the Clingstones plated three runs in the frame, with the biggest breakthrough coming courtesy of Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., who launched his third homer of the season over the left center field wall to make it a 2-1 game.
McCabe later came through with another homer — this time a two-run shot — in the inning to extend the lead to 4-1 in Columbus’ favor.
From that point forward, Columbus proceeded to score one run in each of the next four innings (two in the seventh) to give them a 9-4 victory. McCabe and Kilpatrick Jr. also tallied a double each to their credit in this one, while catcher Archer Brooman homered and went 2-5 as well to help lead the offensive charge for the Clingstones.
(33-31) Rome Emperors 2, (30-34) Hudson Valley Renegades 1
- Dixon Williams, 1B: 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
- John Gil, 2B: 3-4
- Dalton McIntyre, LF: 1-3, RBI
- Cam Caminiti, SP: 3.2 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K
- Aiven Cabral, RP: 5 IP, H, 3 K
Rome moved to two games above .500 on Wednesday, beating Hudson Valley by a slim 2-1 margin but the Emperors needed a walk0ff to get things done.
Cam Caminiti got the start on the mound and tossed 3.2 innings of one-run ball while striking out four. However, he also walked four batters, giving him 13 walks in his last five starts across 21 innings. The walks are concerning, but the fact Caminiti is oftentimes able to limit the damage — so long as his defense backs him up — is an encouraging sign. Still, he needs to make the leap with his control to take that next step as a prospect.
In other pitching outings, Aiven Cabral had a spectacular high-A debut, as he tossed five innings of scoreless ball while limiting Hudson Valley to just one hit and striking out three along the way.
Across 54.2 innings for the Cabral, the 2025 18th-rounder has posted an ERA of 2.30 while striking out 44. Eric Hartman gets a lot of the attention as a late-round draft pick in Atlanta’s system who is performing well, but Cabral is making a sneaky case for second place on that list. Hopefully he can keep it up now that he’s in high-A.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Dixon Williams came through with a solo shot — his second long ball in as many days — to tie things up at 1-1.
The Emperors were kept off the board in the eighth inning, setting up a dramatic ending in the next frame.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Williams singled and proceeded to steal second base and third base on a wild pitch before Colby Jones walked to put two runners on.
Then, Dalton McIntyre came through with an RBI-single to plate Williams and give Rome the 2-1 victory.
On another note, while he went 0-4 on the night, Eric Hartman didn’t strikeout in his four plate appearances.
(34-31) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (31-34) Hub City Howlers 2
- Alex Lodise, SS: 1-3, HR, RBI, R, BB
- Juan Garcia, LF: 1-3
- Ethan Bagwell, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Augusta managed just two hits on Wednesday as the GreenJackets lost by a 2-1 final to Hub City.
Ethan Bagwell was excellent on Wednesday as he spun seven frames of two-hit, two-run ball. He also issued three walks, but struck out two as well. Wednesday’s outing matched Bagwell’s longest start of the season — from April 10 in which he struck out five over seven frames.
As we mentioned, offense was scarce in this one as both teams combined for five total hits in this one.
However, Alex Lodise had the lone significant swing for Augusta as he took the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the fourth and launched it over the left field wall for his ninth homer of the season to give the GreenJackets a 1-0 lead.
However, Bagwell surrendered two runs — one each in the sixth and seventh innings — which proved to be the difference maker in this one.
The most frustrating part of Wednesday’s loss for the GreenJackets is the fact they registered nine walks and only failed to score one lone run.
