(48-46) Gwinnett Stripers 5, (45-50) Toledo Mud Hens 6
- Ronald Acuña Jr., RF: 0-for-2, BB, RBI, .200/.375/.200
- Ha-Seong Kim, DH: 1-for-4, BB, .267/.353/.367
- Carlos Santana, 1B-3B: 1-for-5, .261/.393/.391
- Patrick Clohisy, CF: 1-for-4, RBI, R. .279/.359/.481
- Cal Conley, 2B: 3-for-4, 3 RBI, R, .303/.351/.506
The Stripers collapsed late, allowing four runs in the seventh before eventually being walked off by the Toledo Mud Hens.
Hurston Waldrep (3IP 2H 0R 2BB 2K) got the start for Gwinnett, and got through three scoreless innings, totaling 36 pitches (20 strikes). He faced no real issue as every time he allowed a single, he immediately followed it up by generating a double play – there was the small issue of his whiff rate being just 13.8%. Hurston completely shelved his four-seam fastball and utilized
a pitch mix consisting of his two-seam, cutter, curveball, slider, and splitter. He was replaced by Austin Gomber (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K) who worked a perfect inning of relief before giving way to Drue Hackenbeg (2.1IP 6H 5ER 4BB 3K) who struggled mightily – allowing six hits and four walks in very limited time. He was replaced by Anthony Molina (1.2IP 2H 0R 1BB 1K), who allowed a pair of runs to score that got on while facing Drue. Joel Payamps (0.0IP 1H 1ER 0BB 0K) got the duty of pitching the ninth, but threw just three pitches before allowing the walk off home run.
Offensively, it was Cal Conley who really stood out in a lineup featuring quite a bit major league talent as he got the fun started for the Stripers with a solo home run in the third inning.
One inning later the Stripers broke out for three additional runs with Patrick Clohisy starting it off with a solo home run himself. José Azócar, and Luke Williams would follow him up with singles before Cal Conley drove both of them in to increase the Stripers lead to 4-0. The final run scored by the Stripers came off the bat of Ronald Acuña Jr. who drove in Luke Williams via a sacrifice fly.
(42-43) Columbus Clingstones 5, (46-44) Chattanooga Lookouts 2
- Luke Waddell, SS: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, .210/.312/.322
- Carson Taylor, 1B: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R, .417/.417/.833
- Ambioris Tavarez, 2B: 1-for-2, RBI, R, BB, .187/.299/.337
- Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., LF: 3-for-4, 2 R, .242/.324/.349
- Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 7IP 3H 1ER 2BB 7K, 3.48 ERA
Extremely strong pitching was the prevailing theme for the Clingstones as they took the series finale from the Lookouts in a very entertaining game.
Cedric De Grandpre got the start and continued his trend of extremely strong pitching. That is his fifth straight game where he has allowed two earned runs or less, and even more impressive his fourth straight game where he’s allowed one run or less. After being real up and down to start the season, Cedric has really found his stride since his promotion as he hasn’t allowed more than three hits in a game since June 25th (5 games). He’s been in-zone a significantly more which has resulted in some of the best number he’s put up in his career. He was replaced by Ben Abeyta (1IP 0H 0R 1BB 0K) who worked around a walk to work a scoreless eighth inning. Isaac Gallegos (1IP 0H 1ER 2BB 0K) worked around poor command, allowing a single earned run before eventually shutting the door and giving the Clingstones the victory.
Offensively, the Clingstones scored five runs on 10 hits – with all the offense coming in the games first five innings. In the second inning it was Carson Taylor who got the Clingstones on the scoreboard with his first home run since signing with the Braves. Three batters later, Ambioris Tavarez hit his seventh home run of the season, another solo shot, to give the Clingstones the 2-1 lead.
After adding a run the following inning to push the lead to 3-1, the Clingstones added another run in the fourth inning when Carson Taylor doubled to lead off, took third on a passed ball, and scored on a balk. The fifth and final run of the game came in the fifth with a Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., lead off double before being driven in by Luke Waddell who picked up his 12th double for Columbus. The Clingstones wouldn’t truly threaten again until the ninth inning, but that didn’t matter as they were able to close it out and pick up the series win.
(32-57) Asheville Tourists 6, (43-44) Rome Emperors 3
- Tate Southiesene, SS: 1-for-4, BB, .238/.377/.410
- John Gil, 2B: 1-for-5, R, .248/.341/.384
- Eric Hartman, CF: 1-for-1, R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, .275/.361/.538
- Owen Carey, LF: 1-for-5, .256/.324/.438
- Dallas Macias, RF: 2-for-2, R, BB, .238/.283/.500
- Cam Caminiti, SP: 3.1IP 2H 2ER 3BB 6K, 4.14 ERA
The Emperors tried to make it close, scoring three in the seventh, but were unable to complete the come back as they fell 6-3 in the series finale.
Cam Caminiti got the start and gave up a pair of runs across 3.1 innings of work after 67 pitches. Cam would generate an astounding 19 whiffs in that abbreviated stint showing serious life on his pitches, but ultimately he was unable to consistently land strikes, especially out of the stretch, resulting in getting pulled early. The first run came in the third inning after allowing a two out, run scoring double to put the Tourists up 1-0. The following inning Cam would allow a single, a pair of stolen bases, and a walk before he was replaced by Drew Christo (1.2IP 1H 0R 1BB 0K) who would allow the runner to score from third after a wild pitch. After Drew Christo came Jacob Shafer (1.2IP 3H 4ER 1BB 1K) who would allow four to score in what would be the deciding seventh inning. Justin Long (1.1IP 1H 0R 1BB 1K) and Jarret Whorff (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K) would work the final two innings of the game for the Emperors.
The Rome offense was held in check for a majority of the game. It wasn’t for a lack of opportunities as the Emperors offense collected nine hits and seven walks, but they went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding 12 on base. The lone blow came in the seventh inning as Dallas Macias and Tate Southisene walked to start the inning. John Gil would ground out, but Eric Hartman would collect his 22nd home run of the season.
The Emperors would threaten with runners on base in the final two innings of the game but would fail to get the big hit, falling 6-3.
(49-41) Augusta GreenJackets 7, (44-44) Fayetteville Woodpeckers 5
- Alex Lodise, SS: 2-for-4, HR, SB, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2B, .255/.338/.473
- Cody Miller, DH: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 SB, 2 R, RBI, .213/.352/.382
- Tanner Smith, C: 1-for-1, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, .257/.324/.487
- Cooper McMurray, 1B: 2-for-4, RBI, BB, .239/.384/.401
- Junior Garcia, RF: 1-for-5, 2 RBI, .205/.332/.303
- Carter Holton, SP: 6IP 2H 0R 1BB 5K, 5.16 ERA
A strong offensive performance coupled with six pitchers got it done in the narrow win for the GreenJackets despite the excellent performance by Carter Holton.
Carter got the start and put together his best start as a professional, navigating through just a pair of singles in a strong performance. Carter was in the zone quite a bit with a strike percentage of 76%, and generated 14 whiffs. He was in zone with his pitches, and was able to avoid any hard barrels. Carter has run into issues most of his starts this season, so it was extremely promising to see the second rounder really put things together and register a lot of zeroes. After Carter, the GreenJackets needed five pitchers to close out the final three innings of the game. Logan Forsythe (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K) relieved Carter Holton and worked a perfect seventh. Cristobal Abreu (0.2IP 0H 0R 1BB 0K) started the eighth before being replaced by Lewis Sifontes (0.1IP 0H 0R 1BB 0K) who would walk the first batter he faced before getting out of the inning. Styven Paez (0.2IP 3H 4ER 1BB 1K) got the ninth inning duties and struggled, allowing a pair of doubles and single along with two runs before he was replaced by Ryan Heppner who came in with two outs but runners on first and third. Heppner would allow a pair of doubles and three runs to score before ending the game with a strikeout.
The GreenJackets offense broke out for 12 hits, and six walks to fuel their seven runs scored. It started in the first with Augusta scoring four runs. With the bases loaded, Tanner Smith hit a two run single to put Augusta in the lead 2-0. Two batters later Junior Garcia drove in a pair of runs in himself with a single to right, scoring Cody Miller and Tanner Smith to push the lead to 4-0. They would score two more runs in the third inning starting with a Cooper McMurray single that drove in Cody Miller. One batter later Junior Garcia would hit into a double play, but that would drive in Tanner Smith to push the lead to 6-0. The final run scored by the GreenJackets came in the fourth when Alex Lodise hit his 19th homer of the season.
