Saturday’s big story in the Atlanta Braves system seemed like it would be Tate Southisene making his High-A debut after being promoted earlier in the day – but one of his teammates stole the show, as Eric Hartman knocked two home runs and stole a base to continue his impressive run in Rome. Southisene’s High-A debut went about as good as anyone could have hoped for, while Manuel Campos and Jose Manon also had big games, and Hurston Waldrep made his second rehab start.
Gwinnett Stripers 6, Norfolk Tides 4
- Brewer Hicklen, LF: 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, .328/.394/.539
- Brett Wisely, 2B: 2-4, 2B, .311/.381/.475
- Austin Gomber, SP: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 6.10 ERA
- James Karinchak, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 2.45 ERA
Austin Gomber
got the start and went one out shy of a six inning start, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk. Gomber also struck out five and picked up 10 whiffs before Anderson Pilar came in to get the final out of the sixth inning. Hayden Harris, Joel Payamps, and James Karinchak each threw a scoreless frame in relief, with Karinchak striking out each of the three hitters he faced.
Brewer Hicklen continued to lead the Stripers offense, as he went two for four with his 10th homer of the season and batted in four of the team’s six runs. Brett Wisely was the only other player with a multi-hit game, going two for four with a double, but Rowdy Tellez and Aaron Schunk each added doubles. Jim Jarvis was held out of the hit column in this one, but he did walk, score a run, and bat one in.
Rocket City Trash Pandas 2, Columbus Clingstones 1
- Ethan Workinger, LF: 2-3, BB, RBI, .205/.296/.333
- Logan Braunschweig, DH: 1-4, 2B, R, .296/.345/.333
- Lucas Braun, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 5.06 ERA
- Jhancarlos Lara, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 8.10 ERA
Lucas Braun turned in his best start in Double-A this year, and possibly his best start overall. He went six shutout innings, allowing four hits and two walks with a season-high seven strikeouts to go with 12 whiffs. Jhancarlos Lara followed and allowed a run on a hit and two walks in the seventh, though he did strike out one batted and collected six whiffs. Tyler LaPorte picked up the loss, as he came in for the eighth and allowed an unearned run to score.
Ethan Workinger led the offense, going two for three with a walk and the lone run batted in. Logan Braunschweig added a double and scored the run, while David McCabe had a single and walk in the loss. Luke Waddell and Kevin Kilpatrick were the only other Clingstones to reach base, as each had a single.
Greenville Drive 7, Rome Emperors 4
- Eric Hartman, CF: 2-3, 2 HR, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB, .311/.380/.597
- Tate Southisene, 2B: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB
- Colby Jones, 3B: 1-4, HR, R, RBI, .212/.396/.322
- Colin Daniel, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 5.11 ERA
Colin Daniel turned in a quality start, going six innings and allowing three runs on five hits and a walk. Daniel also struck out four and had nine whiffs, needing just 79 pitches to get his quality start. Things blew up from there, as Jacob Shafer came in and allowed three runs while recording just two outs. After a scoreless inning and a third from Justin Long, Drew Christo allowed an unearned run to come in during his inning of work.
Tate Southisene had a strong debut, but it was overshadowed by a monster night from Eric Hartman. All Hartman did was hit a pair of homers, walk, and steal a base in his four plate appearances. With these two solo shots, Hartman is up to 15 homers on the season, and his steal takes him to 25 bags stolen. Southisene reached base three times in five plate appearances in his debut, recording a double and a pair of walks. Colby Jones also added a homer, giving him three on the year. Both Isaiah Drake and Dixon Williams had base hits, and Williams had an RBI as well. John Gil was hitless in five at bats.
Delmarva Shorebirds 7, Augusta GreenJackets 3
- Alex Lodise, SS: 1-3, BB, RBI, .247/.331/.388
- Conor Essenburg, CF: 1-4, BB, .246/.380/.446
- Luis Guanipa, RF: 2-4, .310/.358/.507
- Zach Royse, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 4.56 ERA
Zach Royse turned in another solid start, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings. He also struck out seven with 14 whiffs, bringing him to over a strikeout per inning on the season. Cristobal Abreu was next and he threw a scoreless inning, walking two and striking out one with four whiffs among his 18 pitches. Logan Forsythe also added a scoreless inning before Luis Arestigueta allowed four runs in just one third of an inning to break this game open for Delmarva. Styven Paez pitched the final inning and two thirds of scoreless baseball, and struck out four batters for the five outs he recorded.
Even without Tate Southisene the prospects at the top of the order were the catalysts for the Augusta offense in this one. Luis Guanipa had a two-hit day, while Conor Essenburg and Alex Lodise each singled and drew a walk, with Lodise picking up an RBI. Taking Southisene’s place was the recently demoted Cody Miller, who singled and batted in a run. The real star of the day was Cooper McMurray, who doubled and homered, and brought his OPS up to .703 – which is impressive as he was at just .488 after April. Michael Martinez also added a single, but did strike out in each of his other three at bats.
FCL Braves 4, FCL Rays 3
- Manuel Campos, SS: 2-4, 3B, R, RBI, .264/.380/.407
- Yamvier Carrero, 2B: 1-3, R, RBI, SB, .317/.443/.365
- Hurston Waldrep, SP: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
- Gensi Angeles, RP: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1.98 ERA
Hurston Waldrep’s second rehab start also went two innings, just like his first one. Waldrep battled his command a bit, giving up two hits and three walks plus a wild pitch, but struck out hitters for four of the six outs he recorded. After Robinson Narciso allowed a run during his inning, normal starter Gensi Angeles came in and pitched five strong innings of relief, allowing a run on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. That takes Angeles’ ERA to 1.98 through 27.1 innings – though his velocity being more upper 80’s has a bit of a limit on his ceiling despite his success. Yander Pinero pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up the save.
The star today on the hitting side was again Manuel Campos, who was two for four with a triple, run scored, and one batted in. Caden Merritt actually won the game when he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to put the Braves ahead. Yamvier Carrero singled, stole a base, scored, and batted in a run, while Owen Carey walked and doubled in the win – joining Manuel Dos Passos, who singled and doubled, as players who had an extra base knock. Top prospect Diego Tornes was hitless in three at bats, but did draw a walk.
DSL Braves 12, DSL Cubs 10
- Jose Manon, SS: 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI, SB
- Starlyn De La Cruz, CF: 0-2, 3 BB, R
- Jorwin Pulido, DH: 2-3, 2B, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI
- Cesar Navarro, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
This game perfectly sums up what DSL baseball can look like. There were 22 runs scored on just 14 hits, with 10 errors and 18 walks. Started Cesar Navarro had glimpses of a solid start, but did allow four runs (two earned) over his four innings. Two scoreless innings from Ernesto Meza to finish this game off in seven innings was the biggest positive from the pitching side.
Top international signee Jose Manon continued to impress here, going one for two with a double, taking three walks, scoring a pair of runs, batting in three, and stealing a base. Catcher Jorwin Pulido got the start at DH and went two for three with a double, walk, two runs scored, and two batted in. Even Starlyn De La Cruz reached base three times, all via walks, and scored a run. Luis Fortunato singled three times in three at bats and drew a walk, while Osmar Torrealba singled and walked in his four plate appearances plus stole a base. The other key prospect here is Edelson Cabral, who was hitless in four at bats, but drew a walk and stole a base.
