It’s not everyday that you can say every minor league team in action came away with a win. But that was exactly the case for Atlanta’s farm squads as Gwinnett, Columbus, Rome and Augusta each closed out the night with a victory — thanks in large part to stellar pitching performances.
Let’s dive into it all.
(57-72) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (55-71) Norfolk Tide 0
- David McCabe, 1B: 1-3, HR, RBI, R
- Conner Capel, RF: 2-3
- Jose Suarez, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 6 K
Offense was hard to come by in Gwinnett’s matchup with Norfolk on Friday night as there were only six combined hits between the two clubs. Regardless
of the lack of hitting, one big swing from David McCabe was the difference-maker in this one.
Scoreless through the first three frames, McCabe turned on a 3-1 fastball and crushed a 426-foot homer — his second since joining the Stripers to give Gwinnett the 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile on the mound, Jose Suarez got the start for Gwinnett and put together an excellent outing. Across six innings of work, Suarez scattered just three hits while holding Norfolk scoreless as well. On top of that, Suarez managed to strike out six batters and didn’t walk anyone in the process.
While Suarez was great, it was up to the bullpen to preserve the slim lead. Blake Burkhalter, Enoli Paredes and Daysbel Hernandez came through in a huge way, tossing three combined scoreless innings while holding the Tide hitless in the process as well as Gwinnett capped off the win.
(54-67) Columbus Clingstones 7, (42-81) Rocket City Trash Pandas 1
- E.J. Exposito, 1B: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
- David Fletcher, 3B: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB
- Ethan Workinger, RF: 2-5, 2B, R
- Landon Harper, SP: 7 IP, 5 H, ER, 5 K
The bats showed up and showed out for Columbus on Friday, as the Clingstones routed Rocket City 7-1 while scattering 12 hits in the process.
While multiple Clingstones hitters had significant performances, E.J. Exposito led the charge by going 3-5 with a pair of RBI and three runs scored on the night as well. Exposito’s biggest hit came in the top of the fourth, as his solo homer tied the game at 1-1 and paved the way for the rest of the offense to come through.
David Fletcher also performed very well, going 3-4 with a double and two RBI himself, while Ethan Workinger doubled and scored a run.
On the mound, Landon Harper got the start and kept the Trash Pandas at bat by tossing seven innings of one-run ball. While he did give up five hits, Harper managed to not walk a single batter while also striking out five in what was one of his best starts of the season for Columbus.
(53-67) Rome Emperors 2, (52-70) Winston-Salem Dash 1
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 1-3, RBI, BB
- Mason Guerra, 1B: 1-4, RBI
- Cody Miller, 2B: 1-4, R
- Garrett Baumann, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 K
In a one-run game, pitching will make or break you. Thankfully for Rome on Friday Garrett Baumann brought his best stuff as the 20-year-old led the Emperors to a narrow 2-1 win.
Across seven innings pitched, Baumann held Winston-Salem scoreless while allowing just two hits and giving up a pair of walks. He also managed to sit down eight batters via strikeouts as well.
Baumann seems to have gotten into a rhythm in his last three starts. After lasting just 2.2 innings on Aug. 7 in which he gave up three runs, he has gone on to toss 17 innings while giving up just two runs in the process.
If he can find a way to keep with his consistency, there’s plenty to like about the 6-foot-8 righty.
Meanwhile at the plate, Rome failed to register any extra-base hits. However, that wouldn’t matter as Mason Guerra and Isaiah Drake came through with one RBI each, which proved to be enough offense thanks to Baumann’s outing.
(63-58) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (66-57) Charleston RiverDogs 1
- Joe Olsavsky, 1B: 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Dixon Williams, 2B: 2-3, RBI, R
- Douglas Glod, LF: 1-4, 2B, RBI
- Logan Forsythe, SP: 2.1 IP, 3 BB, K
Rounding out the day of winning were the GreenJackets, who outscored Charleston 4-1 while also also outhitting them 11-3 in the process.
Joe Olsavsky did most of the heavy lifting in this one, as the first baseman went 3-4 with a homer — his first with Augusta — and two runs driven in. 2025 draftee Dixon Williams also put up a respectable night as the second baseman went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored as well.
Douglas Glod snapped his three-game hitless streak by lacing an RBI-double in the top of the seventh to cap off the scoring for Augusta.
On the mound, Logan Forsythe got the start and wasn’t exactly great as he only went 2.1 innings deep into the game and walked three and only struck out one. Regardless, he kept Charleston off the scoreboard and the bullpen picked him up and managed to limit the RiverDogs to just one run, which was ultimately enough.
