Saturday’s action in the Atlanta Braves system was headlined by another dominant outing from Daniel Brooks for Rome. The other big story is the fact that Eric Hartman crossed the 50 stolen base mark, and kept going. Same story for Luis Guanipa, though it was the 40-steal mark for him. We also got homers from Dixon Williams, Manuel Campos, Carter Beck, and Juan Mateo. On the pitching side Luis Arestigueta followed up his strong two start run with another, and Luis Vargas had a lights out relief appearance.
Gwinnett Stripers 13, Louisville Bats 7
- David McCabe, 1B: 4-6, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, .444/.433/.815
- Brett Wisely, 2B: 2-2, 2 HR, 3 BB, 5 R, 4 RBI, SB, .282/.402/.434
- Lizandro Espinoza, CF: 4-5, R, RBI, SB, .333/.410/.545
- Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 4.00 ERA
Box Score
Statcast
Cedric De Grandpre was the starter, and didn’t quite seem to have his best command in this one. Through five innings Cedric allowed four runs, though only one was earned, on seven hits and three walks. He also struck out five with nine whiffs, but earned his first Triple-A win. Danny Young pitched a scoreless inning next, before Blake Burkhalter got two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and seven whiffs. Tyler Uberstine pitched the ninth inning, but was tagged for three runs.
Brett Wisely had a monster game, though both David McCabe and Lizandro Espinoza had big games as well. Wisely went two for two with two home runs, walked three times, stole a base, scored five times, and batted in four runs as he filled up the boxscore. McCabe and Espinoza each had four-hit games, with McCabe picking up a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and two batted in, while Espinoza scored a run, batted one in, and stole a base. That gives Espinoza 31 steals in just 46 games played on the season. Jose Azocar also homered, while Rowdy Tellez, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., and Cal Conley all had two-hit games, with Conley doubling. Jim Jarvis was hitless in four at bats, but drew two walks.
Columbus Clingstones 7, Chattanooga Lookouts 3
- Alex Lodise, SS: 4-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, .333/.367/.467
- John Gil, 2B: 2-5, R, RBI, .286/.377/.385
- Owen Carey, RF: 1-3, 2 BB, .261/.337/.409
- Luis Vargas, RP: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 3.28 ERA
Box Score
Columbus got a bullpen game in this one, though one of the relievers used stood out in a big way. Shay Schanaman went the first three innings and didn’t allow any runs to score as he struck out three and whiffed 11. Then came a huge performance from Luis Vargas, who over three innings allowed just one hit and no walks as he struck out seven and whiffed 13 in 46 pitches. Hayden Harris allowed all three Lookouts runs in his inning of work, leading to Duncan Davitt picking up a save for pitching two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Combined the four relievers allowed just five hits and two walks with 14 strikeouts.
The biggest prospects had the biggest days for the Columbus offense. Alex Lodise continues his great run to end the season, as he went four for five with a double, scoring two runs and batting one in. John Gil had the other multi-hit game, going two for five, while Owen Carey was one for three but did draw a pair of walks. Eric Hartman went one for five, but stole two bases – giving him 51 steals on the season. Adam Zebrowski added a triple in the win.
Rome Emperors 12, Greenville Drive 2
- Luis Guanipa, LF: 3-5, 2 R, 2 SB, .236/.252/.396
- Conor Essenburg, RF: 0-2, 2 BB, R, 3 SB, .211/.396/.316
- Carter Beck, CF: 1-4, HR, BB, R, 3 RBI, .190/.306/.357
- Dixon Williams, DH: 1-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB, .236/.334/.463
- Daniel Brooks, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 0.00 ERA
Box Score
Daniel Brooks continued his dominance over A-ball here as he went four more scoreless innings in his second High-A start. In this one Brooks allowed two hits and no walks as he struck out five and whiffed 11. He has now allowed just three runs (two earned) over 36 innings between Rome and Augusta. Brooks left with his pitch count at 59, throwing 44 strikes. Both of the Greenville runs scored off of Logan Samuels, as he pitched the next two innings out of the pen. The game was finished off by two scoreless frames from David Rodriguez and one from Tyler Schoff.
The Rome offense had a fun evening here, as seven guys had at least one hit and all nine reached base safely in a game that saw four home runs and a perfect 6 for 6 in stolen base attempts. The homers came from Carter Beck, who hit his first with Rome, and Dixon Williams, who also added a steal to give him 21 homers and 29 steals on the year. The other two came from Will Verdung and Colin Burgess. Luis Guanipa had a three-hit game that included two runs scored and two steals, taking him to 41 on the season. Conor Essenburg was hitless in two at bats, but did draw a pair of walks and stole three bases – giving him 10 on the season. Burgess and Cade Doughty also added multi-hit games in the win, with Doughty having a double.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6, Augusta GreenJackets 5
- Manuel Campos, SS: 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, .218/.235/.346
- Juan Mateo, 2B: 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, .251/.330/.363
- Caleb Klein, CF: 2-5, R, .322/.438/.339
- Luis Arestigueta, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 6.55 ERA
Box Score
Luis Arestigueta came into this game after going his last two starts, not allowing any runs over 11 innings. He did allow one run over five innings, though it was unearned, on just two hits and no walks. That means he hasn’t allowed an earned run over his last 16 innings in three starts. He struck out six and also had six whiffs, though he had better command today than he had in those last two fairly effectively wild outings. Nico Wagner followed and allowed four runs (three earned) over three innings, and Kade Woods allowed one run during his inning.
The top of the order did most of the damage for the Jackets tonight, as Juan Mateo and Manuel Campos each homered and drove in a pair of runs. The Mateo homer was just his sixth of the year, but the fourth of August for him as he is seeing a late season spike in power fairly similar to John Gil last year. Whether he can continue that power into next year is still up for debate, though I do have belief that he can continue to grow the power in his game. Campos’ homer was his second here and fourth in 67 games between Augusta and the FCL. Caleb Klein added a two-hit night, while Nick Montgomery and Dominic Kibler each doubled, with Montgomery also drawing a walk.
