John Gil had the offensive breakout we’ve been waiting to see from him during a slow April, while JR Ritchie and Rayven Antonio both had excellent starts on Sunday.
Sunday was a fun day for the Atlanta Braves system. Four wins in five games as John Gil broke out in a big way to nearly raise his OPS by 100 points. We also saw excellent starts from JR Ritchie, Rayven Antonio, and Jose Suarez, while Patrick Clohisy and EJ Exposito stayed hot and the prospect loaded Augusta lineup all got in on the action.
Gwinnett Stripers 5, Nashville Sounds 3
- Jarred Kelenic, CF: 1-4, 2B, R, .273/.407/.318
- Garrett Cooper, DH: 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, .256/.354/.360
- Eddys Leonard, 2B: 2-4, 2B, R, .222/.253/.478
- Jose Suarez, SP: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA
Jose Suarez followed up four shutout innings in his first start since demotion with another four shutout innings on Sunday. Suarez allowed three hits and a pair of walks while striking out six batters as he has been lights out ever since coming down from the big leagues. Suarez was followed by a scoreless frame from Dylan Dodd, before Michael Petersen allowed two runs during his inning of work. The final three innings saw Domingo Gonzalez and Dylan Covey sandwich shutout innings around Jordan Weems giving up a run during his inning.
The standouts at the plate were Garrett Cooper and Eddys Leonard, each of whom went two for four with a double and run scored, with Cooper picking up a pair of runs batted in. Cooper also recorded an impressive 108.5 MPH exit velocity in this game. Conner Capel also had a two-hit game and recorded an RBI in the win, while Jarred Kelenic added a double and run scored from his leadoff spot in the lineup.
Swings and Misses:
Jose Suarez – 9
Michael Petersen – 5
Dylan Dodd – 3
Jordan Weems – 3
Biloxi Shuckers 6, Columbus Clingstones 1
- David McCabe, DH: 0-3, 2 BB, RBI, .282/.442/.394
- Didier Fuentes, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 9.39 ERA
- Jorge Juan, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 3.60 ERA
- Hayden Harris, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
The lone loss in the system on Sunday was Columbus. Didier Fuentes was on the mound and unfortunately didn’t have his best stuff in this one. Fuentes allowed three runs in the first four innings before allowing three more in his final inning of work, giving up six runs on eight hits and no walks over five innings with three strikeouts. That total including a two-run homer to Brewers slugger prospect Brock Wilken in the third inning. Jorge Juan followed and didn’t allow any hits or runs over his two innings, walking two and striking out four. Then Hayden Harris came in for an inning and didn’t allow any hits while walking one and striking out a pair. This brings Harris up to a video game stat line through his first 11 innings on the season, a 0.00 ERA, 0.36 WHIP and a 14.7 K/9. A scoreless inning from Jonathan Hughes finished off the pitching side of things in this game.
Despite only scoring one run the Columbus offense had some success on Sunday. Cal Conley, Ethan Workinger, and Keshawn Ogans all had two-hit games out of the one, two, and nine holes in the lineup, with Ogans recording a double in the process. Then there was David McCabe, who was hitless in two at bats, but drew two walks and picked up an RBI through a sac fly. Cade Bunnell and Chandler Seagle also reached base multiple times in the loss, with each picking up a single and a walk. The reason the Clingstones only tallied one run is the fact they were one for nine with runners in scoring position, and left a total of 11 runners on base.
Swings and Misses:
Didier Fuentes – 11
Jorge Juan – 6
Hayden Harris – 3
Rome Emperors 8, Hub City Spartanburgers 1
- Patrick Clohisy, CF: 1-3, HR, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, .256/.393/.384
- EJ Exposito, 3B: 3-4, 2 R, SB, .378/.489/.676
- JR Ritchie, SP: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1.65 ERA
The first game of the double header was over in a hurry, as Rome tacked on five runs in the first and never looked back. That meant a fairly stress free day for JR Ritchie, and he certainly took advantage. Ritchie went four and two thirds, allowing just one unearned run on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts and dropped his ERA to 1.65 through his first six starts. Ritchie is establishing himself as back to being full strength from the injury he suffered right as he was starting to break out in early 2023. Giomar Diaz followed with an inning and a third scoreless that included two strikeouts, and Austin Smith pitched the final inning without allowing a run to come in.
Patrick Clohisy got the scoring started in the first inning with a two-run homer, which ended up being all of the offense Rome needed to get this win. Clohisy added a walk and scored another run in this game. EJ Exposito went three for four, and couldn’t be any hotter through this being his tenth game of the season with a 1.165 OPS. Lizandro Espinoza and Dylan Shockley each added two-hit games, while Bryson Horne singled and walked to also reach base twice in the win. Clohisy was joined by Shockley and Will Verdung among the hitters who recorded a pair of runs batted in during the first game of the day.
Swings and Misses:
JR Ritchie – 13
Giomar Diaz – 6
Rome Emperors 2, Hub City Spartanburgers 0
- Patrick Clohisy, RF: 2-4, R, 2 SB, .267/.396/.389
- Titus Dumitru, LF: 2-3, 3B, R, RBI, SB, .253/.330/.337
- Cory Wall, RP: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 0.71 ERA
The second game of the doubleheader saw a bullpen game that ended in a shutout for Rome. Samuel Strickland started and lasted one inning, before Cory Wall went two innings and picked up the win. Tyler LaPorte and LJ McDonough each went an inning, and Isaac Gallegos picked up the save with a two inning stint to finish this one off. Combined the five pitchers went seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
After being a big factor in the first game of the day, Patrick Clohisy continued to be a big factor for the Rome offense in the second game. Clohisy was two for four with a run scored and two stolen bases, bringing him to three for seven with a homer, walk, three runs scored, two batted in, and two steals on the day. With his three for three game on Friday included, he has seen his slash line move from .225/.364/.313 to .267/.396/.389 over the weekend. Titus Dumitru was also a big factor in the win, as he was two for three with a triple, steal, and responsible for both runs Rome scored as he scored one and batted the other in. Dumitru was finished the day three for six with a triple, three runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. Harry Owen also added a two-hit game, while Will Verdung doubled and picked up an RBI – giving him a total of three on the day between both games.
Swings and Misses:
Isaac Gallegos – 5
Cory Wall – 2
Augusta GreenJackets 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 1
- John Gil, SS: 4-5, HR, 2B, 3 R, RBI, SB, .240/.333/.323
- Owen Carey, CF: 3-5, R, 2 RBI, .284/.352/.411
- Isaiah Drake, RF: 2-5, RBI, 2 SB, .262/.351/.333
- Eric Hartman, LF: 2-5, 3B, R, .223/.336/.383
- Nick Montgomery, C: 2-4, BB, .146/.245/.247
- Rayven Antonio, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 2.20 ERA
- Luis Arestigueta, RP: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1.93 ERA
Rayven Antonio got the ball and turned in a dominant outing, pitching five scoreless innings on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Antonio needed just 62 pitches to get through five, and picked up 11 swings and misses. Antonio has been spectacular over his last three starts, allowing just one earned run between the three appearances. Luis Arestigueta was next and he allowed a run on three hits and a walk over three innings of relief, before David Rodriguez pitched a scoreless frame that included a pair of strikeouts.
This game is going to be known as the John Gil breakout game. Gil came in hitting .209/.311/.253 on the year and raised his OPS by 92 points to .240/.333/.323, as he was a triple short of the cycle. Gil launched his first homer of the year, doubled, stole a base, and scored three runs during a four for five afternoon. Gil was hardly the only Jacket to have a big day, as the first seven guys in the lineup all reached base multiple times in the win. Owen Carey had the second most notable game here, as he was three for five with a run and a pair of RBI. Isaiah Drake was two for five with an RBI and stole a pair of bases, Eric Hartman was two for five with a triple, Colby Jones drew a pair of walks and stole two bases, Nick Montgomery was two for four with a walk, and Douglas Glod had a single and a walk. Augusta combined for 14 base hits and four walks, which makes it crazy to realize this was a 2-1 game heading into the ninth inning.
Swings and Misses:
Rayven Antonio – 11
Luis Arestigueta – 6