Kyle Muller and Andrew Hoffmann turned in strong outings on Thursday.
Thursday saw some strong starts from Kyle Muller and Andrew Hoffmann while four Augusta pitchers combined for a 14-strikeout shutout in Atlanta Braves minor league action.
Gwinnett Stripers 5, Louisville Bats 3
- Braden Shewmake, SS: 2-4, R, .728 OPS
- Drew Waters, CF: 1-4, R, .717 OPS
- Chadwick Tromp, C: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2B, .862 OPS
- Kyle Muller, SP: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 3.47 ERA
Kyle Muller turned in an excellent start on Thursday, pitching seven innings of one run baseball against Louisville. Muller allowed just four hits and one walk over those seven innings, while also throwing a high percentage of strikes (67 of 93 pitches). Starts like this one will earn Muller another shot in Atlanta if he can string a few more together. Brandon Brennan followed Muller and gave up a pair of runs in his inning, but Brad Brach was able to pitch out of a little trouble in the ninth to get the save.
The star at the plate in this game was Chadwick Tromp, who had two hits, including a double and also drove in a pair of runs. Braden Shewmake also had a two-hit game and Preston Tucker added a pair of RBI as well. Drew Waters went 1-for-4 and scored a run in the win.
Montgomery Biscuits 7, Mississippi Braves 3 – F/10
- Jalen Miller, LF: 2-4, R, RBI, BB, .861 OPS
- Darius Vines, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 4.38 ERA
- Hayden Deal RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 2.79 ERA
That 7-3 score is a bit misleading as this game was tied at three through nine innings before Montgomery put up four runs in the tenth inning to get the win. Darius Vines got the start and allowed seven hits and three runs over five innings to go along with seven strikeouts. Hayden Deal followed Vines with a pair of scoreless innings and three strikeouts, Justin Maese pitched a scoreless ninth but came back out and allowed four unearned runs in the 10th thanks in part to a throwing error of his own.
Outside of Jalen Miller the Mississippi offense struggled mightily on Thursday. Miller had two hits and reached base three times and also drove in a run. The rest of the offense combined for just four hits, all of them being singles as the team went without an extra base hit in the loss.
Rome Braves 5, Bowling Green Hot Rods 4
- Vaughn Grissom, 2B: 2-4, R, 2B, .768 OPS
- Justyn-Henry Malloy, 3B: 2-3, R, BB, 2B, .887 OPS
- Bryson Horne: 1B: 3-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2B, .597 OPS
- Andrew Hoffmann, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 2.82 ERA
Andrew Hoffmann turned in yet another strong start on Thursday, going five innings and allowing one run, four hits and a walk while striking out eight. With this game, Hoffmann dropped his ERA on the season to 2.82 through 10 starts, and could be nearing a promotion to Double-A. Ben Dum and Davis Schwab followed Hoffmann with a scoreless inning apiece before the back of the bullpen let Bowling Green draw a little closer.
Bryson Horne had a big day to help carry the Rome offense, going 3-for-4 with a homer, double, and three RBI. Vaughn Grissom added two hits, including a double and scored a run. Justyn-Henry Malloy also finished with two hits and a walk reaching base three times. Those three guys would combine for seven of the nine Rome hits in this win.
Augusta GreenJackets 4, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 0
- Cal Conley, SS: 2-4, R, .663 OPS
- Brandon Parker: RF: 2-4, R, RBI, 2 2B, .803 OPS
- Landon Leach, SP: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 4.04 ERA
- Tyler Owens, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 3,86 ERA
- Rolddy Munoz, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 5.19 ERA
Four Augusta pitchers combined to shut out Kannapolis on Thursday night. Landon Leach went the first four innings and gave up three hits and three walks while striking out six. Tyler Owens followed and picked up the win, going two innings allowing just one hit while striking out four. Rolddy Munoz also threw a pair of innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out a pair. The final inning went to Rob Griswold, who struck out a pair. Combined in the shutout, the Augusta quartet gave up five hits and five walks while striking out 14 batters.
Brandon Parker and Cal Conley led the offense in this one. Parker doubled twice, while Conley had two hits and scored a run. Rusber Estrada and Geraldo Quintero both doubled in the win.