Antonio struck out seven on the night for the GreenJackets
(37-54) Gwinnett Stripers 8, (53-37) Indianapolis Indians 4
- Matthew Batten, 1B: 1-5, HR, 4 RBI
- Sandy Leon, C: 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R
- Eddys Leonard, DH: 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Blake Burkhalter, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K
It took extra innings, but Gwinnett came out victorious against Indianapolis on Friday night.
Blake Burkhalter made his first start since getting promoted to triple-A, and he didn’t disappoint. In five innings of work, the righty allowed just one run on four hits and struck out four batters in the start. What’s more impressive, is that despite Burkhalter walking three batters, he also managed to tally 19 swing and misses — the second-most among triple-A arms on the night.
The Stripers provided Burkhalter with just one run of offense while he was on the mound — an RBI-triple from Cody Milligan to score Sandy Leon in the third inning.
After Burkhalter exited, the Stripers offense finally woke up, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning. All runs came via home runs, as Eddys Leonard launched a two-run homer and Sandy Leon added a solo shot two batters later to give Gwinnett a 4-1 lead.
Indianapolis ultimately came back to tie the game after three runs in the final two innings to send this one to the tenth.
With two outs in the inning and the bases loaded, Matthew Batten turned on an 85 MPH cutter and hammered a grand slam over the left center field wall to give the Stripers an 8-4 lead.
In the home half, Wander Suero would be called upon to close this one out, and he did so in solid fashion, retiring the side in order to seal off the win.
(34-48) Columbus Clingstones 1, (44-40) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 8
- Drew Compton, 1B: 1-4, 2B
- Riley Frey, SP: 3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K
Offense was hard to come by for Columbus in this one, as the Clingstones managed just one run on four hits in the loss.
Riley Frey got the start in this one, and it was one he’d most-likely rather forget. In his first double-A start, Frey lasted just three innings, scattering seven hits and five runs while striking out four. It’s the third outing this season in which he has given up at least five earned runs in a start.
However, Frey’s offense didn’t help him out much in this one. The lone run in this one came in the bottom of the first inning, as Ethan Workinger brought home Geraldo Quintero on a groundout to actually give Columbus the 1-0 lead.
However, Pensacola scored five runs in the top of the third and three runs in the eighth to take this one by the 8-1 final.
(36-47) Rome Emperors 2, (43-41) Hub City Spartanburgers 8
- Patrick Clohisy, DH: 3-5, R
- Lizandro Espinoza, CF: 1-5, 2B, RBI
- Garrett Baumann, SP: 5 IP, 9 H, 6 ER
Rome starter Garrett Baumann has a bit of a rough beginning to the month of July. Making his first start on Independence Day, Baumann gave up four runs in five innings. Making his second start of the month on Friday, Baumann went further south, giving up six earned runs in five innings while scattering nine hits. What makes Friday’s performance worse — or better, depending on how you view it — is that Baumann failed to strike anyone out, but also didn’t issue a single walk on the night.
While it’s only two starts, it’s a rather discouraging development for Baumann who, in his three final starts in June, tossed three scoreless outings while striking out 17 in 15.2 innings. It’s entirely possible that the two most recent outings are simply a fluke for Baumann, so we’ll see if he can get back on track next week.
Meanwhile at the plate, the Emperors scored just twice in this one. The first run came in the bottom of the first inning as Lizandro Espinoza doubled home Patrick Clohisy. The second scoring opportunity came in the home half of the fourth, as Mac Guscette was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to plate Will Verdung.
(43-40) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (33-50) Salem Red Sox 0
- Colby Jones, SS: 1-3, RBI
- Isaiah Drake, RF: 2-3
- Rayven Antonio, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K
Weather got in the way of this one being a full, 9-inning contest, but Rayven Antonio still made sure the fans who stuck around through a rain delay got their money’s worth.
Antonio was simply excellent in this one, as the 19-year-old tossed a complete game (seven innings) shutout while giving up just two hits and striking out seven on the night.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a prospect whose stock has risen more in the past month or so than Antonio. Across his four starts dating back to June 20, Antonio has completed at least five innings while only giving up two earned runs during that span.
Offensively in this one, the GreenJackets had a tough time as well, but still managed to string some hits together in the late going.
The only two runs of the game in this one came on an RBI-single off the bat of Colby Jones that plated Luis Guanipa and Eric Hartman — who scored on a throwing error — as Augusta took a 2-0 lead which held as the final.
(16-32) FCL Braves 0, (24-24) FCL Rays 1
- Robert Gonzalez, CF: 1-2, 2B
- Jose Perdomo, SS: 1-3
- Jacob Shafer, SP: 3.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 K
Despite matching the FCL Rays in total hits on the day, the FCL Braves came out on the wrong end of a low-scoring affair.
Jacob Shafer got the start for the squad and allowed just one run in 3.2 innings of work, striking out three in the process.
At the plate, the Braves managed just three hits, with Robert Gonzalez tallying the lone extra-base knock — a double.
(11-17) DSL Braves 4, (14-15) DSL Royals Fortuna 5
- Juan Elejandro, 2B: 2-5, 2B, RBI
- Elisandro Ramirez, RF: 2-4, 3B, R
- Diego Tornes, DH: 1-3, R, 2 BB
- Dayner Matos, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K
The DSL Braves were walked off on Friday against the DSL Royals squad, losing by a 5-4 final.
Starter Dayner Matos put up solid numbers, tossing five innings while giving up two runs and striking out seven on the night as well.
At the plate, the DSL squad got plenty of support, including an RBI-double from Juan Elejandro and a triple from Elisandro Ramirez.
Diego Tornes continues to show his advanced feel for the zone, as the 17-year-old drew a pair of walks, raising his season OPS to .758 thus far.