The highlight of Sunday’s action had to be Blake Burkhalter making his second start with Gwinnett.
Sunday was a decent day for the Atlanta Braves organization, winning three of five games on the day. Well except for Augusta, whose awful weekend continued yet another day. The highlights of the day were Blake Burkhalter’s second start in Gwinnett which was followed by dominant appearances from Daysbel Hernandez and Hayden Harris, and strong games from Owen Carey, Eric Hartman, Nick Montgomery, and Jacob Kroeger.
Gwinnett Stripers 5, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 3
- Eddys Leonard, LF: 1-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, .229/.296/.432
- Blake Burkhalter, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 3.60 ERA
- Daysbel Hernandez, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA
- Hayden Harris, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.84 ERA
Blake Burkhalter made his second start with Gwinnett and threw five solid innings against Jacksonville. He gave up three runs on five hits and four walks, striking out three and picking up nine swings and misses. He didn’t have his sharpest command in this one, but was still able to battle through and give the Stripers five solid innings. Fortunately the pen was lights out. Daysbel Hernandez went two scoreless frames without allowing a base runner and picked up four strikeouts. Hayden Harris came in for an inning and struck out the side, and finally Enoli Paredes went a scoreless inning to pick up the save.
Eddys Leonard was the star for the Stripers offense, hitting a two-run homer in the fifth plus scoring another run in the win. If not him the José Devers three for three plus a walk, run, RBI, and stolen base game was the standout performance here. Jonathan Ornelas and Jarred Kelenic added doubles in the win.
Swing and Misses
Blake Burkhalter – 9
Daysbel Hernandez – 4
Hayden Harris – 3
Rocket City Trash Pandas 7, Columbus Clingstones 2
- Chandler Seagle, C: 1-2, 2B, BB, 2 RBI .144/.213/.198
- Lucas Braun, SP: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 4.32 ERA
- Amos Willingham, RP: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 5.12 ERA
Lucas Braun got the start in game one and had a tough day. After giving up three runs in the first inning, he settled down and kept the Trash Pandas off the board for the next two innings. He got hit again in the fourth, allowing two more runs before being chased an out shy of four innings. On the day he went three and two thirds, allowing five runs on four hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts. Amos Willingham followed him and allowed an unearned run over the next inning and a third, before Blane Abeyta gave up the final run in his one inning.
The Stones offense failed to launch in this game outside of Chandler Seagle. Seagle walked, doubled, and batted in both of the team’s runs in the loss. A Kevin Kilpatrick double and singles by David McCabe and Cal Conley accounted for all of the Columbus hits in this one.
Swing and Misses
Lucas Braun – 9
Amos Willingham – 6
Blane Abeyta – 4
Columbus Clingstones 8, Rocket City Trash Pandas 3
- Ethan Workinger, RF: 1-4, HR, R, RBI, .224/.294/.416
- Adam Zebrowski, C: 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, .218/.282/.327
- Austin Smith, RP: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 6.00 ERA
Ian Mejia started game two and started strong, keeping Rocket City off the board for the first three innings, before giving up a run in the fourth. He would give up two more in the fifth, before being chased from the game one out shy of five innings. In his four and two thirds he allowed three runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Jose Cuas followed and battled command issues. Cuas didn’t allow a run over an inning, but did walk three batters. Austin Smith was the final reliever, and he ended up striking out batters for all four outs he recorded.
Ethan Workinger and Adam Zebroski each homered late in the game to help the Stones win. Workinger’s shot in the sixth put them up, while Zebrowski’s dinger inn the top of the seventh helped add some insurance. Geraldo Quintero and Zebrowski were the only guys with multi-hit games, though David McCabe and EJ Exposito each singled and walked, and Cade Bunnell drew a pair of walks.
Swing and Misses
Ian Mejia – 8
Austin Smith – 7
Jose Cuas – 5
Rome Emperors 4, Asheville Tourists 3
- Mason Guerra, 1B: 2-5, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI, .246/.288/.391
- Ambioris Tavarez, 2B: 3-5, 2 RBI, .236/.342/.319
- Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 5 K, 2.22 ERA
- Jacob Kroeger, RP: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2.23 ERA
Cedric De Grandpre and Jacob Kroeger combined to hold the Tourists to three runs in the win. De Grandpre started and battled with his command, allowing five walks and two hits with two runs over four innings, but striking out five. Kroeger went the final five innings out of the pen, allowing a run on one hit and one walk and striking out three.
Offensively two guys batted in all four runs. Mason Guerra doubled twice in five at bats, scoring once and batting in two runs, while Ambioris Tavarez went three for five with a pair of RBI. Patrick Clohisy and Jake Steels both had two-hit games that included a double, while Justin Janas also had a two-hit game.
Swing and Misses
Jacob Kroeger – 7
Cedric De Grandpre – 7
Myrtle Beach Pelicans 14, Augusta GreenJackets 2
- Owen Carey, LF: 2-3, 2B, BB, R, .252/.329/.335
- Eric Hartman, DH: 1-3, BB, R, SB, .226/.338/.366
- Owen Hackman, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 4.02 ERA
The rough weekend for Augusta continued on Sunday. After being no-hit on Friday and being blown out 12-1 on Saturday, Sunday saw Myrtle Beach bludgeon the GreenJackets 14-2. Despite the ugly final starter Owen Hackman actually had a quality start, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk over six innings, striking out four. Things only got ugly late, as the bullpen struggled in a big way. Samuel Mejia gave up seven runs, including six earned, while recording only one out. Jackson Dannelley allowed four more runs, while also recording just one out in what came out to be an 11-run seventh inning for Myrtle Beach. Seth Keller got the final out of the inning and pitched the eighth without giving up any additional runs, but the damage was already done.
Offensively it was a quiet game for most of the lineup, except Owen Carey. Carey went two for three with a walk, double, and run scored to lead the way. Eric Hartman was also one for three with a walk, run scored, and stolen base. Finally Nick Montgomery was one for two with a pair of walks, as only those three reached base multiple times. Recent promotion Juan Mateo ended up one for four with an RBI, while Luis Guanipa had the day off.
Swing and Misses
Samuel Mejia – 7
Owen Hackman – 6
Seth Keller – 5