Caminiti’s pitching helped lead an exciting win for the GreenJackets
The Atlanta Braves affiliates are looking for a fresh start in the second half, and the Augusta GreenJackets seem poised to make a run for the postseason. Behind Cam Caminiti they were able to record their first win of the second half, with a comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning capping off an exciting game. We also got our weekly dose of JR Ritchie, who despite a rough stat line looked much better than that and continues to put up solid performances at Double-A.
(28-46) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (36-38) Charlotte Knights 4
- Nacho Alvarez, SS: 2-3, BB, .400/.571/.600
- Jurickson Profar, LF: 0-4, BB, .429/.480/.762
- Adam Maier, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 7.20 ERA
- Jhancarlos Lara, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 9.31 ERA
Adam Maier was forced into a surprise start for a very thin Gwinnett Stripers rotation, and given the circumstances and the struggles he has had at the lower levels he held his own though he did take the loss. Maier was shaky in the first inning as he struggled to find the strike zone with any of his pitches, but the Knights swung at some bad pitches and made weak contact and he wrapped things up with a strikeout. That would end up being his best results though as he allowed two two-run home runs both on sliders that he hung middle-middle. He did managed to cover five innings, something the Stripers management surely has to appreciate, but his command in this game never really got him to a point he could have a ton of success. When he kept the ball around the edges and got the Knights fishing he was able to get weak contact, but he wasn’t finishing the ball in the bottom portion of the strike zone nearly often enough to be successful given his profile and because of that didn’t miss many bats. The positive point on the pitching end was another great outing from Jhancarlos Lara, and in particular he threw plenty of quality strikes in his inning of work. Lara’s velocity was down a bit this game, but if averaging 98.5 mph on his fastball instead of 100.5 is what it takes for him to throw a reasonable amount of strikes then that’s a trade off all sides are going to be willing to make.
The problem once again for Gwinnett was that this team just cannot hit and score runs consistently. Still this was one of their better batted ball games in recent weeks, and in particular Jarred Kelenic had three well-hit balls. Naturally, him banging a double off of the top of the wall to dead center field in the eighth inning is the highlight of the crop, but on two other occasions he smoked the ball for loud outs. In the fourth inning that was on a fly out to the left field side of center field, which fluttered down harmlessly at the warning track but took a good effort for the center fielder to track down. Kelenic also came to bat in a huge spot in the fifth inning, with two runners on base and the game at 4-1 for Gwinnett’s biggest chance to put up a crooked inning. Kelenic turned and ripped a line drive but it was right to the first baseman to end the inning. Either of those could have been huge had they fallen. Kelenic’s fly out was followed by Nacho Alvarez lacing one of his two hits the opposite way for a 104.5 mph single that marked the hardest-hit ball by a Striper in this game. In the eighth inning Alvarez was able to record a hit on a grounder down the line that the third baseman couldn’t handle, but with the bases loaded Eddy Alvarez grounded into an inning-ending double play that snuffed out Gwinnett’s final chance to come back. Jurickson Profar had a walk in the fifth inning but otherwise was quiet on the day with poor contact in his other four plate appearances all ending in outs.
Swing and Misses
Adam Maier – 6
Kevin Herget – 4
Jhancarlos Lara – 3
(25-40) Columbus Clingstones 3, (38-30) Birmingham Barons 7
- Cody Milligan, CF: 1-4, 2B, BB, .190/.325/.286
- Geraldo Quintero, LF: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, .234/.337/.468
- JR Ritchie, SP: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3.86 ERA
- LJ McDonough, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.00 ERA
After a delay to the game the Clingstones were ready to go behind JR Ritchie, and the game got off to a fast start with both pitchers struggling in the first inning. Cody Milligan led off the game for Columbus by working a walk, and the Clingstones would take advantage and grasp the early lead. Geraldo Quintero got a curveball that hung up in the zone on the first pitch of his two-out at-bat, and he ripped one into left field and snuck it over the wall for his eighth home run of the season. Columbus certainly had to feel good with a very early 2-0 lead, but it wouldn’t last for long as JR Ritchie got the short end of the batted ball stick immediately to open the bottom of the inning. Leadoff man Rikuu Nishida just flicked a two-strike slider well under the zone into the outfield for a bloop single, and the next batter muscled a ball in between center and right field for a double to put two in scoring position with no outs. The next batter (fairly, this time) got a slider up in the zone and turned on it for a double, scoring both runs and tying the game. Ritchie did a great job this game after this of letting his execution take front and center though, shaking off the rough start to get the next 17 outs without allowing another hit. Ritchie’s command wasn’t his absolute best, but it was solid across all of his pitches and he shut down the Barons effectively through five while Columbus was able to claw out another run. Cal Conley tripled in the fourth inning to score EJ Exposito, and after retiring two batters quickly in the sixth inning it seemed Ritchie would finish his outing on a high note.
Once again though, he fell out of favor with the batted ball gods and was chased from the game before finishing the sixth. Ritchie’s velocity dipped a bit from his earlier 93-94 down to 92-93 that inning, but his execution on his sliders was magnificent and he looked to be rolling with no one ready to stop him. He made a poor pitch on a fastball that got lined for a two-out base hit, and then got a couple of unfortunate hopes. A bouncer to first base hopped over and off of the glove of Drew Compton, then with two outs a soft line drive just cleared Compton’s outstretched mitt and scored both runs to give Birmingham their first lead of the game. Despite a well-pitched out Ritchie came away with a loss and four runs allowed, but the box score doesn’t at all reflect the quality of his work. While the Columbus offense couldn’t live up to their first inning production the Barons continued to add on, getting three runs again Tyler LaPorte in the seventh inning to put the game away. After a couple of poor outings to open his Double-A career LJ McDonough has found his footing in his last four going a combined seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and only two walks.
Swing and Misses
JR Ritchie – 11
LJ McDonough – 4
Tyler LaPorte – 2
(30-37) Rome Emperors 5, (26-41) Winston-Salem Dash 6
- Ambioris Tavarez, 2B: 1-3, HR, HBP, 3 RBI, .230/.328/.316
- Titus Dumitru, LF: 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI, .247/.322/.342
- Cory Wall, SP: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.98 ERA
- Isaac Gallegos, RP: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.60 ERA
Rome and Winston-Salem both exploded out of the gates in this game only to fall back into a battle of bullpens that ultimately went against the Emperors. Rome was in a tough spot early as starter Cory Wall failed to complete the first inning and gave up three runs, only really being rescued by a baserunning mistake that accounted for the second out of the inning. With that three-run deficit and a long day from the bullpen looming the offense had their work cut out for them, and immediately got their lick back in the next half-inning. Titus Dumitru eked out a nine-pitch walk to lead off the inning, and the Emperors were really in business when Will Verdung followed with a flare single to put two runners on with no outs. Ambioris Tavarez then got a fastball on the inner half to work with and jumped all over it, hammering a no doubter to tie the game at three apiece. Tavarez was desperately in need of a swing like that after struggling immensely in June, with that being his first home run since May 20th and just his seventh hit in his past 15 games.
Rome was now desperately in need of a lot of outs from their bullpen, and Rob Griswold did a serviceable job but not without immediately letting Winston-Salem take the momentum back. Griswold allowed a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning that put the Dash back in the lead, and the Emperors would never again draw even in the game. Dumitru doubled in the top of the third inning to cut the lead down to one, but both sides settled in and started actually stringing together some outs to move the game along. Isaac Gallegos had a solid outing despite having his command be rough this game, with the only hiccup coming in the sixth inning. A roller down the first base line snuck into the corner for a two-out triple, and despite that being his only hit allowed the runner would score as he bounced a slider on the next pitch which skipped away for a wild pitch. Rome would get one run in the eighth inning. Luke Waddell led off with a double and came around to score on a sacrifice ground out, but Rome didn’t string together hits after the first couple of innings. Justin Janas doubled in the top of the ninth inning to give one last gasp of hope, but strikeouts from Tavarez and Mac Guscette ended the game.
Swing and Misses
Isaac Gallegos – 3
Rob Griswold – 3
William Silva – 3
(35-31) Augusta GreenJackets 3, (42-26) Lynchburg Hillcats 2
- Nick Montgomery, C: 3-4, RBI, .176/.264/.284
- Mason Guerra, 1B: 2-4, HR, .232/.387/.458
- Cam Caminiti, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3.18 ERA
- Seth Keller, RP: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 6.41 ERA
Cam Caminiti needed a bounce back outing after struggling his last time out, and though he wasn’t quite as efficient with his pitches as he may have hoped he still had an effective outing and put that blip in the rearview mirror. Caminiti’s command never settled in to the level he showed in his first outing this season, but when he needed pitches he made them and seemed to get stronger as the game went on. Caminiti really started to bury that slider in the later innings, but one notable point from this game was his fastball velocity being a bit down from his first couple of Augusta starts. He was mostly sitting around 92-93 and wasn’t getting that pitch elevated on the top edge of the zone like he dominated that first time out. Caminiti dropped in a few nice changeups, though, and the progress of his secondaries has been impressive. His slider has a more consistent shape this season as the Braves have had him focus on just one breaking ball so far, and his changeup remains an effective weapon though they have backed off of its usage in favor of developing his slider and four seam fastball.
Neither offense did much in the early portion of this game, and the top of Augusta’s lineup in particular couldn’t get a hit to fall. The terrific trio of Gil, Carey, and Drake combined to go 0-11 in this game, their collective first of the second half after all got a rest on Friday after playing every game to chase a first half division win. This put the impetus on the pitching staff, and Seth Keller answered the call despite his command getting very shaky towards the end of his three hitless innings. Keller was effective and his splitter is still a devastating pitch at this level, but unfortunately the velocity has backslid even more and he wasn’t even touching 90 this game. That and his poor command have made for a disappointing story for his career, and while he still is only 21 years old it’s hard to see this being anything more than an unfortunate story for a guy who injuries really robbed of a ton of potential.
In the bottom of the seventh inning these sides started to prove they could actually score some runs, though Augusta had to rely on a bit of defensive help to get theirs. Colby Jones hit a slow bouncer over to shortstop and the defender, pressed by Jones’s speed, booted the transfer and allowed Jones to reach on an error. That brought up two pieces that will be even more critical to this story later, as both Mason Guerra and Nick Montgomery had solid hits to bring around Jones for the game’s first run. Lynchburg then earned theirs back in the next half inning, with Luis Merejo going deep to tie the game with two outs. In the ninth inning the top of the Hillcats order strung together three straight two-out hits, setting them up with a lead headed into the bottom of the ninth inning.
Led by Jones, the GreenJackets had their work cut out for them, and Jones didn’t do them any favors by popping out to start the inning. Mason Guerra was determined to at least see this game enter extra innings, though, and on a 2-2 offering he got a high fastball and hit a rocket out to right center field. He was able to carry the ball just over the wall, tying the game on his ninth home run of the season. Montgomery then followed with another hard hit single, and Leiker Figueroa came in to pinch run representing the winning run. Elio Campos couldn’t get a hit, but advanced Figueroa on a ground out to bring up catcher Colin Burgess, a free agent signing that joined the GreenJackets last month. Burgess worked a terrific at bat at the plate and then got a pitch to hit, lining one into center field just out of reach of the diving defender, and Figueroa easily came around to score for a walk-off base hit.
Swing and Misses
Cam Caminiti – 7
Trent Buchanan – 5
Seth Keller – 3
(11-24) FCL Braves 4, (21-15) FCL Rays 6
- Eric Hartman, LF: 1-3, .333/.333/.333
- Jose Perdomo, SS: 0-4, .208/.257/.272
- Luis Guanipa, CF: 2-5, RBI, .222/.417/.333
The GreenJackets are already the most exciting team in the system, and they figure to get even better soon with Luis Guanipa and Eric Hartman (Ethan Bagwell is coming soon, as well) making their rehab down in the Florida Complex League. Hartman’s minor injury should take relatively little rehab, the Braves only really shutting him down out of an abundance of caution, and in his second at bat he was able to get a single. Guanipa has reportedly looked to be in great shape down in Florida as well, and is starting to get hits to fall with two more in this game. Both are projected to be back shortly barring any setbacks, though that will make the FCL team a bit less fun to follow. They’ve been quite bad, and Jose Perdomo continues to struggle. He now has only eight hits this month and a .401 OPS, and he hasn’t drawn a walk since his May 30th appearance. The pitching staff did well for eight innings in this game, but in the fifth Jhonly Taveras allowed six runs and recorded only one out, that inning being the one that ultimately sank the ship.
(7-7) DSL Braves 9, (3-11) DSL Dodgers Mega 7
- Diego Tornes, CF: 1-3, 3B, HBP, RBI, .333/.411/.479
- Michael Martinez, LF: 4-4, 2 2B, RBI, .241/.405/.379
- Yassel Garcia, DH: 1-1, 2 BB, HBP, .118/.375/.176
Diego Tornes is going off in the Dominican Summer League, and the reports on how good he has looked match the great numbers so far. With a triple in this game he has pushed his OPS up near .900, and with his 10th stolen base he moves into a tie for the league lead in that category. While information is always limited Tornes seems to be getting the highest praise out of any of the Braves post-sanction international signees. Outfielder Michael Martinez is repeating the DSL after having a relatively solid year last year, and in his nine games so far he’s had a very funky season. The overall numbers are good, especially having just three strikeouts, but he’s had seven hitless games and then two good games. The first a three-hit performance with two doubles and this a four hit performance with two-doubles.