David McCabe hit a pair of homers on Sunday, while Jeremy Reyes showed flashes of dominance in his start for Augusta.
Sunday was a brutal day in the Atlanta Braves farm system. Not only did all four teams lose, but outside of some homers none of the offenses got going, and all four starting pitchers struggled with their command – with three having tough days. There were positives though, like Jeremy Reyes not allowing a hit in four and two thirds innings, David McCabe having a two homer game, Nick Montgomery hitting a homer, and EJ Exposito homering for the second day in a row.
Nashville Sounds 10, Gwinnett Stripers 4
- Sandy Leon, DH: 1-2, HR, R, 3 RBI, .188/.255/.375
- David Fletcher, 2B: 1-3, HR, R, RBI, .161/.207/.223
- Hurston Waldrep, SP: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 0 K, 6.35 ERA
This game was over from the jump as Hurston Waldrep started and got knocked out of the game while recording just one out. Waldrep didn’t have his command at all and Nashville jumped all over him for six runs in that third of an inning. Waldrep surrendered two hits and four walks with just 14 strikes in his 35 pitches. That meant this became an unexpected bullpen game with Rolddy Munoz going an inning and two thirds and then six other relievers all pitching one inning. Brian Moran, Jackson Stephens, Jhancarlos Lara, Enoli Paredes, Michael Petersen, and Jesse Chavez all worked one inning, with all but Petersen pitching a scoreless inning – Petersen was credited with four runs allowed in his inning.
The Stripers offense didn’t fare much better than the pitching staff, as the top six hitters managed just one hit in the game. On the plus side the bottom of the order really did a little bit of work on Sunday. Sandy Leon homered and picked up three runs batted in, David Fletcher hit his first homer of the season, and Coner Capel tripled and walked. Those three combined for all four runs scored and batted in. Jarred Kelenic and Carlos Rodriguez were both held hitless in the loss.
Swing and Misses
Rolddy Munoz – 6
Jhancarlos Lara – 3
Pensacola Blue Wahoos 9, Columbus Clingstones 2
- David McCabe, DH: 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, .255/.379/.412
- Geraldo Quintero, LF: 2-4, 2B, .247/.328/.469
- Brett Sears, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 4 BB, 4 K, 4.20 ERA
Sunday was the second start* for Brett Sears in Double-A (he also made a four inning relief appearance as part of a piggyback outing), and this outing didn’t go like the last few. Sears did last five innings, but allowed seven runs on five hits and four walks, including a pair of homers against him. It wasn’t quite as bad as the final line looked, as he allowed two in the first, three more in the fourth, then the final two runs in the sixth without recording any outs in that inning. While Sears didn’t have his best command on this day, he did strike out four and pick up eight swings and misses. Three different relievers followed and each recorded a pair of strikeouts in an inning, with Jose Cuas and Blane Abeyta each throwing a scoreless inning, and Amos Willingham giving up two additional runs sandwiched between those two.
The offense had a tough go at it with the exception of two guys. Four hits were all the Clingstones managed, and all four came from those two guys. The obvious star of the game was David McCabe, who hit a pair of solo homers to double his season total and raise his slugging percentage by 39 points in an afternoon. Geraldo Quintero also went two for four with a double in the loss. Ethan Workinger was held hitless in four at bats in this one.
Swing and Misses
Brett Sears – 8
Amos Willingham – 4
Blane Abeyta – 3
Greenville Drive 7, Rome Emperors 2
- EJ Exposito, 3B: 3-4, HR, R, RBI, .269/.365/.485
- Ambioris Tavarez, 2B: 0-3, RBI, .238/.338/.315
- Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 3.38 ERA
Following his season debut in High-A after an injury and rehab stint, Cedric De Grandpre wasn’t quite as effective this time out. Last weekend he threw six no-hit innings, and this time he lasted three innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks with just one strikeout. De Grandpre didn’t have his best stuff in this outing and just wasn’t making batters miss, as well as having issues with his command – he threw 37 strikes against 32 balls. Jacob Gomez followed with a pair of scoreless innings before Samuel Strickland allowed three runs in an inning and a third. Finally Isaac Gallegos pitched a scoreless inning and two thirds to finish this game off.
This is another game where the offense didn’t do much, with the exception of EJ Exposito. A day after a multi-hit game that included a homer, EJ did it all over again. Exposito topped his Saturday performance by recording three hits on the day, while slugging his third homer of June. Justin Janas, Jace Grady, Mac Guscette, and Joe Olsavsky each recorded a single in the loss to account for all of the Rome hits. Ambioris Tavarez ended up hitless on the day, but did pick up a run batted in, while Titus Dumitru was hitless, and Patrick Clohisy wasn’t in the lineup.
Swing and Misses
Isaac Gallegos – 4
Jacob Gomez – 2
Fayetteville Woodpeckers 3, Augusta GreenJackets 1
- Owen Carey, RF: 0-2, 2 BB, .277/.354/.386
- John Gil, SS: 0-1, 3 BB, .246/.349/.310
- Nick Montgomery, C: 1-4, HR, R, RBI, .166/.254/.272
- Jeremy Reyes, SP: 4.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 1.23 ERA
Jeremy Reyes showed you in one game why he is both a very promising young arm, but also a very raw player who is years away. The 19-year-old didn’t allow a hit in four and two thirds innings, giving up an unearned run with seven strikeouts and 16 swings and misses. Of course he also walked four, hit two, and threw exactly half of his 86 pitches for balls. Seth Keller followed with two scoreless innings before Adam Shoemaker battled his command and allowed two runs in his inning. The final inning and a third went to Trent Buchanan, who punched out hitters for all four outs he recorded.
The offense only managed three hits, but did draw eight walks on the day. The highlight had to be Nick Montgomery hitting his fourth homer of the season for the lone Augusta run. John Gil drew three walks and Owen Carey two, while Isaiah Drake, Colby Jones, and Mason Guerra all reached base with a walk in the loss.
Swing and Misses
Jeremy Reyes – 16
Trent Buchanan – 6
Seth Keller – 2