Glod raised his season OPS to .714 with Wednesday’s performance
(21-31) Gwinnett Stripers 0, (31-21) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 8 (GAME 1)
- Jonathan Ornelas, SS: 1-3
- Hurston Waldrep, SP: 5.1 IP, 8 R, 3 ER, BB, 6 K
Simply put, game one of Gwinnett’s doubleheader on Wednesday was just bad overall. Hurston Waldrep wasn’t as sharp as he has been recently, his defense let him down several times and the offense stumbled, tallying just one hit over the course of seven innings.
Waldrep actually tossed a pair of scoreless innings and got a handful of swings and misses in what appeared to be the beginning of another strong outing. However, the wheels fell off in the top of the third.
Jacksonville plated two runs after Waldrep loaded the bases and actually committed a throwing error of his own, but the Stripers defense completely melted down after that. Another run scored in an Eddy Alvarez throwing error to make it 3-0 before Jacksonville launched a three-run homer later in the frame to extend their lead to 6-0.
The Jumbo Shrimp tacked on another run in each of the top of the fourth and sixth innings to make it an 8-0 deficit for the Stripers.
That proved to be more than enough to hold Gwinnett at bay, as newcomer Jonathan Ornelas was the lone Striper to notch a hit in the shutout loss.
(21-32) Gwinnett Stripers 0, (32-21) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 1 (GAME 2)
- Jason Delay, C: 1-3, 2B
- Jhancarlos Lara, RP: 1 IP, R, BB, 2 K
- Jesse Chavez, SP: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K
While things went much better defensively and on the mound for the Stripers in their second game of the day, the offense didn’t fare much better in the 1-0 loss.
Jesse Chavez served as the opener and did an admiral job, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing two walks and striking out a pair on the day. After Chavez departed, Jhancarlos Lara came in and put in an inning of work. While he issued one walk and Jacksonville proceeded to steal a pair of bases on him, Lara gave up one unearned run after Eddy Alvarez committed a crucial error with two outs in the inning to allow the Jumbo Shrimp to take a 1-0 lead.
That lead would be insurmountable for Gwinnett to overcome, as the Stripers totaled just two hits on the night — albeit a better performance than game one. The lone bright spot at the plate came from Jason Delay doubled in the bottom of the second inning.
(21-23) Columbus Clingstones , (22-22) Chattanooga Lookouts (GAME 1 — POSTPONED)
(21-23) Columbus Clingstones , (22-22) Chattanooga Lookouts (GAME 2 — POSTPONED)
Due to the enormous amounts of rain dumped on Chattanooga on Tuesday, both games of the doubleheader were postponed as field conditions on Wednesday were deemed unplayable. Game one will now be played on Thursday, May 29 as part of a doubleheader, while game two is scheduled to be played on May 31, also as a doubleheader.
(24-23) Rome Emperors 2, (20-27) Asheville Tourists 6
- Will Verdung, 1B: 3-4
- Bryson Horne, DH: 2-4, 2 RBI
- Luke Sinnard, 5.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, BB, 5 K
Luke Sinnard’s first start at high-A didn’t go as planned, needless to say. Overall, Sinnard’s command was solid as he issued just one walk in his 5.2 innings of work, and he even struck out five batters on the night.
The downside is that Sinnard got hit around pretty heavily in this one, which was ultimately his downfall. The 22-year-old gave up six hits — five of which were singles, which is encouraging — and five earned runs on the night. While giving up five earned runs probably wasn’t what Sinnard was hoping for, the fact that he mainly gave up weak contact and only issued one walk and one extra-base hit in this one suggests this start may have simply been a fluke.
At the plate, Rome did fairly well, notching two runs on eight hits on the night. While the Emperors threatened to score in the bottom of the fourth, their first runs wouldn’t come until two innings later. Patrick Clohisy led off the frame with a single and proceeded to steal second base before Will Verdung reached on an infield single to put a pair of runners on. After Ambioris Tavarez reached on a forceout which retired Verdung, Bryson Horne singled into right field to plate both Clohisy and Tavarez to make it a 5-2 game.
Asheville tagged Rome reliever Tyler LaPorte for a run in the top of the eighth to extend their lead to 6-2. While Rome put up somewhat of a fight offensively in the final two innings, their comeback attempts ultimately fell short.
(24-21) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (18-27) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 11 (GAME 1)
- Colby Jones, 2B: 1-4, RBI, R
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 1-3, R, SB
- Mason Guerra, 1B: 0-1, RBI, BB
- Luis Arestigueta, SP: 4 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Keeping with a trend on Wednesday, Augusta’s offense faltered in game one of their respective doubleheader despite only being outhit by one hit.
Starter Luis Arestigueta wasn’t terrible in his outing, but he also wasn’t great either. Across four innings, the 19-year-old gave up five earned runs on just three hits, but only walked a pair. However, the major difference in this one is the fact that Myrtle Beach tallied three doubles, while Augusta failed to register any extra-base knocks in this one.
Reliever Jackson Dannelley took over for Arestigueta in the fifth inning and subsequently got shelled by the Pelicans. In his two innings on the mound, Dannelley gave up six earned runs on five hits, issuing a pair of walks and strikeouts, respectively.
Trailing 8-0 in the top of the sixth, the GreenJackets finally got on the scoreboard. Isaiah Drake drew a one-out walk and proceeded to advance to third on a wild pitch. Colby Jones came through with an RBI-single to plate Drake and give Augusta their first run of the day. After Nick Montgomery singled Jones to third, Mason Guerra tallied a sac fly to score Jones and cut the deficit to 8-2.
It appeared as though Augusta had some signs of life in the top of the seventh inning as they loaded the bases thanks to a pair of singles from Luis Sanchez and Jake Steels. After John Gil walked to juice up the bases, the next three batters for the GreenJackets would go down in order to end the game and hand Augusta the loss.
(25-21) Augusta GreenJackets 6, (18-28) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2 (GAME 2)
- Douglas Glod, RF: 2-4, Grand Slam, 4 RBI, R
- Colby Jones, 2B: 0-3, RBI, R, BB
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 1-3, RBI, R, BB
- Jacob Kroeger, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 6 K
For a day with three scheduled doubleheaders, there ironically weren’t too many bright spots for Atlanta’s minor league affiliates on Wednesday. However, the GreenJackets actually managed to pull out the lone win across all of the Braves teams in action.
Jacob Kroeger got the start in game two and gave the GreenJackets some much-needed shutdown pitching. In five innings of work, the 25-year-old tossed five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts on the day, giving his offense a fighting chance.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the third, Augusta finally got on the board in a big way. Colin Burgess led off the inning with a single and Alen Pineda was hit by a pitch to move Burgess into scoring position before a Leiker Figueroa single loaded the bases. After John Gil and Owen Carey both popped out, it appeared as though the offensive efforts would go by the wayside. However, back-to-back walkes by Isaiah Drake and Colby Jones gave Augusta a 2-1 lead. In the next at-bat, Douglas Glod broke things open and cranked an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for a grand slam, extending the GreenJackets’ lead to 6-1.
Tasked with protecting a five-run lead, relievers Justin Long and Trent Buchanan succeeded, tossing a combined pair of innings, allowing one run and striking out three batters as Augusta sealed off the 6-2 win.