Weather has a big hand on Sunday’s minor league action, but in the games we did get to see Drake Baldwin’s first homer of the season gave fans something to get excited for.
Sunday’s biggest story was easily the weather. Gwinnett and Rome had games cancelled by the weather, Augusta’s game was shortened by it, and Mississippi had a doubleheader due to the previous day’s weather. So with just three shortened games being played the headliner of the day had to be Drake Baldwin’s power showing up for Mississippi. Baldwin hit his first homer of the season, and also his first double of the season during the second game of Mississippi’s doubleheader. We also saw another strong outing for Riley Frey down in Augusta. Frey is off to a great start, this being his second start after a relief appearance for his first outing of the season, and the 2023 19th round selection is looking like one of the best pitchers for Augusta.
Gwinnett Stripers vs Memphis RedBirds – PPD
The Stripers game against Memphis was cancelled due to wet grounds.
Birmingham Barons 3, Mississippi Braves 2
- Nacho Alvarez, DH: 0-2, 2 BB, SB, .306/.433/.327
- Geraldo Quintero, 2B: 2-4, 2 SB, .250/.351/.281
- Justin Dean, CF: 1-2, BB, 2 RBI, .333/.425/.455
- JJ Niekro, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2.87 ERA
The Braves turned to JJ Niekro for the first half of a doubleheader and he was solid through five innings of work. Niekro allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out six, bringing his ERA to 2.87 and WHIP to 1.02 through his first 15.2 innings of the season. Jonathan Hughes came in for the sixth and pitched a one, two, three inning to finish off the first game of the day.
The offense was led by the guys at the top. Leadoff man Geraldo Quintero was two for four and stole a pair of bases, while two-hole man Nacho Alvarez was hitless in two at bats – though drew a pair of walks and stole a base. Yolmer Sanchez joined Quintero with a multi-hit game, going two for four, and Justin Dean was one for two with a walk and batted in two runs.
Birmingham Barons 4, Mississippi Braves 1
- Drake Baldwin, C: 2-3, HR, 2B, R, RBI, .261/.306/.348
- Nacho Alvarez, SS: 0-2, BB, .294/.429/.314
- Patrick Halligan, RP: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1.42 ERA
Although this was a 4-1 loss, the final score doesn’t really tell you much about this game. The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and held that lead all the way until the bottom of the seventh. It became a bit of a bullpen game as starter Drew Parrish and then Peyton Williams each went two scoreless innings. Patrick Halligan followed and pitched a scoreless inning and a third, striking out three, before Parker Dunshee finished off the sixth with a pair of strikeouts. Dunshee came out to start the seventh, starting with a strikeout and then giving up a double followed by an RBI single to tie the game, before being pulled for Jorge Juan. Juan walked the first batter he faced, struck out the second, and then allowed a three-run walkoff homer to prospect Edgar Quero.
After sitting out the first game of the day Drake Baldwin was in at catcher for Game 2, and he made quite the impact. In three at bats Baldwin homered and doubled, accounting for half of the Braves hits in the game. The other two hits were singles from Bryson Horne and Keshawn Ogans, while two walks to Cade Bunnell and one to Nacho Alvarez accounted for all of the base runners in this game. Alvarez finished hitless in two at bats with the walk, making him a combined 0-4 with three walks and a stolen base on the day.
Rome Emperors vs Asheville Tourists – PPD
Rome’s game against Asheville was rained out and will now be played on May 16th.
Augusta GreenJackets 3, Carolina Mudcats 1
- Diego Benitez, SS: 1-3, 2B, .200/.265/.267
- Luis Sanchez, 2B: 1-3, RBI, .239/.271/.304
- Riley Frey, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1.64 ERA
Riley Frey’s excellent start to the season continued on Sunday as he mowed down the Carolina lineup through five innings. Frey allowed just one unearned run on four hits and two walks while striking out six. With this game he is up to 11 innings on the year through three appearances, posting a 1.64 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 12 strikeouts. Luis Vargas pitched a scoreless inning, allowing a walk and striking out one while picking up the save in a game that was shortened by weather.
The offense was led by the guys hitting at the top and bottom of the order. Leadoff man Luis Sanchez was one for three with a run batted in, while nine-hole hitter Joe Olsavsky doubled, scored, and batted in two runs. Those two accounted for all three Augusta runs on the afternoon. Pier-Olivier Boucher didn’t record an official at bat in this one, but did draw a pair of walks and scored a run in his two plate appearances. Among the top prospects Diego Benitez was one for three on the day, with that hit being a double just before the game was called early.