Drew Waters finally had a bona fide breakout game and Huascar Ynoa gave Gwinnett a chance at a no-hitter.
Thanks to some stellar pitching at the higher levels, Braves minor league affiliates were able to go a combined 2-2 on Tuesday evening. Drew Waters and Braden Shewmake had strong nights at the plate while offense was tough to find elsewhere in the system, Huascar Ynoa was dominant on the mound, and Mississippi’s bullpen came up clutch. Lets get into the games.
Gwinnett Stripers 7, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 0
- Drew Waters, CF: 4-5, HR, RBI, 2 R, .766 OPS
- Braden Shewmake, SS: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, .707 OPS
- Huascar Ynoa, SP: 7 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Huascar Ynoa threw seven no-hit innings and Gwinnett’s offense was going strong with Drew Waters leading the way as the Stripers emerged victorious by the score of 7-0. Ynoa struggled a bit in the middle of May, but his last three starts have been legitimately good with last night’s being the best of them. Its hard to top seven no-hit innings. If you were to find one issue that has been consistent for Huascar lately, it has been walks. Gwinnett would be in a great position to throw a combined no-hitter, but unfortunately it looked like Brandyn Sittinger was scheduled to throw and he promptly gave up a hit in the eighth inning to end that dream and the Stripers would have to settle for a one-hitter.
There was a lot of fun on offense for Gwinnett and the good news started with Drew Waters who had a four hit night including a home run. That was just Waters’ third multi-hit game since May 10, so hopefully it was a sign that he is getting dialed in. Joe Dunand and Braden Shewmake joined Waters with multi-hit games of their own and each of them had extra-base hits in the game as well.
Mississippi Braves 2, Rocket City Trash Pandas 1
- Riley Delgado, 2B: 2-3, 2B, BB, .793 OPS
- CJ Alexander, 3B: 1-4, SB, .816 OPS
- Freddy Tarnok, SP: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 5.49 ERA
Multiple rain delays caused issues down in Pearl, but a nifty steal of home and a clutch performance from the Mississippi bullpen allowed the Braves to snatch a 2-1 victory from the first place Trash Pandas. Freddy Tarnok only went two innings last night, but he was excellent in those two innings…the only reason he got pulled out was because of a lengthy rain delay. Hopefully his showing is a sign that he is bouncing back. The bullpen would have to hold things together after the delay and Hayden Deal, Troy Bacon, Jake Higginbotham, and Justin Maese did just that as they gave up just one run over seven innings of relief.
It was good that the Mississippi pitching staff came to play, because there was not much offense. Trey Harris managed to drive in a run before the rain delay with an RBI single. Once play resumed, Mississippi’s only other run came via a double steal that resulted in CJ Alexander stealing home. CJ had been known more for his recent power outburst, so it was fun to see him use his legs to make a play.
Rome Braves 1, Wilmington Blue Rocks 6 – F/6
- Cody Milligan, CF: 1-3, .848 OPS
- Bryson Horne, 1B: 1-2, RBI, .661 OPS
- Roddery Munoz, SP: 5.1 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 4.70 ERA
Rain cut short Rome’s game on Tuesday and that was probably for the best as they were getting beat up and ultimately fell by the final score of 6-1. Roddery Munoz had been good through the game’s first four innings, but he got knocked around in the fifth and sixth with six of the 10 hits he allowed coming in those innings. The weather rolling in didn’t exactly help the cause as play was halted in the middle of his sixth innings.
Rome’s offense didn’t exactly show up to back up Roddery as they managed just three singles all evening. Bryson Horne drove in Rome’s only run in the second inning. The Braves’ lineup just struggled overall as they struck out nine times in just five innings before the game was called.
Augusta GreenJackets 3, Columbia Fireflies 8
- Mahki Backstrom, 1B: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 R, .715 OPS
- Kadon Morton, RF: 2-2, 2B, 2 BB, .527 OPS
- Kris Anglin, SP: 0.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 4.71 ERA
Augusta fell behind early and was never able to catch up as they fell to Columbia by the score of 8-3. Kris Anglin got the start and….he only recorded one out, so you can probably guess that his line was not particularly good. Anglin has started three straight games after being primarily used as a reliever and the results have been…..decidedly mixed. Over the next 5.1 innings of relief, the Augusta bullpen would give up five runs (four of which were earned) and the game went out of reach.
The bottom of Augusta’s order did a good job of getting on base as Mahki Backstrom and Kadon Morton combined to reach base a total of seven times. Unfortunately, a pair of sacrifice flies from Cal Conley was the bulk of the damage Augusta was able to do with those runners on base as the 1-4 hitters combined for just one hit. Brandon Parker’s solo homer in the fifth inning accounted for Augusta’s third run.