With rain recking havoc on the minor league schedule, both Ian Anderson and Brett Sears were lights out in not allowing any runs.
Sunday’s biggest story lines in the Atlanta Braves system were the rain and the pitching. Two of the four games were rained out with a third needing a four hour rain delay before the game even got started. That’s only half of it, as both games starters were on their best games. Ian Anderson went five no hit innings while Brett Sears went five and two thirds scoreless. It’s also worth mentioning Eddys Leonard had a two home run game.
Gwinnett Stripers 4, Durham Bulls 1
- Ian Anderson, SP: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 1.13 ERA
- Jarred Kelenic, CF: 1-4, .267/.389/.422
- Eddys Leonard, 3B: 2-3, 2 HR, BB, 2 R, 3 RBI, .234/.287/.532
After a four hour rain delay before this one got started, Ian Anderson took the hill and went five no-hit innings, allowing no runs and walking three with four strikeouts. This is his second start since returning to the organization, and a great way to follow up his one run over three innings debut with Gwinnett this season. Scoreless innings from Michael Petersen and Enoli Parades followed, before Dylan Dodd allowed a run during his inning, and then Wander Suero pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the save.
Eddys Leonard was the star here, a day after being a big factor again. In this one he was two for three with a pair of homers and also drew a walk. Leonard has been out of his mind in May, slashing .314/.390/.686 – a slugging percentage alone that almost equaled his total OPS (.696) in April. Conner Capel was one for three with a walk and scored a run, making him the only other player to reach base twice. Jarred Kelenic went one for four in the win.
Swings and Misses:
Ian Anderson – 6
Dylan Dodd – 5
Enoli Paredes – 4
Birmingham Barons vs Columbus Clingstones – PPD, Rain
This game was rained out after a short delay, costing us all a chance to watch a Lucas Braun versus Noah Schultz pitching matchup that was on the schedule for today.
Rome Emperors 6, Greenville Drive 0
- Brett Sears, SP: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 0.82 ERA
- LJ McDonough, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 2.31 ERA
- Titus Dumitru, LF: 1-4, R, RBI, 2 SB, .254/.323/.331
- Ambioris Tavarez, 2B: 1-3, BB, R, SB, .282/.393/.340
A day after the JR Ritchie complete game shutout Rome shut out Greenville yet again, though this was a combined effort. Brett Sears started and went the first five and two thirds, allowing two hits and a walk and striking out six. Sears is just too much for this level, as this drops his ERA to a ridiculous 0.82 and WHIP to 0.88 through 29.2 innings on the year. Austin Smith went the next inning and a third with a strikeout before LJ McDonough struck out the side in his inning of work. Finally Samuel Strickland had a pair of strikeouts in the ninth to complete the shutout. Together the Rome pitchers allowed three hits and a walk with 12 strikeouts. That’s no runs on four hits and two walks over the last 18 innings of baseball.
The Emperors scored two in the first and never looked back in this win. Rome managed just six hits and two walks, with a Harry Owen double being their lone extra base hit in this game, but did their damage on the bases. The Emperors were a perfect eight for eight in stolen base attempts, with Titus Dumitru and EJ Exposito each stealing a pair of bags. Dumitru also went one for four with a run and RBI, while both Ambioris Tavarez and Owen were one for three with a walk, with Tavarez adding a stolen base and a run scored.
Swings and Misses:
Brett Sears – 11
LJ McDonough – 4
Augusta GreenJackets vs Hickory Crawdads – PPD, Rain
This game was pretty much rained out instantly.