Mejia lowered his season ERA to 1.96 with his start
(33-50) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (37-44) St. Paul Saints 1
- Conner Capel, RF: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Luke Waddell, 2B: 1-2, R
- Jackson Stephens, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, ER, 4 BB, 3 K
While it wasn’t his most impressive start this season, Jackson Stephens continued his impressive run on the mound for Gwinnett on Wednesday — and it was much needed.
Stephens went 5.2 innings in this one, scattering four hits and issuing four walks while striking out three. More importantly, he held St. Paul to just one run on the night, which would prove to be the only offense the Stripers’ pitching staff would allow.
With the start, Stephens lowered his season ERA to 2.94 on the season. Since making the transition to Gwinnett’s rotation on June 20, Stephens has made three starts and has lowered his ERA by nearly two full points. During that stretch, he tossed 14.2 innings, giving up just one run and striking out 15.
If he continues this trend — coupled with the rotation injuries at the big league level — Stephens could find himself landing a spot start or two in Atlanta in the near future.
Offensively for Gwinnett, hits and runs were hard to come by. In total, the Stripers tallied just three hits on the night, but played two runs thanks to a two-run shot off the bat of Conner Capel in the bottom of the seventh, which proved to be more than enough for Gwinnett to seal the win.
(29-44) Columbus Clingstones 6, (44-32) Montgomery Biscuits 1
- Geraldo Quintero, LF: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
- David McCabe, 3B: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R
- Drew Compton, 1B: 3-4, R
- Ian Mejia, SP: 7 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 2 K
Offense had been a bit of an issue for Columbus going into their midweek matchup against Montgomery. As our own Gaurav Vedak pointed out on X, prior to Wednesday, the Clingstones had scored just nine runs in their previous six contests.
Things would shift in the other direction for Columbus in game one of their doubleheader.
Ultimately, the Clingstones scored six runs in game one, thanks in part to a two-run homer off the bat of Geraldo Quintero and an RBI-double from David McCabe.
On the mound, Ian Mejia handled his business, tossing a complete (seven inning) game, holding Montgomery to one run on four hits and one walk on the night.
It’s an encouraging start for Mejia who had a bit of an up-and-down June, in which he saw his ERA “jump” up to 2.29. However, with Wednesday’s start, that number has dropped back down to 1.96 on the year thus far.
(30-44) Columbus Clingstones 1, (44-33) Montgomery Biscuits 0 (MAKEUP GAME FROM JULY 1)
- David McCabe, DH: 1-3, 2B, R
- Drew Compton, 1B: 1-3, RBI
- Amos Willingham, SP: 2 IP, H, 2 K
The offense reverted back to its recent trends in game two, scoring just one run on five hits. However, that would prove to be enough as Columbus got the shutout win to go 2-0 on the day.
Amos Willingham got the start as the opener in game two, going two innings and giving up one hit and striking out a pair of batters. Relievers LJ McDonough, Brian Moran and Austin Smith carried the pitching staff the rest of the way, combining to toss five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits.
At the plate, offense was scarce in this one, as we mentioned. Columbus actually put a runner in scoring position in the top of the second inning as Cal Conley and Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. laced back-to-back singles. However, the Clingstones were unable to bring either runner across.
The lone run in the game came in the top of the seventh as Drew Compton singled home David McCabe who had previously reached on a double, to make it a 1-0 game.
Smith came on in the bottom of the seventh and sat Montgomery down in order to close out the game.
(34-41) Rome Emperors 4, (40-35) Bowling Green Hot Rods 3
- Ambioris Tavarez, 2B: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
- Will Verdung, 3B: 1-3, 2 R
- Herick Hernandez, SP: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 5 K
It took every bit of nine innings, but Rome ultimately came out on top against Bowling Green on Wednesday.
The offense was rather stagnant for the first half of this one, but starter Herick Hernandez did his part by keeping the Hot Rods at bay. Across 4.2 innings, Hernandez allowed five hits and five walks, but somehow managed to work out of jams every single time, holding the opposition scoreless while the offense found its footing.
Rome finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth, as Will Verdung scored on a single off the bat of Ambioris Tavares to make it a 1-0 game.
After Hernandez departed, the Emperors’ bullpen stumbled. Relievers Royber Salinas, Jacob Gomez and Justin Long allowed three runs combined as the Hot Rods took the lead.
Trailing 3-1 headed into the home half of the ninth, Rome finally strung together some meaningful offense. Mason Guerra led off with a single and Verdung followed that up with a walk before both he and Guerra advanced on a wild pitch to put a pair of runners in scoring position.
Guerra proceeded to score on an RBI-groundout from Justin Janas, while Verdung scored the tying run thanks to a Tavarez double.
With one out and Tavarez on third, Jace Grady came through with a sacrifice fly into center field to give Rome the 4-3 lead and, more importantly, the walkoff win.
(37-38) Augusta GreenJackets 0, (40-37) Columbia Fireflies 3
- Eric Hartman, 2B: 1-3, 2B
- David Rodriguez, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 4 K
Long story short, there wasn’t much to write home about in this one, as Augusta was held to just one hit — a double from Eric Hartman — on the night in the shutout loss.
To make matters worse, that was the only baserunner Augusta was able to put on, as the GreenJackets failed to work a single walk in the game as well.
One bright spot, however, was starter David Rodriguez. Across six innings of work, the 23-year-old scattered just three hits and struck out four while holding Columbia scoreless.