Profar has posted an OPS of .941 through 17 at-bats for the Stripers
(28-45) Gwinnett Stripers 7, (35-38) Charlotte Knights 3
- Jurickson Profar, DH: 4-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
- Nacho Alvarez Jr., 3B: 2-3, HR, RBI, 3 R
- Sandy Leon, C: 1-4, HR, RBI, R
- Jackson Stephens, SP: 4 IP, BB, 9 K
Gwinnett put up an all-around great performance on Friday night en route to getting the 7-3 win over Charlotte.
The Stripers got off to a hot start, scoring in each of the first four innings. Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Sandy Leon did their respective parts, as they each launched a solo home run.
However, it was Jurickson Profar once again who had the standout performance on the day. In what was his fourth “rehab start” as he works his way back from his PED suspension, Profar went 4-5 with a pair of solo home runs on the night. In 17 at-bats thus far, Profar is hitting .529 with 5 RBI and an OPS of .941.
As for Alvarez Jr. — who is also working his way back, albeit from an injury — Friday was his third multi-hit game since joining Gwinnett on June 12.
While the offense was clicking, so too was the pitching for the Stripers early on. Jackson Stephen’s got the start and was simply dominant.
In four innings of work, Stephens held Charlotte scoreless and hitless, while issuing just one walk and a whopping nine strikeouts.
(25-39) Columbus Clingstones 0, (37-30) Birmingham Barons 3
- Cal Conley, SS: 1-2, BB
- Landon Harper, SP: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
As the score might suggest, there wasn’t much that went right for Columbus against Birmingham, as the Clingstones were shutout.
Landon Harper got the nod to start on the mound in this one and tossed just 3.2 innings, during which he issued five walks, allowed four hits and gave up three runs. The good news is that the rest of the Columbus pitching staff was solid as Brian Moran and Blane Abeyta shutout the Barons the rest of the way after taking over for Harper.
Meanwhile at the plate, there simply wasn’t much to write home about as the Clingstones were limited to just two base hits on the night. Cal Conley accounted for a majority of the offense, tallying one hit and one of Columbus’ two walks on the night.
(30-36) Rome Emperors 1, (25-41) Winston-Salem Dash 0
- Will Verdung, 1B: 1-3, 2B, BB
- Keshawn Ogans, 3B: 1-3
- Garrett Baumann, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 7 K
While their double-A counterparts were getting shutout, Rome was busy tossing one of their own, thanks in large part to a stellar start once again from Garrett Baumann.
Across five innings, Baumann allowed just two hits and struck out seven. The only slight blemish is the fact that he issued four walks, but he managed to work around each one of them as he kept Winston-Salem from crossing the plate.
Friday’s performance adds on to what has been an elite month of June for the 20-year-old righty. In three starts spanning 14.2 innings, Baumann has posted a sparkling 0.61 ERA while striking out 17 batters and only issuing six total walks. It’s long been said that Baumann prefers pitching in warmer weather, and his numbers from June seem to corroborate that theory.
At the plate, Rome hitters failed to register a single RBI on the night, but still managed to plate one run which proved to be enough. The lone run of the game came in the Emperors first time up to bat, as Lizandro Espinoza scored as Titus Dumitru reached on an error.
(34-31) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (42-25) Lynchburg Hillcats 4
- Jake Steels, CF: 2-4, 2B, RBI
- Roiber Niazoa, LF: 2-4
- Rayven Antonio, SP: 5.2 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K
Despite leading in this one for six innings, Augusta ultimately came up short, falling by a 4-1 final against Lynchburg on Friday.
Starter Rayven Antonio put up a solid performance, working around a few jams through his 5.2 innings of scoreless work to keep the Lynchburg offense at bay.
Antonio has been downright excellent for Augusta this year and has somewhat flown under the radar among Braves prospects. Through 11 starts on the year, the 19-year-old is carrying a 2.92 ERA to go along with 53 strikeouts in 49.1 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .200 against him this year, and if he can find a way to miss more bats while continuing his trend of keeping the ball on the ground, don’t be surprised if you see him climb up prospect rankings in the near future.
Back to Friday’s action, Augusta scored first in this one as Douglas Glod crossed the plate on a Jake Steels groundout to make it a 1-0 game.
While that narrow lead would hold through the sixth inning, the Augusta bullpen was unable to preserve the one-run advantage. Lynchburg ultimately tagged the GreenJackets for one run in the top of the seventh and two runs in the top of the eighth to take a 4-1 lead, which held as the final.
(11-23) FCL Braves 0, (20-15) FCL Rays 6
- Juan Mateo, 3B: 2-4, 2B
- Carlos Monteverde, RF: 2-4
- Royber Salinas, SP: 2 IP, BB, K
The FCL Braves came up empty as they were shutout on Friday by the FCL Rays squad.
On the pitching side of things, Royber Salinas made a rehab start with the team, tossing a pair of scoreless innings and striking out one and walking one. A former Braves farmhand, Salinas was originally part of the Sean Murphy trade before Atlanta claimed him off waivers in November 2024.
At the plate Juan Mateo and Carlos Monteverde led the way, albeit in a shutout, by each going 2-4 with Mateo registering a double to his credit in the loss.
(6-7) DSL Braves 9, (7-6) DSL Rays 1
- Diego Tornes, DH: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB
- Manuel Campos, SS: 2-5, 3B, RBI, R
- Lionel Prevosti, SP: 4 IP, 3 BB, 4 K
While the DSL Braves winning 9-1 is great in its own right, Diego Tornes continuing to hit the cover off the baseball as a 16-year-old is even more exciting.
In Friday’s 9-1 win, Tornes went 2-3 with a pair of RBI, raising his season batting average to .311 and his OPS to .848. He also stole a pair of bases on the day as well.
Early reports on Tornes claim the defense when playing centerfield has been good and the offensive stats speak for themselves. He’s yet to tap into the raw power, but once he does, you can fully expect the Tornes to start getting a ton of attention from prospect evaluators and writers alike.
Carrying the pitching staff in the DSL team’s 9-1 win was Lionel Prevosti who tossed four innings of hitless ball before giving way to the bullpen. He also managed to strike our four batters in his four innings of work as well.