Wiles also didn’t walk a batter in his six innings of work
To say it was a rough day across the board for Atlanta’s big league club, all the way down to Augusta, would be an understatement as nary a team came away with a victory. Regardless, there were a few interesting points, so let’s get into it.
(12-19) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (18-13) Nashville Sounds 4
- Carlos Rodriguez, LF: 3-4
- Garrett Cooper, DH: 1-4, RBI
- Nathan Wiles, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 11 K
Gwinnett squandered both an early lead and a solid outing from Nathan Wiles as the Stripers lost by a 4-1 final against Nashville on Friday.
As stated, Wiles was very good aside from two major blemishes on his record for the night. Across six innings, Wiles struck out 11 batters while scattering five hits and not issuing a single walk. However, Wiles gave up three runs — most of which were attributed to a pair of homers he allowed.
Wiles’ breaking ball was above average on Friday, especially his changeup which he managed to get 46 percent swing and misses on. Those pitches were great, but his fastball was incredibly lively on Friday. His fastest pitch checked in at 94.8 miles per hour, but it had more life and action on it than usual, which enabled him to play it up in the zone more effectively.
The Stripers gave Wiles some early run support in this one, plating one in the first inning. With one gone, Carlos Rodriguez singled into center field before stealing second base and later came around to score on a Garrett Cooper single to make it a 1-0 Stripers lead.
For the next several innings, Wiles managed to work around a few tough jams, keeping the Gwinnett lead intact. He did, however, run into some trouble in the top of the sixth frame as he proceeded to give up a double and a pair of homers in the frame.
Giving up just three runs across six innings isn’t anything to sneeze at, but it complicates things a bit when your offense only gives you one run of support despite tallying seven hits.
The Sounds tallied another run in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 4-1 on the night which held as the final.
(9-15) Columbus Clingstones 4, (13-12) Biloxi Shuckers 7
- Drew Compton, 1B: 1-4, 2B, RBI, R
- Cal Conley, SS: 1-3, 2B, 2 R
- Ethan Workinger, RF: 0-3, R, 2 BB
- Blake Burkhalter, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Columbus had the rare occasion of scoring twice as many runs as they had hits on Friday, but it still wasn’t enough to pull them across the finish line.
Blake Burkhalter had a bit of a rough start in this one. While he managed to get through five innings, the righty allowed four runs on six hits while issuing six walks and only striking out a pair of batters.
Biloxi tagged Burkhalter for three runs in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead. In the home half, the Clingstones got one of those runs back. Cal Conley drew a one-out walk and proceeded to steal second base before moving up to third on a Biloxi error. After Adam Zebrowski drew a walk of his own, Geraldo Quintero reached on another error to also score Conley and make it a 3-1 game.
Unfortunately, things continued to go downhill for Columbus from that point forward. The Shuckers got another run off Burkhalter in the top of the fourth, while relievers Jonathan Hughes (one earned run) and Elison Joseph (two earned runs) enabled Biloxi to extend their lead to 7-1.
The game appeared as though it was taking a positive turn in the bottom of the eighth. Conley and Ethan Workinger worked back-to-back walks before both were scored on a Drew Compton double — which was the lone extra-base hit the Clingstones registered in this one. Compton later came around to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Chandler Seagle to make it a 7-4 deficit, which held as the final.
While it wasn’t quite the three homer performance he registered the night before, Workinger did draw a pair of walks to keep his season OPS at a very respectable .892.
As for Burkhalter, it was his worst start to date, as in his previous four starts, he managed to allow just six earned runs across 20.2 innings compared to the four runs he gave up on Friday.
(13-11) Rome Emperors 1, (14-10) Hub City SpartanBurgers 4 (SUSPENDED)
- Patrick Clohisy, CF: 2-2, 2B, R
- E.J. Exposito, DH: 1-2, 2B, RBI
- Herick Hernandez, SP: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Mother Nature got in the way of this one being finished, as the game was suspended in the top of the fifth with Rome trailing 4-1.
While it will be Saturday, May 3 before we reach a conclusion to this one, there were a few highlights through the first four frames. After keeping his season OPS in the .800s for the better part of the year, Patrick Clohisy had taken a bit of a dive here recently. However, he managed to go 2-2 with a double and a run scored in this one before it was called, so hopefully he is getting back on track. By the same token, E.J. Exposito continued his hot return from the injured list.
Carrying an 1.197 OPS — in albeit 29 at-bats — Exposito tallied a double and Rome’s lone RBI in this one through four innings.
The game, as mentioned above, will be concluded on Friday prior to the regularly scheduled contest.
(13-12) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (15-10) Kannapolis Cannonballers 9
- Carlos Monteverde, 1B: 1-4, 2B
- Luis Sanchez, 2B: 2-4
- Colby Jones, SS: 1-5, R
- Owen Hackman, SP: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Friday was not kind to Augusta all the way around. The GreenJackets notched just five hits and were outscored 9-1 in the loss.
Owen Hackman got the start in this one and got hit around pretty hard. In his 4.2 innings on the mound, the 23-year-old allowed nine hits and six earned runs while walking three batters. One positive for Hackman is that of the nine hits he surrendered, only one — a homer — was for extra bases, so if there was a silver lining for the righty, that was it.
Meanwhile, the offense didn’t fare much better at all. While the GreenJackets totaled just five hits on the night, they did manage to load the bases early on. In the top of the second, Douglas Glod drew a one-out walk before he was retired on a Jake Steele force out. Mason Guerra was hit by a pitch and Luis Sanchez reached via error to fill up the bases. However, Carlos Monteverde flew out to end the inning, stranding all three runners.
Augusta’s lone run came in the top of the third inning. Colby Jones led off with a single on a bunt back to the pitcher and Eric Hartman followed that with a walk two batters later. Jones and Hartman stole back-to-back bases and Jones later scored on a balk. That would be the only meaningful offense the GreenJackets were able to string together on Friday.