Spencer Schwellenbach struck out eight while allowing two hits for the Mississippi Braves
It was a very successful day for Atlanta’s minor league squads on Wednesday as all four teams in action came away with a victory. In terms of individual performances, Spencer Schwellenbach, Luis Vargas and Riley Frey all dominated on the mound in what was a pitching-heavy day down on the farm.
(23-24) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (19-28) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 0
- Forrest Wall, RF: 2-4, R
- Yuli Gurriel, 1B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, R, BB
- Taylor Widener, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K
Gwinnett got a solid start on the mound from Taylor Widener and rode that to a 3-0 victory over Jacksonville on Wednesday as the Stripers took home the win by a 3-0 final.
The Stripers jumped out to an early lead, plating two runs in the home half of the first inning. After Forrest Wall singled, David Fletcher doubled him to third to put a pair of runners in scoring position. A J.P. Martinez groundout would plate the first run of the game as Wall scored to make it 1-0 Gwinnett. Yuli Gurriel followed that up with a double of his own to to score Fletcher and make it a 2-0 Stripers lead.
Meanwhile, Widener did his job by tossing five scoreless frames for Gwinnett while striking out six Jacksonville batters.
As Widener was doing his thing, Gwinnett added on to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gurriel and Eli White drew back-to-back walks to start the frame before a Luke Waddell sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base. In the next at-bat, Phillip Evans plated Gurriel on a sacrifice fly to extend the Gwinnett lead to 3-0.
In the sixth inning, with the Stripers clinging to a 3-0 lead, Grant Holmes came on in relief and tossed four scoreless innings while striking out three batters to seal off the Gwinnett win.
(18-23) Mississippi Braves 4, (12-29) Chattanooga Lookouts 2
- Nacho Alvarez Jr., SS: 3-5, 2B, R
- Tyler Tolve, DH: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
- Spencer Schwellenbach, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, 8 K
In his second start at the Double-A level, Spencer Schwellenbach did not disappoint.
In continuing with his first Mississippi start last week, Schwellenbacj tossed seven innings of shutout ball while striking out eight Chattanooga batters on the night. In his pair of starts for the Braves, Schwellenbach has yet to allow a run.
While their starter was dominating on the mound, the Braves struggled to provide him with any sort of run support. Through the first six frames, Mississippi had only managed three hits on the day as the game remained scoreless.
Mississippi finally broke through, becoming the first team to score on Wednesday. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Tyler Tolve doubled to put a runner in scoring position for the Braves. Tolve would then score on an error to make it 1-0 Braves before a Cal Conley double plated Bryson Horne to extend the lead to 2-0.
While that was all the Braves would get in the seventh inning, Mississippi would tack on in each of the next two frames. In the eighth, a Keshawn Ogans single would score Nacho Alvarez Jr. to extend the Braves’ lead to 3-0 on the day.
As Mississippi lead 3-0, the Braves’ bullpen would allow Chattanooga to score two runs to score in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Mississippi lead to just 3-2. However, the Braves would get that run back in the top of the ninth.
Needing some insurance runs, Mississippi got an additional run in the top of the ninth thanks to a Tolve single that plated Geraldo Quintero to make it a 4-2 lead. This would hold as the lead thanks to the save by Domingo Gonzalez.
(20-19) Rome Emperors 3, (20-19) Wilmington Blue Rocks 2
- E.J. Exposito, 2B: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB
- Stephen Paolini, RF: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB
- Riley Frey, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Rome was on the right side of a walkoff win on Wednesday, as the Emperors took the win over Wilmington by a 3-2 final.
In his second start at High-A, starter Riley Frey put up another stellar performance, tossing six innings while scattering three hits and striking out three as well. With his performance, Frey lowered his season ERA to 0.75 on the year.
While Frey was shutting out Wilmington, the Emperors staked their starter to an early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, after E.J. Exposito singled before moving up to second base on a wild pitch. After Stephen Paolini walked, both he and Exposito stole second and third base. A single by Justin Janas gave the Stripers a 1-0 lead as Exposito scored on the play.
Cory Wall took over for Frey in the top of the seventh. The righthander allowed three hits in the inning, as the Blue Rocks cut the Rome lead to 2-1 on the night. In the bottom of the eighth, Rome actually got a runner in scoring position, but failed to score, leaving the game at a 2-1 deficit.
After Samuel Strickland tossed a scoreless top of the ninth, the Emperors struck gold in the home half. After Ethan Workinger worked a one-out double, an Exposito single drove him home to tie the game at 2-2 as Exposito advanced to second on the play.. Just one batter later, Stephen Paolini singled into right field as Exposito scored to walk things off and give Rome the 3-2 victory to move the Emperors over .500 on the year.
(18-22) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (22-18) Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 2-3, 2B, 2 R, BB
- Jace Grady, RF: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
- Luis Vargas, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 12 K
Augusta was led by a strong performance on the mound in their win on Wednesday, capping off a perfect day down on the farm by Atlatna’s minor league affiliates.
The GreenJackets wasted no time, striking first in the home half of the first inning. After Isaiah Drake walked — and stole second base — Jace Grady also walked as both he and Drake stole second and third base to put two runners in scoring position in the first frame. A Drew Compton sacrifice fly plated Drake to make it 1-0 Augusta while just one batter later, a Will Verdung groundout scored Grady to extend the GreenJackets’ lead to 2-0.
Kannapolis would get both of those runs back in the top of the third to tie the game at 2-2 in what was the only blemish on Augusta starter Luis Vargas’ line. The 22-year-old struck out 12 batters across just five innings to pace Augusta in the victory.
The Cannon Ballers took their first and only lead in the top of the sixth inning, scoring one run off reliever Adel Dilone to make it 3-2 Kannapolis.
That lead wouldn’t last long as the GreenJackets would retake the lead in the bottom of the eighth. After Harry Owen reached on an error, a Drake single moved him up to second base. After Robert Gonzalez replaced Owen at second, a Jace Grady double plated both he and Drake to make it a 4-3 Augusta lead.
In the top of the ninth, reliever Zack Austin ran into a bit of trouble — allowing a runner to get into scoring position — but managed to keep the opposing offense at bay to save the day and keep the Augusta lead at 4-3 in the win.