It’s not often that each of Atlanta’s minor league teams in action pick up a win on the same day. However, that was precisely the case as it was a banner day from Gwinnett down to Augusta on Friday night.
(52-71) Gwinnett Stripers 4, (65-57) Memphis Redbirds 3
Sandy Leon, C: 1-4, HR, 3 RBILuke Waddell, 2B: 2-4, RBIDavid McCabe, DH: 1-4, RJhancarlos Lara, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
While they may have squandered an early lead, Gwinnett managed to put together some late inning magic to narrowly beat Memphis by a 4-3 final.
Held scoreless in the top of the first, the Stripers broke through in a big way in the next frame. After Jarred Kelenic flew out to begin the inning, David McCabe laced a single into center field, which was followed up by a double off the bat of Matthew Batten to move the former up to third. After falling behind 0-2 in the next at-bat, Sandy Leon got an 89 MPH fastball up in the zone and pulled it over the right field wall for a three-run shot, giving Gwinnett the early 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile on the mound, Jhancarlos Lara got the start as the organization continues to try and stretch him back out into a rotation piece. All told, it was a bit of a so-so performance from the righty. In four innings, Lara issued four walks and gave up three runs — only two earned — but also managed to strike out five on the night as well.
Knotted up at 3-3, the Gwinnett offense was stifled for the next five innings. In the top of the eighth, however, Luke Waddell came through with an RBI-single that played Cody Milligan to give the Stripers the 4-3 lead.
Daysbel Hernandez was tasked with closing this one out, and did so in style as he sat Memphis down in order, notching a strikeout in the process.
On another pitching note from this one, Hayden Harris continued his dominant season, tossing a pair of scoreless frames with two strikeouts to lower his season ERA to a miniscule 0.39 for the year.
(50-65) Columbus Clingstones 3, (60-57) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 2
Jim Jarvis, SS: 1-4, RBIE.J. Exposito, 2B: 2-3, RDavid Fletcher, 3B: 1-4, RBIIan Mejia, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Despite being outhit by an 8-7 margin, Columbus held on to beat Pensacola by a 3-2 final on Friday night.
Ian Mejia got the start and was his typical solid self, going five innings while limiting the opposition to just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out a pair. On the year, Mejia — who has somewhat bounced back-and-forth between the bullpen and rotation — sports a 2.40 ERA.
At the plate, Columbus failed to register any extra-base hits in this one. Regardless, the Clingstones managed to string together some timely hitting to make up for the lack of power.
Striking first, Columbus got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second thanks to a Geraldo Quintero sacrifice fly to plate Adam Zebrowski to make it a 1-0 game.
After Pensacola tied things up in the top of the fifth, the Clingstones retook the lead in the home half as Jim Jarvis singled home E.J. Exposito, giving Columbus the 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, the Clingstones secured an insurance run as Quintero scored on an RBI-single from David Fletcher, which would prove to be vital as Columbus capped off the one-run victory.
(51-63) Rome Emperors 7, (48-66) Asheville Tourists 1 (Completion of Aug. 20 game)
Alex Lodise, SS: 2-5, 2 2B, RCody Miller, 3B: 3-4, 2 RBI, R, BBCooper McMurray, 1B: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, RIsaiah Drake, CF: 3-5, RBI, RAdam Maier, SP: 2 IP, H, R, 3 BB, 2 K
After multiple postponements due to rain, Rome finally finished their Wednesday game against Asheville — albeit two days later.
There were several standout offensive performances in this one, particularly from newcomers. Alex Lodise appears to be getting back on track, as he laced a pair of doubles and scored a run in this one, while Cody Miller continued his scorching start to his professional career by going 3-4 with two RBI and a run scored on the night.
Former Auburn first baseman Cooper McMurray tallied his first professional homer on Friday as well, a three-run shot to give Rome the bulk of its runs in this one. To round out the offense, Isaiah Drake also had a stellar game, going 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored of his own in the win.
(51-64) Rome Emperors 1, (49-66) Asheville Tourists 3
Isaiah Drake, CF: 1-3Colby Jones, 3B: 1-3Garrett Baumann, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
While the Rome offense showed out in completing the postponed game, the same couldn’t be said in game two as the Emperors managed just one run in the loss.
The offense was the main shortcoming in the loss, but starter Garrett Baumann did his best to keep Rome in this one for as long as he could. In five innings pitched, the righty scattered four hits and issued two walked while holding Asheville to just two runs while striking out six on the night.
Altogether, Rome tallied just two hits — one each from Isaiah Drake and Colby Jones — in the seven-inning game, which ultimately proved to not be enough to get the Emperors over the hump.
(62-52) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (55-61) Columbia Fireflies 1
Dixon Williams, 2B: 2-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BBJohn Gil, 3B: 1-5, 2B, RBIEric Hartman, CF: 1-4, RJeremy Reyes, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Augusta parlayed an excellent start from Jeremy Reyes to a win over Columbia on Friday to move the GreenJackets back to 10 games over .500.
Across seven innings of work, Reyes allowed just one run on two hits and a pair of walks while striking out six batters on the night. With his performance, Reyes lowered his season ERA to just 2.84 on the year. Reyes’ workload has increased over the past month, as Friday marked his fourth start of at least six inning over the course of the season.
Offensively, Reyes got plenty of support in this one as Dixon Williams had his best game as a pro — notching a homer and a double to go along with two RBI and a walk on the night. John Gil also came through with an RBI-double as his season OPS continues to climb as he works to put the ball in the air more frequently.