The biggest event on Sunday was another home run from Drake Baldwin, who continues his winning streak since being promoted to Triple-A midseason. We also saw Darius Vines make a great pitch, Adam Maier deliver a strong performance and Daysbel Hernandez light up the radar guns during his inning of work.
Norfolk Tides 8, Gwinnett Stripers 7
Result
Statcast
- Drake Baldwin, C: 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, .311/.429/.492
- Allan Winans, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 3.19 ERA
- Hayden Harris, RP: 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 8.31 ERA
- Daysbel Hernandez, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 3.03 ERA
Allan Winans pitched five solid innings in his starting lineup, allowing two runs in each of the second and fifth innings while recording six strikeouts. He was followed by Brian Moran, who allowed three runs in the first and third innings before Domingo Gonzalez came in to get the final two outs in the seventh inning. Hayden Harris pitched the eighth inning, allowing one run on three hits, and finally Daysbel Hernandez flashed the radar gun in the ninth inning. Daysbel recorded the five fastest speeds in the game, all between 99.4 MPH and 99.7 MPH during his one inning, while recording two strikeouts.
Offensively, Drake Baldwin was the big guy, scoring two of five runs with three RBIs — two of them with a home run in the ninth inning. Baldwin hit a 408-footer to center with an exit velocity of 101.5 MPH for his eighth home run in Gwinnett and his 12th overall. He also added a single and another RBI earlier in the game. Yuli Gurriel also hit a home run in the loss, along with a walk, and Alejo Lopez was two of four runs scored with a triple and three RBIs of his own. Nacho Alvarez again remained out of the lineup for the Stripers.
Mississippi Braves 11, Biloxi Shuckers 1
Result
- Cal Conley, SS: 2-5, 2B, BB, 3 R, SB, .250/.322/.319
- David McCabe, DH: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB, .143/.280/.214
- Darius Vines, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 1.65 ERA
Darius Vines was brilliant in this game, going six innings and allowing just one run on just two hits and two walks. In fact, that run came on a solo home run in the fourth inning, and Vines was virtually unhittable all day. After Vines, the trio of Jorge Juan, Patrick Halligan and Trey Riley each came out of the bullpen to pitch a scoreless run, and together they allowed three hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Combine that with what Vines did, and that’s one run on five hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts in a ruthless performance.
At bat, the best games came from Cal Conley, David McCabe, Ethan Workinger and Adam Zebrowski, all of whom reached base three times in the win. Conley was two for five with a walk, including a double, and scored three runs, while McCabe was one for three with a pair of walks and scored two runs himself — and each stole a base. Zebrowski was three for five with a pair of runs batted in and Workinger was two for four with a walk. The balanced offensive performance only continued from there, as Keshawn Ogans added a three-run homer and Bryson Horne tried four at-bats and drove in three runs.
The Emperors of Rome 4, Tourists from Asheville 1
Result
- Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., CF: 1-3, BB, R, RBI, 2 SB, .241/.322/.348
- Jace Grady, RF: 0-1, BB, RBI, .200/.313/.304
- Adam Maier, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 2.31 ERA
Adam Maier started the first game of a doubleheader, and in his third start since moving from Augusta, he got off to his best start. Maier pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks and recording three strikeouts. Shay Schanaman followed, allowing Asheville’s only run during his inning, and then a clean inning by Ryan Bourassa put the Emperors in good position for the second game of the day.
Rome’s offense struggled to get going in this game, even more than the final score suggests. Rome scored its four runs on four hits, all singles, and just five walks. Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. was the star, driving in one of three runs with a walk, two steals, and adding both a run scored and a run batted in. He was joined in the single and walk group by Jacob Godman and Joe Olsavsky, while Jace Grady went hitless in one at-bat with a walk and an RBI.
Emperor in Rome 8, tourists in Asheville 7
Result
- Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., CF: 1-4, 2B, R, RBI, .241/.322/.348
- Jace Grady, RF: 2-4, 2B, BB, R, RBI, .200/.313/.304
- Luis Vargas, SP: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 3.98 ERA
- Jared Johnson, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2.33 ERA
Luis Vargas got the ball in the second game and looked like he was having a great day. Vargas allowed a run in the first inning and then held Asheville off the scoreboard for the next three innings. Then when he came out again in the fifth inning, he allowed four more runs while recording just two more outs, ending up allowing five runs. Samuel Strickland came in and got the last out of the inning, and then Isaac Gallegos came in and pitched a solid sixth inning. Jared Johnson was next and pitched two innings, allowing two runs – including the extra-inning runner taken on in the seventh.
Offensively, game two was a bit more offensive, but some of the same stars like Kilpatrick and Grady also had solid second games, with Kilpatrick going one for four with a double and a run scored and another batted in, while Grady went two for four with a double, walk, run and RBI. Drew Compton and EJ Esposito each had two hit days, while Mac Guscette and Carlos Arroyo hit doubles and joined Grady and Kilpatrick with extra base hits.
Fayetteville Woodpeckers 5, Augusta GreenJackets 4
Result
- Luis Guanipa, CF: 1-4, BB, RBI, .165/.228/.188
- John Gil, SS: 2-4, 2B, BB, R, RBI, .228/.300/.304
- Jacob Shafer, SP: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 3.18 ERA
This Augusta game was headlined by two recently drafted players. Jacob Shafer started and went three and two-thirds scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk and striking out six players. However, that was all he lasted through in a very limited pitch count that almost all Braves draftees have early in their professional careers. David Rodriguez pitched the middle innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks in three innings. The final two and one-third innings were pitched by Jacob Kroger, drafted in the 10th round, who allowed one run on one hit and one walk.
The surprising thing about this game is that even though Augusta managed just nine hits as a team, eight different starters got a base hit in this game — although all of them were singles except for a double by John Gil. Gil was the only starter with two hits, although he was joined by four other GreenJackets who reached bases multiple times — including Luis Guanipa and Junior Garcia, who all combined a walk with their singles.
