Braves Minor League Recap: Ronald Acuña Jr. smashes a pair of hits

(21-21) Charlotte Knights 7, (18-24) Gwinnett Stripers 1

Ronald Acuña Jr., RF: 2-for-3, 2B, .667/.667/1.000
Carlos Rodríguez, LF: 2-for-2, 2BB, .301/.340/.366
Nathan Wiles, SP: 5IP 6H 3ER 2BB 1K, 2.23 ERA

Box Score

The Knights came into Gwinnett and left with a win thanks to some late inning power by the Charlotte Offense. Nathan Wiles pitched well, surrendering three earned runs over five innings of work but even that was too much as the Stripers offense was held to one run and seven hits thanks to some rough work with runners in scoring position (1-for-9).

The Stripers struck first scoring in the bottom of the first thanks to an Eddys Leonard single that scored Jarred Kelenic. The game remained 1-0 until the fifth inning when a barrage of two out hits, along with a throwing error by Ronald, amounted to three runs for the Knights. Domingo Gonzalez would come in and pitch two scoreless innings to maintain the deficit at 3-1 heading into the eighth. That’s when disaster struck as Enoli Paredes surrendered another four runs, all with two outs, to extend the Knights lead to 7-1.

The rehabbing Ronald Acuña Jr. went 2-for-3 with a single and a double and while he did have a throwing error that led to a run, he also had an outfield assist as he threw out a runner at second base.

(16-18) Columbus Clingstones 4, (16-18) Knoxville Smokies 1

Ethan Workinger, DH: 0-for-4, BB, .260/.339/.587
David McCabe, 3B: 1-for-5, RBI, R, .270/.411/.410
Ian Mejia, SP: 7IP 3H 0R 2BB 5K, 0.98 ERA

Box Score

Yet another brilliant start by Ian Mejia in what is becoming an absolutely amazing stretch of games for the pitcher. This time, Ian navigated across seven innings of scoreless baseball, and hasn’t given up a run, let along earned run, since April 12th. He had virtually no room for error as the Clingstones offense struggled against almost everyone the Smokies threw out at them.

The Clingstones were able to bring in a run in the top of the second when Kevin Kilpatrick singled in Geraldo Quintero with two outs. Following Ian Mejia was the newly promoted Austin Smith (1IP 1H 0R 1BB 1K – 0.00 ERA) who came in and continued his impressive stretch of play – picking up his first hold in Double-A. After giving up two earned runs in his first appearance, Austin has surrendered one run across 1 run over his last 11 appearances.

With the Clingstones clinging to a 1-0 lead they turned to Ellison Joseph who unfortunately blew the save following a 1 out sacrifice fly. After exchanging zeroes in the 10th frame, the Clingstones broke out for three runs including a David McCabe double, to take a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 11th. Rolddy Muñoz gave up one hit but closed the door on the Smokies, giving Columbus the victory.

(20-16) Rome Emperors 4, (25-11) Greensboro Grasshoppers 5

Lisandro Espizona, SS: 1-for-5, HR, RBI, R, .250/.289/.457
Titus Dumitru, LF: 2-for-4, HR, RBI, 2R, .277/.340/.400
Will Verdung, 1B: 3-for-4, .291/.367/.345
Dylan Shockley, C: 2-for-4, HR, RBI, R, .286/.286/.429
Herick Hernandez, SP: 5.2IP 5H 5ER 2BB 6K, 6.67 ERA

Box Score

The game started off with a blast as Titus Dumitru connected on his second homer of the season in the first inning of the game giving the Emperors a 1-0 lead. That lead did not last long as Herick Hernandez season long struggles continued as he gave up a two-out two run homer to give up the lead. The exchanging of runs would continue as Dylan Shockley and Lizandro Espiznoa connected on a pair of solo homers in the top of the second to give the Emperors the lead right back. They would then add on a run in the top of the next inning with a no out single by Will Verdung would score Titus Dumitru who was on first to take a 4-2 lead.

That lead, however, would quickly evaporate as Herick Hernandez would give up a two out double that would score a run to close the gap to 4-3. He would then give up a pair of homers in the fifth innings to give the Grasshoppers the ultimate 5-4 lead in the fifth inning. Despite the four runs scored, the Emperors went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, strike out 9 times, and walk just one time. Outside of the long balls by Titus, Lizandro, and Dylan nobody else on the team was able to get a hit, let alone score a run.

(18-17) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (20-16) Columbia Fireflies 1

John Gil, SS: 1-for-3, 2R, SB, .242/.333/.317
Owen Carey, CF: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, .290/.371/.411
Eric Hartman, 2B: 1-for-4, RBI, .215/.345/.380
Isaiah Drake, LF: 1-for-3, R, 2B, .261/.341/.369
Jeremy Reyes, SP: 4.2IP 5H 1ER 3BB 7K, 2.61 ERA

Box Score

It was a fantastic day on the mound for the GreenJackets as Jeremy Reyes and Jacob Kroeger would be the only two pitchers needed – with Jacob covering the final 4.1 innings and giving up just one hit while striking out six. Reyes, making his second start following his return from the IL showed improved life on his fastball sitting between 93-98 with added movement. While it wasn’t his best start, as he did give up three walks, it was nice to see him throw the ball 79 times and maintain his velocity pretty well. After giving up a run in the first he would lock it down for his final 3.2 innings of work and lead with a 2-1 lead.

Those two runs were scored in the third inning when Owen Carey would hit a two run single that would score Mac Guscette and John Gil. They would then tack on another run in sixth inning when Eric Hartman doubled in John Gil to extend the Augusta lead to 3-1.

Thanks to Jacob Kroeger’s excellent work on the mound replacing Reyes, the 3-1 lead stuck until the 9th inning when Augusta would add on another run to push the lead to 4-1 which was more than enough for Jacob.

(4-4) FCL Braves 2, (3-5) FCL Orioles 5

Jose Perdomo, SS: 4-for-4, 2B, .333/.385/.394
Dalton McIntyre, CF: 1-for-2, BB, SB, .207/.343/.207
Rudit Pena, SP: 3IP 8H 6ER 4BB 3K, 12.79 ERA
Jose Devers, 2B: 0-for-0, 4BB, 2R, .500/.857/.500

Box Score

A few notable performances out of complex ball as top positional prospect Jose Perdomo went 4-for-4 with a double. The rehabbing Jose Devers went 0-for-0 across four plate appearances and drew a walk in each one – moving his OBP up to .857 while in Florida. After surrendering six earned runs across the first three innings Wilmer Guerra, and Jeiki Beltran would pitch a combined three scoreless innings in a game that ended after seven innings.