<img alt="MLB: APR 20 Rangers at Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Q1fZZ81ZdLCYk4vu4fgGGYteKkc=/3x0:2739x1824/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73382464/2147964209.0.jpg">
Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Exposito crossed the double-digit dinger threshold on the season on Friday. Only one of Atlanta’s minor league affiliates came away with a win on Friday, and the squad needed extra innings to do so. Regardless, let’s dive into the action.
(26-29) Gwinnett Stripers 6, (29-26) Norfolk Tide 7
Andrew Velazquez, 2B: 2-4, 2 R, BB
Luke Williams, DH: 1-5, 2B, 3 RBI, R
Eli White, RF: 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
Darius Vines, SP: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Box Score
Gwinnett failed to mount a late rally to bounceback and get the win as Norfolk took Friday’s game by one run.
The Stripers got off to a solid start, scoring twice in the opening frame. Andrew Velazquez laced a one-out single before Eli White launched a two-run homer to make it 2-0 Gwinnett.
After being held scoreless in the second, Gwinnett tacked on three more runs in the top of the third inning. Alejo Lopez and Forrest Wall drew back-to-back walks before a Velazquez single loaded the bases. Luke Williams then doubled home Lopez and Wall to unload the bases and extend the lead to 5-0. Williams proceeded to steal third base before Ramon Laureano brought him home on a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.
Meanwhile, Darius Vines got the start on the bump for the Stripers and despite tossing a pair of scoreless frames to kick things off while working with a lead, it was not the righty’s best performance.
Through just 3.2 innings on Friday, Vines allowed six earned runs while walking three and striking out three. Ben Bowden came on in relief of Vines in the bottom of the fourth and allowed an additional run as Norfolk took a 7-6 lead.
On the mound, things went better on the mound for the Stripers as Gwinnett pitchers tossed four scoreless frames after the fourth. However, the bats went cold, as the Stripers notched just two hits across the final five innings of the game in the loss.
(23-25) Mississippi Braves, (27-21) Montgomery Biscuits (POSTPONED)
(27-20) Rome Emperors 5, (20-29) Greenville Drive 3
E.J. Exposito, SS: 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
Ethan Workinger, LF: 2-5, RBI
Justin Janas, 1B: 1-2, 2B, R
Lucas Braun, SP: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Box Score
Rome made the best of extra innings on Friday and came away with a victory over Greenville.
The Emperors jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning. After Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. walked to start things off, Sabin Ceballos singled him to third as Ceballos moved up to second on the throw. Ethan Workinger then grounded out to score Kilpatrick Jr. to make it a 1-0 game.
Lucas Braun got the not to start for Rome on the mound and gave up a run in the home half of the first inning as Greenville tied the game at 1-1.
Both teams failed to score in the second inning before Rome retook the lead in the third frame. Kilpatrick Jr. once again ledoff the inning, this time with a single, before Adam Zebrowksi brought him home on a single of his own to make it a 2-1 Rome lead.
Things remained quiet until the bottom of the sixth when Braun allowed an additional run as the Drive tied the game at 2-2.
The Emperors retook the lead in the top of the eighth inning. Justin Janas laced a one-out double before moving up to third base on a wild pitch. Bryson Worrell proceeded to single Janas home to make it 3-2 Rome.
That lead wouldn’t hold long, however, as Emperors reliever Elison Joseph allowed Greenville to score in the home half of the inning to re-tie the game at 3-3.
After neither team scored in the top of the ninth, the game was sent to extra innings.
In the top of the tenth inning, with Stephen Paolini starting the inning on second base, E.J. Exposito launched the second pitch of the inning over the left center field wall for his tenth homer of the year to give Rome a 5-3 lead. In the home half, Rome reliever Rob Griswold came on and tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to save the win for the Emperors.
(19-29) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (24-25) Fayetteville Woodpeckers 6
Drew Compton, 1B: 1-4, 2B, RBI
Jace Grady, DH: 1-4, R
Adam Maier, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Box Score
Augusta strung together a couple of late runs against Fayetteville but ultimately came up short.
After being held scoreless in the top of the first inning, Augusta starter Adam Maier gave up one run in the bottom of the frame as the Woodpeckers took a 1-0 lead. Maier bounced back and tossed a pair of scoreless innings before running into more trouble in the bottom of the fourth. Maier allowed five more runs — only four earned — in the inning as the Woodpeckers extended their lead to 6-0 over the GreenJackets.
Offensively, things were brutal for Augusta for a majority of the game, being held to just five hits on the night. The GreenJackets finally broke through in the top of the eighth inning, scoring twice.
Pier-Olivier Boucher worked a one-out walk before Jace Grady singled him to second base. A wild pitch and a throwing error allowed Boucher to score and Grady to move up to third. After Leiker Figueroa reached on an error, Grady scored on a Drew Compton groundout to cut the Fayetteville lead to 6-2.
Adam Shoemaker came on in relief of Maier and tossed four scoreless frames, allowing just two hits and striking out one. However, that wasn’t enough as Augusta fell by a 6-2 final.
(5-15) FCL Braves 2, (12-7) FCL Rays 9
John Gil, DH: 1-4, RBI
Alexander Martinez, C: 1-4, R
Justin Militello, SP: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, K
Box Score
Things continued to trend in a negative direction for the Braves FCL squad, losing to the Rays by seven runs on Friday afternoon.
With starter Justin Militello on the mound, things got ugly quick for the Braves as the righty gave up three runs in the top of the first inning as the Rays took a 3-0 lead. He would give up one run in the top of the second and two runs in the top of the third as the Braves trailed 6-0 before they really had a chance to blink.
Offensively, the Braves were stagnant, producing just five hits on the day. They didn’t score their first runs of the game until the bottom of the eighth while down 9-0. Alexander Martinez scored on a passed ball to cut the deficit to 9-1 before a John Gil single scored Alen Pineda to make it a 9-2 game which would hold as the final for the Braves loss.
<img alt="MLB: APR 20 Rangers at Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Q1fZZ81ZdLCYk4vu4fgGGYteKkc=/3x0:2739x1824/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73382464/2147964209.0.jpg">
Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Exposito crossed the double-digit dinger threshold on the season on Friday. Only one of Atlanta’s minor league affiliates came away with a win on Friday, and the squad needed extra innings to do so. Regardless, let’s dive into the action.
(26-29) Gwinnett Stripers 6, (29-26) Norfolk Tide 7
Andrew Velazquez, 2B: 2-4, 2 R, BB
Luke Williams, DH: 1-5, 2B, 3 RBI, R
Eli White, RF: 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
Darius Vines, SP: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Box Score
Gwinnett failed to mount a late rally to bounceback and get the win as Norfolk took Friday’s game by one run.
The Stripers got off to a solid start, scoring twice in the opening frame. Andrew Velazquez laced a one-out single before Eli White launched a two-run homer to make it 2-0 Gwinnett.
After being held scoreless in the second, Gwinnett tacked on three more runs in the top of the third inning. Alejo Lopez and Forrest Wall drew back-to-back walks before a Velazquez single loaded the bases. Luke Williams then doubled home Lopez and Wall to unload the bases and extend the lead to 5-0. Williams proceeded to steal third base before Ramon Laureano brought him home on a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.
Meanwhile, Darius Vines got the start on the bump for the Stripers and despite tossing a pair of scoreless frames to kick things off while working with a lead, it was not the righty’s best performance.
Through just 3.2 innings on Friday, Vines allowed six earned runs while walking three and striking out three. Ben Bowden came on in relief of Vines in the bottom of the fourth and allowed an additional run as Norfolk took a 7-6 lead.
On the mound, things went better on the mound for the Stripers as Gwinnett pitchers tossed four scoreless frames after the fourth. However, the bats went cold, as the Stripers notched just two hits across the final five innings of the game in the loss.
(23-25) Mississippi Braves, (27-21) Montgomery Biscuits (POSTPONED)
(27-20) Rome Emperors 5, (20-29) Greenville Drive 3
E.J. Exposito, SS: 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
Ethan Workinger, LF: 2-5, RBI
Justin Janas, 1B: 1-2, 2B, R
Lucas Braun, SP: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Box Score
Rome made the best of extra innings on Friday and came away with a victory over Greenville.
The Emperors jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning. After Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. walked to start things off, Sabin Ceballos singled him to third as Ceballos moved up to second on the throw. Ethan Workinger then grounded out to score Kilpatrick Jr. to make it a 1-0 game.
Lucas Braun got the not to start for Rome on the mound and gave up a run in the home half of the first inning as Greenville tied the game at 1-1.
Both teams failed to score in the second inning before Rome retook the lead in the third frame. Kilpatrick Jr. once again ledoff the inning, this time with a single, before Adam Zebrowksi brought him home on a single of his own to make it a 2-1 Rome lead.
Things remained quiet until the bottom of the sixth when Braun allowed an additional run as the Drive tied the game at 2-2.
The Emperors retook the lead in the top of the eighth inning. Justin Janas laced a one-out double before moving up to third base on a wild pitch. Bryson Worrell proceeded to single Janas home to make it 3-2 Rome.
That lead wouldn’t hold long, however, as Emperors reliever Elison Joseph allowed Greenville to score in the home half of the inning to re-tie the game at 3-3.
After neither team scored in the top of the ninth, the game was sent to extra innings.
In the top of the tenth inning, with Stephen Paolini starting the inning on second base, E.J. Exposito launched the second pitch of the inning over the left center field wall for his tenth homer of the year to give Rome a 5-3 lead. In the home half, Rome reliever Rob Griswold came on and tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to save the win for the Emperors.
(19-29) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (24-25) Fayetteville Woodpeckers 6
Drew Compton, 1B: 1-4, 2B, RBI
Jace Grady, DH: 1-4, R
Adam Maier, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Box Score
Augusta strung together a couple of late runs against Fayetteville but ultimately came up short.
After being held scoreless in the top of the first inning, Augusta starter Adam Maier gave up one run in the bottom of the frame as the Woodpeckers took a 1-0 lead. Maier bounced back and tossed a pair of scoreless innings before running into more trouble in the bottom of the fourth. Maier allowed five more runs — only four earned — in the inning as the Woodpeckers extended their lead to 6-0 over the GreenJackets.
Offensively, things were brutal for Augusta for a majority of the game, being held to just five hits on the night. The GreenJackets finally broke through in the top of the eighth inning, scoring twice.
Pier-Olivier Boucher worked a one-out walk before Jace Grady singled him to second base. A wild pitch and a throwing error allowed Boucher to score and Grady to move up to third. After Leiker Figueroa reached on an error, Grady scored on a Drew Compton groundout to cut the Fayetteville lead to 6-2.
Adam Shoemaker came on in relief of Maier and tossed four scoreless frames, allowing just two hits and striking out one. However, that wasn’t enough as Augusta fell by a 6-2 final.
(5-15) FCL Braves 2, (12-7) FCL Rays 9
John Gil, DH: 1-4, RBI
Alexander Martinez, C: 1-4, R
Justin Militello, SP: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, K
Box Score
Things continued to trend in a negative direction for the Braves FCL squad, losing to the Rays by seven runs on Friday afternoon.
With starter Justin Militello on the mound, things got ugly quick for the Braves as the righty gave up three runs in the top of the first inning as the Rays took a 3-0 lead. He would give up one run in the top of the second and two runs in the top of the third as the Braves trailed 6-0 before they really had a chance to blink.
Offensively, the Braves were stagnant, producing just five hits on the day. They didn’t score their first runs of the game until the bottom of the eighth while down 9-0. Alexander Martinez scored on a passed ball to cut the deficit to 9-1 before a John Gil single scored Alen Pineda to make it a 9-2 game which would hold as the final for the Braves loss.
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