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Ritchie allowed no hits and one walk across five innings of work. While only two of Atlanta’s minor league affiliates came away with a victory on Friday, the real story was a top prospect making his return to the mound and absolutely dominating for Augusta. So, let’s dive in.
(42-48) Gwinnett Stripers 7, (42-47) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6
Luke Williams, 1B-3B: 1-4, Grand Slam, 4 RBI, R
Ryan Casteel, 1B: 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB
Luis Liberato, RF: 3-4, 2B, RBI
Dylan Dodd, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K
Box Score
Gwinnett was on the right end of a comeback attempt on Friday, walking off Jacksonville by plating two runs in the final frame.
After the Jumbo Shrimp jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, the Stripers rallied back in the next inning. In the bottom of the third, J.P. Martinez reached on a one-out error before a Forrest Wall walk moved him into scoring position. After Nacho Alvarez Jr. was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Luke Williams made the opposition pay by launching a grand slam over the left center field wall to give Gwinnett the 4-1 lead.
Jacksonville scored twice in the top of the fourth to cut the Stripers lead to 4-3 on the day. After the Jumbo Shrimp scored three times in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to 6-4, Gwinnett scored in the home half of the inning as a Luis Liberato single score J.P. Martinez to make it a 6-5 game.
Down to their final three outs of the game, the Stripers managed to put together a successful comeback. After Martinez drew a leadoff walk — and moved up to second base on a Wall sac fly — Ryan Casteel homered for the second time this season to walk things off and give Gwinnett the 7-6 victory.
(38-46) Mississippi Braves 4, (47-38) Birmingham Barons 7
Cal Conley, SS: 2-4, 2 R
Yolmer Sanchez, 2B: 1-4, 2 RBI
Bryson Horne, 1B: 1-3, 3B
Drue Hackenberg, SP: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Box Score
Mississippi attempted a late comeback on Friday, but ultimately came up short, losing to Birmingham by a 7-4 final.
Drue Hackenberg got the start for the Braves and across four innings, the righty scattered five hits, but allowed three runs on four walks while striking out three. The Barons took a 4-0 lead over Mississippi before the Braves ever crossed the dish in this one.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Braves finally scored. Bryson Horne ledoff with his first triple of the season, and a Sebastian Rivero groundout brought him home to make it a 4-1 game. After the Barons scored once in the top of the sixth, the Braves got that run back courtesy of a Yolbert Sanchez single that scored Conley to make it a 5-2 game.
Birmingham scored twice more in the top of the seventh inning, extending their lead to 7-2 on the night. In the bottom of the eighth, Conley would score yet again — this time on a Sanchez groundout — to make it 7-3.
While Mississippi would get one more run in the bottom of the ninth as Geraldo Quintero scored on a Javier Valdes forceout to make it 7-4, the Barons would get Justin Dean to strikeout to end the game and hand Birmingham the win.
(42-41) Rome Emperors 5, (37-48) Greenville Drive 6
Stephen Paolini, RF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
Justin Janas, 1B: 1-4, 2 RBI
Ian Anderson, SP: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 K
Box Score
Ian Anderson made another rehab start as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery, but Rome ultimately fell to Greenville by one run on Friday.
The Emperors staked Anderson to an early lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Drew Compton and E.J. Exposito worked back-to-back RBI singles before a Stephen Paolini double plated Compton to make it a 1-0 lead for Rome. In the next at-bat, Justin Janas singled into left field to score Exposito and Paolini, extending the Rome lead to 3-0.
On the day, Anderson was solid. Across 4.1 innings, the righty allowed two runs on six hits and struck out two as the Drive cut the Rome lead to 3-2 with runs in each of the third and fifth innings.
Greenville eventually took a 6-3 lead over Rome headed into the bottom of the eighth inning. Sabin Ceballos and Ethan Workinger laced back-to-back singles before an Adam Zebrowksi groundout scored Ceballos to make it a 6-4 deficit. After Drew Compton walked, Exposito plated Workinger on a sacrifice fly, cutting the Drive lead to 6-5.
However, that would hold as the final as the Emperors failed to score the rest of the way, losing on the night.
(35-48) Augusta GreenJackets 3, (38-47) Fayetteville Woodpeckers 0
Leiker Figueroa, 1-3, 3B, RBI
Kade Kern, CF: 1-4
JR Ritchie, SP: 5 IP, BB, 7 K
Box Score
In what was arguably the best minor league performance on the day amongst Braves farmhands, JR Ritchie made his first start of the year in his return from Tommy John surgery and he absolutely dominated Fayetteville on the night.
Across five innings, Ritchie allowed just one walk while striking out 7 and holding the Woodpeckers hitless. Ritchie’s fastball peaked at 96 MPH and his changeup looked as good as ever, but as expected in his first start back, his velocity dipped back down deeper into his outing.
In the bottom of the first inning, the GreenJackets provided Ritchie with early run support. Robert Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk before Kade Kern doubled him to third base. Gonzalez would then score on an RBI-groundout off the bat of Will Verdung to make it 1-0.
Augusta would mount a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead. Joe Olsavsky drew a walk and subsequently scored on a Noah Williams single and error to make it 2-0. Then, Leiker Figueroa tripled Williams home to extend the lead to 3-0. While the GreenJackets failed to put up any type of offensive fight beyond the fourth inning, it wouldn’t matter as the Augusta bullpen continued Ritchie’s excellent work.
After Ritchie gave way to the bullpen, Davis Polo tossed three scoreless innings of his own with four strikeouts and Reibyn Corona came on in the ninth inning and slammed the door to get the save and secure Augusta’s win.
(9-16) DSL Braves 1, (18-8) DSL Brewers 5
Juan Mateo, SS: 1-4, 2B
Nixson Cueche, 1B-RF: 1-3, R
Sebastian Estiven, SP: 0.2 IP, H, 3 ER, 2 BB
Box Score
The Braves DSL squad came up short on Friday, losing 5-1 to the DSL Brewers.
Things got off to a bad start as Braves starter Sebastian Estiven lasted just two-thirds of an innings, allowing three runs in the top of the first inning as the Brewers took a 3-0 lead.
At the plate, things weren’t much better as the Braves were held scoreless through the first four frames. However, the Braves finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nixson Cueche notched a one-out single and advanced to third on a throwing error before Michael Baez brought him home on a single of his own to make it a 3-1 game.
The Brewers got that run back in the top of the sixth inning, extending their lead to 4-1 and again would plate one run in the top of the ninth, making it a 5-1 lead which would hold as the final as the Braves failed to score again after the fifth frame.
(18-30) FCL Braves 2, (28-20) FCL Rays 2 (SUSPENDED)
John Gil, SS: 1-1, 2B, R
Junior Garcia, CF: 1-1, RBI
Jhonly Taveras, SP: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB
Box Score
The Braves and Rays only got through 2.1 innings before the game was suspended due to weather. Both teams scored in the top of the first inning, with the Braves’ run coming on a Junior Garcia single that plated John Gil to tie things at 1-1.
In the bottom of the second, the Braves took the lead as Angel Nieblas doubled into right field to score Alexander Martinez to make it 2-1. However, the Rays would also get a run in the top of the third off of Braves’ starter Jhonly Taveras to tie the game before Mother Nature had her say and forced the game to be suspended.
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Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Ritchie allowed no hits and one walk across five innings of work. While only two of Atlanta’s minor league affiliates came away with a victory on Friday, the real story was a top prospect making his return to the mound and absolutely dominating for Augusta. So, let’s dive in.
(42-48) Gwinnett Stripers 7, (42-47) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6
Luke Williams, 1B-3B: 1-4, Grand Slam, 4 RBI, R
Ryan Casteel, 1B: 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB
Luis Liberato, RF: 3-4, 2B, RBI
Dylan Dodd, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K
Box Score
Gwinnett was on the right end of a comeback attempt on Friday, walking off Jacksonville by plating two runs in the final frame.
After the Jumbo Shrimp jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, the Stripers rallied back in the next inning. In the bottom of the third, J.P. Martinez reached on a one-out error before a Forrest Wall walk moved him into scoring position. After Nacho Alvarez Jr. was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Luke Williams made the opposition pay by launching a grand slam over the left center field wall to give Gwinnett the 4-1 lead.
Jacksonville scored twice in the top of the fourth to cut the Stripers lead to 4-3 on the day. After the Jumbo Shrimp scored three times in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to 6-4, Gwinnett scored in the home half of the inning as a Luis Liberato single score J.P. Martinez to make it a 6-5 game.
Down to their final three outs of the game, the Stripers managed to put together a successful comeback. After Martinez drew a leadoff walk — and moved up to second base on a Wall sac fly — Ryan Casteel homered for the second time this season to walk things off and give Gwinnett the 7-6 victory.
(38-46) Mississippi Braves 4, (47-38) Birmingham Barons 7
Cal Conley, SS: 2-4, 2 R
Yolmer Sanchez, 2B: 1-4, 2 RBI
Bryson Horne, 1B: 1-3, 3B
Drue Hackenberg, SP: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Box Score
Mississippi attempted a late comeback on Friday, but ultimately came up short, losing to Birmingham by a 7-4 final.
Drue Hackenberg got the start for the Braves and across four innings, the righty scattered five hits, but allowed three runs on four walks while striking out three. The Barons took a 4-0 lead over Mississippi before the Braves ever crossed the dish in this one.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Braves finally scored. Bryson Horne ledoff with his first triple of the season, and a Sebastian Rivero groundout brought him home to make it a 4-1 game. After the Barons scored once in the top of the sixth, the Braves got that run back courtesy of a Yolbert Sanchez single that scored Conley to make it a 5-2 game.
Birmingham scored twice more in the top of the seventh inning, extending their lead to 7-2 on the night. In the bottom of the eighth, Conley would score yet again — this time on a Sanchez groundout — to make it 7-3.
While Mississippi would get one more run in the bottom of the ninth as Geraldo Quintero scored on a Javier Valdes forceout to make it 7-4, the Barons would get Justin Dean to strikeout to end the game and hand Birmingham the win.
(42-41) Rome Emperors 5, (37-48) Greenville Drive 6
Stephen Paolini, RF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
Justin Janas, 1B: 1-4, 2 RBI
Ian Anderson, SP: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 K
Box Score
Ian Anderson made another rehab start as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery, but Rome ultimately fell to Greenville by one run on Friday.
The Emperors staked Anderson to an early lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Drew Compton and E.J. Exposito worked back-to-back RBI singles before a Stephen Paolini double plated Compton to make it a 1-0 lead for Rome. In the next at-bat, Justin Janas singled into left field to score Exposito and Paolini, extending the Rome lead to 3-0.
On the day, Anderson was solid. Across 4.1 innings, the righty allowed two runs on six hits and struck out two as the Drive cut the Rome lead to 3-2 with runs in each of the third and fifth innings.
Greenville eventually took a 6-3 lead over Rome headed into the bottom of the eighth inning. Sabin Ceballos and Ethan Workinger laced back-to-back singles before an Adam Zebrowksi groundout scored Ceballos to make it a 6-4 deficit. After Drew Compton walked, Exposito plated Workinger on a sacrifice fly, cutting the Drive lead to 6-5.
However, that would hold as the final as the Emperors failed to score the rest of the way, losing on the night.
(35-48) Augusta GreenJackets 3, (38-47) Fayetteville Woodpeckers 0
Leiker Figueroa, 1-3, 3B, RBI
Kade Kern, CF: 1-4
JR Ritchie, SP: 5 IP, BB, 7 K
Box Score
In what was arguably the best minor league performance on the day amongst Braves farmhands, JR Ritchie made his first start of the year in his return from Tommy John surgery and he absolutely dominated Fayetteville on the night.
Across five innings, Ritchie allowed just one walk while striking out 7 and holding the Woodpeckers hitless. Ritchie’s fastball peaked at 96 MPH and his changeup looked as good as ever, but as expected in his first start back, his velocity dipped back down deeper into his outing.
In the bottom of the first inning, the GreenJackets provided Ritchie with early run support. Robert Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk before Kade Kern doubled him to third base. Gonzalez would then score on an RBI-groundout off the bat of Will Verdung to make it 1-0.
Augusta would mount a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead. Joe Olsavsky drew a walk and subsequently scored on a Noah Williams single and error to make it 2-0. Then, Leiker Figueroa tripled Williams home to extend the lead to 3-0. While the GreenJackets failed to put up any type of offensive fight beyond the fourth inning, it wouldn’t matter as the Augusta bullpen continued Ritchie’s excellent work.
After Ritchie gave way to the bullpen, Davis Polo tossed three scoreless innings of his own with four strikeouts and Reibyn Corona came on in the ninth inning and slammed the door to get the save and secure Augusta’s win.
(9-16) DSL Braves 1, (18-8) DSL Brewers 5
Juan Mateo, SS: 1-4, 2B
Nixson Cueche, 1B-RF: 1-3, R
Sebastian Estiven, SP: 0.2 IP, H, 3 ER, 2 BB
Box Score
The Braves DSL squad came up short on Friday, losing 5-1 to the DSL Brewers.
Things got off to a bad start as Braves starter Sebastian Estiven lasted just two-thirds of an innings, allowing three runs in the top of the first inning as the Brewers took a 3-0 lead.
At the plate, things weren’t much better as the Braves were held scoreless through the first four frames. However, the Braves finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nixson Cueche notched a one-out single and advanced to third on a throwing error before Michael Baez brought him home on a single of his own to make it a 3-1 game.
The Brewers got that run back in the top of the sixth inning, extending their lead to 4-1 and again would plate one run in the top of the ninth, making it a 5-1 lead which would hold as the final as the Braves failed to score again after the fifth frame.
(18-30) FCL Braves 2, (28-20) FCL Rays 2 (SUSPENDED)
John Gil, SS: 1-1, 2B, R
Junior Garcia, CF: 1-1, RBI
Jhonly Taveras, SP: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB
Box Score
The Braves and Rays only got through 2.1 innings before the game was suspended due to weather. Both teams scored in the top of the first inning, with the Braves’ run coming on a Junior Garcia single that plated John Gil to tie things at 1-1.
In the bottom of the second, the Braves took the lead as Angel Nieblas doubled into right field to score Alexander Martinez to make it 2-1. However, the Rays would also get a run in the top of the third off of Braves’ starter Jhonly Taveras to tie the game before Mother Nature had her say and forced the game to be suspended.
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