It was a very successful day down on the farm for Atlanta’s minor league affiliates on Friday, as all four teams in action came away with a victory. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the action.
(65-65) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (68-60) Columbus Clippers 1
- Nacho Alvarez Jr., 3B: 1-4, RBI
- Andrew Velazquez, LF: 1-4, R
- Drue Hackenberg, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, ER, 5 BB, K
Drue Hackenberg’s first Triple-A start was a bit rough as the righty walked five batters on the night. However, the 2023 draftee went six innings, allowing just one run as Gwinnett was able to hold on a walkoff for a win on Friday night.
For the first four innings, neither team crossed the plate. Columbus finally broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth, plating their lone run of the game off of Hackenberg to take a 1-0 lead over Gwinnett.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Stripers were able to tie things up. J.P. Martinez drew a leadoff walk and proceeded to steal second base before a Nacho Alvarez, Jr. single plated Martinez to knot the game at 1-1 on the night.
Things remained relatively quiet over the next few innings, as relievers Zach Logue and Domingo Gonzalez tossed a combined three innings of scoreless ball out of the bullpen.
Tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Velazquez laced a one-out single before stealing second base. After Andrew Misiaszek was intentionally-walked, Brian Anderson came on as a pinch-hitter and singled into center field to score Velazquez and walk things off for the Stripers in the 2-1 victory, bringing Gwinnett to .500 on the season.
(59-64) Mississippi Braves 4, (64-58) Pensacola Blue Wahoos, 2
- Cal Conley, SS: 2-4, HR, RBI, R
- Yolmer Sanchez, 2B: 2-4, HR, RBI, R
- Ian Mejia, SP: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K
Mississippi plated one run in each of the final two innings on Friday to win over Pensacola by a 4-2 final.
The Blue Wahoos scored first in this one, plating one run off of Mississippi starter Ian Mejia to take a 1-0 lead. For the next three innings, however, both teams were held scoreless as the Blue Wahoos clinged to their one-run lead.
In the top of the fifth, the Braves finally tied things up. Bryson horne ledoff with a double before Geraldo Quintero and Cade Bunnell walked to load the bases. After Sebastian Rivero popped out and and Bryson Worrell struck out, Cody Milligan singled into right field to plate Quintero and Horne to make it a 2-1 game in favor of Mississippi.
However, Pensacola would tie things up in the home half, scoring one run off of Mejia before he gave way to reliever Drew Parrish to tie the game at 2-2 on the night.
Across the sixth and seventh innings, the game remained tied at 2-2. Mississippi finally broke through to retake the lead in the top of the eighth inning. With two outs in the frame Cal Conley launched an 0-2 pitch over the left field wall for a solo homer to make it a 3-2 game.
The Braves would tack on an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning, as Yolbert Sanchez ledoff the frame with a solo homer to extend the Mississippi lead to 4-2 on the night.
In the bottom of the ninth, Elison Joseph came on and slammed the door — striking out two in his inning of work — as Mississippi won by a 4-2 final.
(58-62) Rome Emperors 7, (70-52) Greensboro Grasshoppers 4
- Stephen Paolini, LF: 1-5, Grand Slam, 4 RBI, R
- Jace Grady, RF: 1-5, R
- Adam Maier, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 7 K
Despite scoring just once over the first five innings on Friday, Rome managed to put together a successful offensive output across the final two innings on Friday to get the win over Greensboro.
Rome starter Adam Maier out-bested his counterpart on the mound in this one. Across six innings, Maier scattered just four hits and three walks while striking out seven en route to holding Greensboro scoreless on the night.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Emperors finally broke the scoreless tie to take a 1-0 lead. Ambioris Tavarez ledoff with a single before stealing second base. Tavarez moved up to third on a wild pitch, before a Mac Guscette sacrifice fly brought him home to make it a 1-0 game in favor of Rome.
While Maier was solid, the Rome bullpen fell short, as Shay Schanaman allowed three runs in the top of the eighth inning as Greensborom took a 3-1 lead. However, while down to their final at-bat on the night, the Emperors managed to tie things up.
E.J. Exposito ledoff with a walk in the bottom of the final frame, but Stephen Paolini and Tavarez were retired to push Rome to their final out. After Nick Ward reached on a walk, Guscette reached on a fielder’s choice that resulted in both Exposito and Ward scoring to knot the game at 3-3 and send the contest to extra innings.
The Grasshoppers scored one run off of Rome reliever Jared Johnson in the top of the 10th to take a 4-3 lead.
In the bottom of the 10th, the Emperors were able to come through in a massive way. With Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. leading off at second base, Jace Grady ledoff the inning with a single. Two batters later, Exposito walked to load the bases before Stephen Paolini launched a walkoff, grand slam over the right field wall to give the Emperors a 7-4 lead and — more importantly — the win over Greensboro.
(45-76) Augusta GreenJackets 5, (65-57) Columbia Fireflies 4
- Harry Owen, C: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB
- Patrick Clohisy, DH: 2-3, R, BB
- Carter Holton, SP: 2 IP, H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Augusta mounted a late-inning comeback to take Friday’s game against Columbia by a 5-4 final.
Both squads were held scoreless to begin the game before the Fireflies jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Carter Holton, who was making the first start of his professional career after being selected by Atlanta in this year’s MLB draft.
Across two innings, Holton allowed the three runs, while issuing four walks and striking out three on the night in his first outing for Augusta. The Fireflies would tack on another run in the top of the fourth off of reliever Owen Hackman to extend the lead over Augusta to 4-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, the GreenJackets were able to cut the deficit in half. Colby Jones and Junior Garcia laced back-to-back, one-out singles before a Patrick Clohisy walk loaded the bases. Will Verdung singled into center field to score Jones and Garcia to make it a 4-2 lead for Columbia.
The GreenJackets would score once again in the home half of the sixth inning. Clohisy ledoff with a single, and two batters later Titus Dumitru doubled him to third base. After Harry Owen walked, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jake Steels scored Clohisy to make it a 4-3 game.
The Augusta bullpen came through in this one, as after the third inning, the GreenJackets held the Fireflies scoreless the rest of the way home.
In the bottom of the eighth, Dumitru drew a one-out walk before advancing to second base on a wild pitch. Then, Owen homered over the left field wall to give Augusta the 5-4 lead. Reibyn Corona — who tossed three innings on the night — slammed the door in the ninth inning to cap off the GreenJackets’ 5-4 win.
