Ritchie scored seven over three perfect innings to lead Augusta to victory
The Atlanta Braves system had a lot of action on Saturday night and JR Ritchie was the star of the show with his performance in Augusta. Drake Baldwin also impressed by leading Rome to victory.
(2-11) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (9-5) Memphis RedBirds 5
box score
- Luke Waddell, SS: 0-4, .000/.111/.000
- Justin Dean, LF: 1-2, BB, SB, .182/.342/.333
- Allan Winans, SP: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 4.80 ERA
- Roddery Munoz, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
The streak continues for Gwinnett as they once again failed to record a win against Memphis and are now one game away from being swept. The Stripers actually took an early lead in the second inning, with Magneuris Sierra starting the inning with a single. Joe Hudson followed with a double and Sierra charged around from first base to get the go-ahead. Gwinnett was then completely contained for the remainder of the game, never putting two runners in the same inning again until they were already 5-1 behind. Gwinnett holds the worst team OPS in the International League.
Lucky for Gwinnett, their pitching staff is a little better than batting, so instead of being the worst, they simply have the second worst team ERA. Allan Winans missed his fair share of at-bats and hit six batters, but was eventually cracked out for a game-timing home run in the third inning. The second time through the lineup wasn’t kind to Winans and he left the team 3-1 in the sixth inning and a run for second. Roel Ramirez didn’t put out the fire and even allowed a run of his own to make it 5-1 for Memphia. Roddery Munoz provided the bright spot in the game as if he gets an audition out of the bullpen he’s done a great job so far. Today, Munoz threw two scoreless innings, batted two batters and, more importantly, threw 16 of his 24 pitches for strikes.
(3-5) Mississippi Braves 6, (5-3) Chattanooga Lookouts 7
box score
- Cody Milligan, CF: 2-4, 2B, BB, .367/.513/.633
- Cal Conley, SS: 2-5, 3B, RBI, .233/.361/.333
- Cade Bunnell, 2B: 3-4, BB, 2 RBI, .269/.367/.423
- Daniel Martinez, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 9.00 ERA
- Victor Vodnik, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.60 ERA
Mississippi made a strong late comeback in that game, but it fell short as they advanced to 3-5 in the season. The Braves were first on the board thanks to the top of the order having a hot night on the plate, with Cal Conley and Cade Bunnell each delivering RBI hits. That lead lasted the rest of the inning before Chattanooga came back and took a lead they wouldn’t give up. Bunnell’s second RBI single put Mississippi a run closer in the seventh inning, but it really never looked like they were in the game. That was until the Power Bats started running, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Drew Lugbauer is leading with his third home run of the season. Hudson Potts and Arden Pabst each added solo home runs in the innings and suddenly Mississippi was one big hit away from tyng the game. Unfortunately, that momentum never materialized and a double stick playoff from Lugbauer finished the game in ninth place, with Mississippi coming up a run short.
Daniel Martinez had a tough time on the mound in the first inning as he allowed three runs thanks to a hit, three walks, a batter and a penalty. Martinez managed to squeak cleanly through the next innings but was hit again in the fourth inning as Mississippi fell 5-2 behind. The bullpen was then unable to keep him there, as Victor Vodnik allowed a run in each of the two innings he put up to extend the lookouts’ lead even further.
(2-4) Rome Braves 10, (5-1) Bowling Green Hot Rods 5
box score
Drake Baldwin, C: 3-5, 2 2B, BB, 2 RBI, .333/.520/.444
Ignacio Alvarez, SS: 2-4, 2B, 2BB, RBI, .280/.455/.360
Keshawn Ogans, 3B: 2-4, BB, 3 RBI, .273/.385/.318
Hunter Riggins, SP: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 10.80 ERA
Rom’s offense erupted in that game, scoring runs throughout the game to give Bowling Green their first loss of the season. Two walks in the first inning saw Rome take their first lead as Bryson Horne doubled Drake Baldwin home for a 1-0. Rome could not capitalize any further and soon fell behind 3-1. It was here that the rally train started chugging and the Braves grabbed four singles from Horne, Brandol Mezquita, Kadon Morton and Keshawn Ogans, with the final score taking two runs to a tie. Bowling Green responded with two of their own before the Braves really got rolling in the fifth inning. Baldwin led the inning with a double and Nacho Alvarez was not far behind with one of his own to get a run on the board. Two batters later and Mezquita closed the game with a hit, and Cory Acton had the go-ahead single the Hot Rods would never come back from. Kevin Kilpatrick hit the seventh run on a beam in the eighth inning and Rome hit three insurance runs in the ninth inning. The last of these came from Badwin, who had a huge day on the plate to push his OPS above .900.
Starter Hunter Riggins struggled for Rome as he allowed five runs over four innings to put Rome further behind in the game. After Riggins left, the bullpen was fantastic and gave the offensive a chance to extend the lead. Estarlin Rodriguez won the game when he immediately put up two scoreless innings in relief for Riggins to bridge those middle frames. Daysbel Hernandez made a rehab appearance in the seventh inning, throwing a scoreless, but also went with two batters and only threw six of his 17 pitches for strikes. Peyton Williams closed the door with an amazing play, posting six straight hot rods including four strikeouts to complete a save.
(2-4) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (5-2) Down East Wood Ducks 0
box score
- Tyler Collins CF: 0-3. BB, .242/.336/.326
- Ambioris Tavarez, SS: 1-4, .224/.371/.365
- JR Ritchie, SP: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA
- Landon Harper, RP: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4.50 ERA
The JR Ritchie show was shown in full for the GreenJackets, and the pitching team as a whole shut down the Wood Ducks. Unfortunately, the offensive didn’t have quite the same success, and barring a random jump, we could still see this game play. Justin Janas and Ethan Workinger started the second inning with base hits, but an out in the inning really started the chaos. Dawson Dimon lifted a floater into a very flat midfield that would result in an infield fly. During the game, however, the ball bounced off the shortstop’s glove and Janas advanced to third place where a faulty throw would send him home for the first run. Francisco Floyd followed up with a base hit to make it 2-0.
You may have heard us talk on this page about our excitement at seeing JR Ritchie on the pitch and I can assure you the Down East Wood Ducks would be very glad never to see that happen again. Ritchie fooled the Woodies with his curveball, hitting seven batters and now allowing a three-inning baserunner. Ritchie particularly enjoyed his ordeal at the back of the order as he swept away the last five batters he faced as I frantically drove down I-20, trying to get to SRP Park in time to take an inning of to catch him pitching. Well, that didn’t happen, but I did watch Landon Harper play three scoreless innings to still send it 2-0 into the late innings. Chad Bryant pitched two scoreless innings of relief and used his curveball for three strikeouts. Rob Griswold got off to a good start thanks to Ambioris Tavarez reaching down his right to make a solid backhand play and throw from the deep hole he made look a lot easier than it was. Griswold finished the inning with little effort to give Augusta their second win of the season.
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