Atlanta Braves Week 7 Farm Report: Home runs and No-hitters

(19-23) Mississippi Braves (AA)

WEEK 7 RECORD: 2-5

Players of the Week

(1B) Ryan Casteel

7 games, .307 BA, 2B, RBI

The M-Braves offense wasn’t as impressive as it has been in previous weeks, but Casteel provided plenty of contact in Week 7.

He didn’t hit any homers this past week, but he has hit safely in 9-straight games, stretching into Week 6. Through 23 games so far in 2019, Casteel has been making some of the best contact of his career.

He’s currently running a .282 batting average with 3 home runs and 6 doubles, while also sporting a .385 on-base percentage.

(SP) Tucker Davidson

2 starts, 1 win, 14 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 10 K

Davidson automatically got the advantage in Week 7, receiving two starts last week. But, he still needed to pitch well in those two starts, and that he did.

His outing on Monday was his longest of his career (8 innings) and it was an excellent five-hit start by the lefty from Texas. On Saturday, it was more of the same, a four-hitter with six punch outs.

With Ian Anderson not completely in his groove yet, Davidson has taken the lead-role thus far for Mississippi. The 6’2″ 23-year-old now has a 1.65 ERA in 43.2 innings worth of starts and has only allowed one home run this season.

The Week at a Glance

(5/13) Monday: Lost 5-0 vs. Montgomery Biscuits – FULL RECAP

• (P) T. Davidson: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K
• (LF) D. Waters: 1-4, 2 K
• (2B) A. Salazar: 1-4, 2B

Before Monday’s game, two Mississippi pitchers got promoted: starting pitcher, Patrick Weigel (#21 prospect) and relief pitcher Huascar Ynoa (#18 prospect).

As you may know Weigel is still being worked in slowly as he’s still recovering from Tommy John surgery last season, though he’s been effective this season.  Here’s both pitchers’ stats in Mississippi for 2019:

• (SP) P. Weigel:15.2 IP, 9.19 K/9, 5.17 BB/9, 1.72 ERA
• (RP) H. Ynoa: 13.2 IP, 9.88 K/9, 3.29 BB/9, 5.27 ERA

The M-Braves game on Monday featured a strong start by Tucker Davidson (#20 prospect), but his start was squandered due to minimal offense from the Braves bats. The Biscuits starter, Riley O-Brien, punched out ten Mississippi batters over six innings, only surrendering one hit.

Christian Pache (#1 prospect) was hitless on Thursday, going down on strikes once; and Ryan Casteel finished with a 1-for-3 night, walking once and striking out.

No one else contributed on offense (other than Waters and Salazar above) and the M-Braves were 0-for-5 with RISP and left 7 runners on base.

(5/14) Tuesday: Lost 3-1 vs. Montgomery Biscuits – FULL RECAP

• (P) I. Anderson: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 5 K
• (LF) D. Waters: 1-3, 2B, R, BB
• (RF) R. Neslony: 3-4, 2B, RBI

The Braves #4 prospect, starting pitcher Ian Anderson, took the bump on Tuesday for the M-Braves. Anderson struggled to find control in this one, walking a season-high six batters. Luckily, reliever Claudio Custido held things rather still when he appeared in the 4th inning, pitching four no-hit innings and striking out three.

The M-Braves bats couldn’t take advantage of Custido’s stingy relief work, though, only crossing the plate once on offense. First baseman Andy Wilkins got two hits and struck out once, while Christian Pache finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Catcher Jonathan Morales and third baseman Daniel Lockhart added one hit apiece. Drew Waters hit his league-leading 15th double and 20th XBH in the game.

(5/15) Wednesday: Won 4-3 (F/10) vs. Montgomery Biscuits – FULL RECAP

• (P) K. Muller: 6.2 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• (1B) R. Casteel: 1-4, RBI, BB
• (LF) D. Waters: 2-5, R

With the M-Braves and Montgomery going into extra innings tied at one apiece, Mississippi quickly scored three runs in the 10th and was looking to walk away with the win, 4-1; however, the Biscuits chipped away and ended up only losing by one when it was all said and done.

Starter Kyle Muller (#13 prospect) pitched a gem on Wednesday, providing Mississippi with another quality start, his third-straight.

The M-Braves failed to hit an XBH, but with Drew Waters‘ (#6 prospect) two hits (above) and Tyler Neslony‘s multi-hit finish — they got just enough offensively to squeak by victorious.

With the M-Braves’ game being the final Braves minor league game to finish on Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves organization swept the competition, winning all six games (Florida played a doubleheader).

(5/16) Thursday: Lost 6-4 vs. Birmingham Barons– FULL RECAP

• (P) J. Walker: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
• (CF) C. Pache: 3-5, RBI, R, K
• (1B) A. Wilkins: 1-5, HR, RBI, 2 K

The Barons Trey Michalczewski walked off it off on Mississippi’s Jordan Harrison with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, giving Birmingham a win in the series opener between the two teams.

With Patrick Weigel being promoted to Gwinnett, reliever Jeremy Walker was tasked with the start on Thursday and he did not disappoint.

In Walker’s first start of 2019, the 23-year-old worked through 83 pitches (59 strikes), providing the M-Braves with a quality start.

Drew Waters was hitless with 3 strikeouts, but scored a run. Third baseman Luis Valenzuela picked up two hits, one being a triple, and plated one run.

(5/17) Friday: Lost 4-2 vs. Birmingham Barons – FULL RECAP

• (P) J. Wentz: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
• (LF) D. Waters: 1-4, SB, RBI
• (RF) C. Pace: 1-4, 2B, 2 K

It was a better start than the line presents for starter Joey Wentz (#11prospect), even though the line depicts a quality start (which is good!); but if not for a 6th inning two-run homer, Wentz would have finished with just 3 hits given up and no runs.

He faced 24 batters and eight of them grounded out and five struck out (91 pitches / 63 strikes).

On offense, Ryan Casteel and Luis Valenzuela both finished 1-for-4, with Valenzuela scoring a run and striking out once. Ray-Patrick Didder went 1-for-2 with a double, a run, a walk and a strikeout.

Also, Wentz picked off a runner at first base in the 4th inning, and Drew Waters shot down a runner from left field trying to go third-to-home in the 8th.

(5/18) Saturday: Won 4-1 vs. Birmingham Barons – FULL RECAP

• (P) T. Davidson: 8 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• (2B) A. Salazar: 1-4, 2 RBI, K
• (DH) R. Casteel: 2-3, 2B, R, BB

A few roster moves before Saturday night’s game: (click the link to see full details):

Outfielders Conner Lien and Tyler Neslony were placed on the 7-day IL and outfielder Shean Michel was transferred from Danville to Mississippi. Also, infielder Riley Unroe was promoted from High-A Florida to the M-Braves.

Also, both of our Tomahawk Take site editors were present for Saturday’s game in Birmingham. Both Jake and Alan got firsthand looks at the talent in Mississippi.

https://twitter.com/TomahawkTakeFS/status/1129894319303929856?s=19

It was a career night for the Braves 20th ranked prospect, Tucker Davidson, as he pitched his longest outing (8 IP) of his career and earned his first Double-A victory (also longest outing by any M-Braves hurler this season).

On offense, the just-promoted Unroe picked up a hit in his four tries, also scoring a run and striking out twice. Both Drew Waters and Christian Pache went hitless, combining to go 0-for-9 with a walk and 3 strikeouts.

First baseman Andy Wilkins finished with a double and a run, and third baseman Luis Valenzuala went 3-for-4 with a run, also hitting a double.

(5/19) Sunday: Lost 2-1 vs. Birmingham Barons – FULL RECAP

• (P) I. Anderson: 5.2 IP, 7 H, ER, 0 BB, 5 K
• (RF) C. Pache: 1-4, 2B, K
• (CF/LF) D. Waters: 1-3, R, BB, K

A well earned promotion was in order before Sunday’s game:

RHP Jasseel De La Cruz  has been promoted to Mississippi from High-A Florida, RHP Bradley Roney  has been activated from the Mississippi Injured List and transferred to High-A Florida and LHP Justin Kelly  has been transferred from Mississippi to the Rookie-Danville roster.

De La Cruz’s new rotation-mate, Ian Anderson, got the start on Sunday and he looked sharp, falling just an out of a quality start.

Anderson is currently 4th in the International League in strikeouts this season, with 52.

Unfortunately, the M-Braves lost from a ninth-inning sac-fly as the Barons walked it off on Sunday, losing by way of walk-off for the second time in the last four games.

Drew Waters and Christian Pache were back at it again, with Pache hitting his 11th double of 2019. The Braves top-prospect is up to a .280 average and .798 OPS, while Waters has been a bit better of late with a .316 average and .837 OPS.

Andy Wilkins and Ryan Casteel both added base-hits as well. Wilkins is still keeping a sub-.200 average (.189), but Casteel is batting a healthy .282 through seven weeks of play.

(19-24) Flordia Fire Frogs (A+)

WEEK 7 RECORD: 5-2

Players of the Week

(2B) Kevin Josephina

6 games, .478 BA, double, 5 RBI

(RF) Greyson Jenista

7 games, .259 BA, HR, triple, 2 2B, 5 RBI, SB

I had to pick two batters this week as Jenista needed a mention. This is probably the first week that he’s played well all seven days, so hopefully this is a sign that he’s getting going as a professional player.

Jenista now has 40 games under his belt in High-A, currently hitting .229 with 3 home runs and 9 doubles. This week could be the start!

Kevin Josephina was signed by the Braves in 2014 out of Curacao, and while he has always possessed speed, he’s never been much with the bat.

Well, on Saturday Josephina proved otherwise, racking up 5 hits in Florida’s win. I wouldn’t get too excited yet, as a player putting up a .480 average over 25 at-bats can basically mean diddly squat.

But, with 6 seasons already in the organization (he signed at 17-years-old), Josephina might have figured something out.

(SP) Jasseel De La Cruz

9 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K

The guy threw a no-hitter. Enough said. Read below for details regarding his start Saturday.

The Week at a Glance

(5/13) Monday: Postponed (RAIN)

(5/14) Tuesday: Postponed (RAIN)

(5/15) Wednesday: (DOUBLEHEADER)

Game 1: Won 6-5 (F/9) vs. St. Lucie Mets – FULL RECAP 

• (P) N. Kingham: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, BB, 3 K
• (C) W. Contreras: 1-4, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
• (3B) D. Lugbauer: 1-4, 3B, RBI, K

In Game 1 the Fire Frogs found themselves down 5-0 after four innings, due to some poor pitching by starter Nolan Kingham. But the offense prevailed and chipped away at the lead, forcing the scheduled 7-inning game into nine innings and beating the Mets.

Right fielder Greyson Jenista (#14 prospect) provided a hit in his 4 at-bats, scoring a run, walking once and striking out once. Jefrey Ramos also picked up a hit and scored a run.

First baseman Kevin Josephina finished 3-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and a strikeout in Game 1. Josephina’s RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Jenista, walked it off for the Fire Frogs.

Reliever Sean McLaughlin picked up the win, pitching 3 innings of one-hit ball and punching out three. It was his first win of 2019.

Game 2: Won 5-4 vs. St. Lucie Mets – FULL RECAP

• (P) M. Withrow: 3.1 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 5 K
• (RF) G. Jenista: 2-3, 3B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K
• (1B) K. Josephina: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI

Game 2 featured a better start for Florida, as they had a 5-2 lead going into the 6th inning. However, St. Lucie would score two runs in the top of the 6th, making it a one-run game.

Starter Matt Withrow certainly pitched well enough for the win, throwing 52 pitches (37 strikes) and keeping the ball on the ground with no flyouts during his outing. Reliever Lukas Young picked up the win with 2.2 innings of work and a strikeout.

DH Brett Langhorne plated the other run for Florida (other than Jenista and Josephina above), finishing 0-for-3 with an RBI-groundout in the 4th. He also struck out once.

The save went to Kurt Hoekstra (his first). Hoekstra worked the final inning and allowed a hit, walked two and struck out one. The Fire Frogs finished Wednesday sweeping the Mets in their doubleheader.

(5/16) Thursday: (DOUBLEHEADER)

Game 1: Won 3-2 (F/8) vs. St. Lucie Mets – FULL RECAP

• (P) P. Pfeifer: 5.2 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• (RF) J. Ramos: 1-3, 2B, RBI
• (C) W. Contreras: 1-3, RBI, BB, K

The downfall of Florida Fire Frogs baseball is well… baseball in Florida is hard to achieve with so much rain this time of year. So Thursday required another doubleheader for the Frogs and Mets, and Florida’s Game 1 starter (Philip Pfeifer) pitched his longest outing of his career.

Pfeifer went the distance with 94 pitches (55 strikes) and only surrendered 4 hits in his outing.

In the 8th inning (the game was scheduled for seven), with a runner on, Riley Delgado popped a single and William Contreras (#7 prospect) received an intentional walk, loading the bases for outfielder Greyson Jenista. That led to a crazy finish as Jenista drew a walk, winning the game with his patience at the plate. Florida wins Game 1.

Game 2: Lost 2-1 vs. St. Lucie Mets – FULL RECAP

• (P) B. Wilson: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• (RF) G. Jenista: 1-3, HR, RBI
• (2B) B. Langhorne: 1-2, 2B, K

Game 2 started off tight as neither team could muster much offense. Florida’s starter, Brooks Wilson, pitched a strong four innings, facing 13 batters and walking none.

With Florida up 1-0 in the 6th, St. Lucie rallied and scored two runs on reliever Brandon S. White.

Florida’s third baseman Jordan Rodgers finished 1-for-2 with a strikeout and catcher Rusber Estrada went 1-for-3, rounding out the offense for the Fire Frogs (except for Jenista and Langhorne above).

The Fire Frogs and Mets split the doubleheader on Thursday.

(5/17) Friday: Lost 8-6 vs. Jupiter Hammerheads – FULL RECAP

• (P) F. Tarnok: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, BB, 5 K
• (C) W. Contreras: 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R, K
• (SS) R. Unroe: 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R, 2 K

Before the game Friday, some roster moves were made: right-handed pitcher, Ryan Shetter, was transferred from Extended Spring Training to the Fire Frogs (he pitched for Florida in late April this season). To make room, righty Brooks Wilson was moved to Danville (Rookie ball team).

Friday’s gamed ended up being wild. It was a normal 2-0 lead for Jupiter going into the top of the 6th until the Hammerheads broke out with four runs.

Answering back, Florida scored four runs of their own in their half of the 6th; thanks to Riley Unroe‘s RBI-double, William Contreras‘ two-run double and Garrison Schwartz’s RBI-single.

The teams also matched runs in the 7th inning, with Florida scoring from a Greyson Jenista two-run double. The inning ended with Jupiter up 8-6.

The Fire Frogs couldn’t muster any more runs, but shortstop Riley Unroe did make an excellent play in the 9th, throwing out Jupiter’s Nick Fortes as he was going home attempting an inside-the-park home run.

(5/18) Saturday: Won 12-0 vs. Jupiter Hammerheads – FULL RECAP

• (P) De La Cruz: 9 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• (LF) J. Ramos: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• (1B) K. Josephina: 5-5, 2 RBI, 3 R

All it took was 89 pitches Saturday night for starter Jasseel De La Cruz.

In a tremendously efficient outing, De La Cruz threw a no-hitter and blanked the Hammerheads, and the Florida offense broke out as well.

Eight out of nine Fire Frogs hitters recorded a hit, with Greyson Jenista finishing with three hits, including a double and two runs, plus a stolen base. Garrison Schwartz also added two doubles, to go with two RBI.

Catcher William Contreras finished 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run, while Riley Delgado picked up a hit, a walk and a strikeout.

All together, it was 3 doubles, a homer and 18 total hits for Rome on Saturday.

(5/19) Sunday: Won 2-1 (F/10) vs. Jupiter Hammerheads – FULL RECAP

• (P) H. Deal: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 3 K
• (SS) R. Delgado: 2-5, 2B, RBI
• (CF) G. Schwartz: 1-4, 2B, RBI, R, K

One of the Fire Frogs leaders this season, shortstop Riley Delgado, came through Sunday and hit a walk-off double to beat Jupiter and win the series.

The pitching was excellent as well, with starter Hayden Deal providing Florida his sixth quality-start of the season with a 3-hit outing Sunday.

Greyson Jenista and Izzy Wilson were both hitless, but first baseman Drew Lugbauer added a base-hit and two strikeouts. Kevin Josephina continues to rake, as he finished with a double and a run, but three strikeouts.

(21-22) Rome Braves (A)

WEEK 7 RECORD: 5-3

Players of the Week

(1B) Greg Cullen

8 games, .483 BA, HR, double, 3 3B, 7 RBI

It was close, but someone finally edged out Trey Harris for Batter of the Week. Harris hit .437 in Week 7, with two homers.

Cullen not only hit almost .500 over the eight games he played in last week, but he hit 3 triples, which is insane in such a short span.

The 22-year-old was drafted last year in the 15th round and is coming along rather nicely, batting .279 with 2 home runs in exactly 40 games this season with Rome. He’s also getting on base at a 40% clip (.399 OBP to be exact).

(SP) Jose Olague

1 start, 1 win, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K

Pitcher of the Week goes to Olague for the two-hitter he tossed on Wednesday. That 8-inning start featured 10 ground ball outs for Olague, illustrating how great he is at keeping his pitches down.

Olague isn’t a strikeout-type pitcher — only 19 strikeouts in 39.1 innings-pitched this season — but he’s been great so far for a thin Rome pitching staff. He’ll go into next week with a 4-3 record and 3.20 ERA.

The Week at a Glance

(5/13) Monday: (DOUBLEHEADER)

Game 1: Lost 2-1 vs. Colimbia Fireflies – FULL RECAP

• (P) A. Rangel: 6.1 IP, 7 H, ER, BB, 5 K
• (2B) G. Cullen: 1-3, RBI
• (C) L. Brown: 1-3, 2B

Columbia’s starter in Game 1, Jose Butto, stifled the Rome batters, striking out eight and only giving up four hits in 5.1 innings.

Rome struck in the 3rd from an RBI-single by Greg Cullen, but that’s all the offense would produce as the team only managed 4 hits in their loss. Outfielder Andrew Moritz finished 1-for-3 with two strikeouts and Trey Harris went hitless in his three at-bats, striking out once.

Game 2: Lost 6-1 vs. Columbia Fireflies – FULL RECAP

• (P) V. Vodnik: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• (LF) T. Harris: 3-3
• (2B) A. Montesino: 1-3, 3B, R, 2 K

Rome went home Monday night with a sweep hanging over them, as they dropped Game 2. Victor Vodnik got the start for Rome, his first start of the season, and pitched very well. He threw 38 pitches (25 strikes) in his outing and kept the ball down with four groundouts.

Catcher Ricardo Rodriguez finished with a double, going 1-for-4 with a strikeout, representing the only other XBH by Rome. Braulio Vasquez had 2 hits and a strikeout.

Rome wasted two strong starts by their starting pitching on Monday, getting outscored 8-2, combined, in their losses.

(5/14) Tuesday: Won 5-1 vs. Asheville Tourists – FULL RECAP

• (P) G. Noguera: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• (1B) G. Benson: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
• (2B) G. Cullen: 2-4, 3B, 2 R, 2 K

Rome made up for Monday’s poor play, stringing together 11 hits in Tuesday’s win. Seven out of 8 Rome hitters recorded a hit, and four different hitters came away with multi-hit finishes.

Trey Harris finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and a strikeout, and Logan Brown smacked a base-hit. Left fielder Andrew Moritz scored a run and notched a hit in his three at-bats, while leadoff hitter Justin Dean rounded out the hitting with a 2-for-4 finish. Dean also struck out twice.

(5/15) Wednesday: Won 5-1 vs. Asheville Tourists – FULL RECAP

• (P) J.Olague: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K
• (LF) T. Harris: 2-4, 2B, RBI
• (RF) A. Moritz: 2-4, R, SB, L

It was an outstanding crowd on hand for Wednesday’s game, as Rome beat the Tourists. Wednesday’s game started at an unusual time of 11:30 a.m (EST).

Jose Olague saved the Rome bullpen some work, dazzling with a two-hitter for 8 innings. Olague only needed 92 pitches (59 strikes) to get through his excellent start, keeping the ball on the ground with 10 groundouts.

Every Rome batter recorded a hit except for Carlos Paraguate and Ariel Montesino, with 4 different hitters putting together a two-hit day. Catcher Logan Brown was one of those two-hit contributors, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.

Check out this catch by center fielder Justin Dean on Wednesday:

Justin Dean and Greg Cullen both had base-hits, while Griffin Benson finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a strikeout.

(5/16) Thursday: Won 10-5 vs. Asheville Tourists – FULL RECAP

• (P) T. Riley: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
• (C) L. Brown: 2-5, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, R
• (3B) D. Cruz: 2-3, 2 RBI, R, BB

Rome had some roster moves before Thursdays game:

(INF) Braulio Vasquez was placed on the IL Thursday, and in a corresponding move, infielder Derian Cruz was transferred to Rome from Extended Spring Training.

The entire Rome lineup recorded a hit in this one, with six different hitters finishing with two hits or more (two of them are listed above):

• (CF) Justin Dean: 2-for-4, 3B, RBI
• (2B) Greg Cullen: 3-for-5,
• (LF) Trey Harris: 2-for-5,
• (1B) Griffin Benson: 2-for-5, 3B

Rome’s starter Trey Riley had a rough start, but he ended up with the win after giving up five earned-runs. Riley is now 2-5 this season with a 6.32 ERA.

Reliever Matt Hartman picked up his first save of 2019, working 3.2 innings and striking out six. He only surrendered two hits during his appearance.

Rome’s win on Thursday gave them a 3-game sweep of Asheville.

(5/17) Friday: Won 11-3 vs. Columbia Fireflies – FULL RECAP

• (P) O. Javier: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K
• (LF) T. Harris: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, K
• (1B) G. Benson: 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K

Rome played an almost perfect on Friday with both the pitching and hitting performing about as good as a team can. Odalvi Javier pitched 7 strong innings, with his only mistakes being an unfortunate double-play by Rome that ended with the Fireflies sneaking in a run in the 4th, and a two-run homer in the 5th.

Rome had 14 hits as a team, with seven going for extra bases, along with four different Rome batters putting together multi-hit games. Justin Dean went 2-for-3 with a double, 2 RBI, 2 runs, 2 walks and a stolen base.

Second baseman Greg Cullen finished 4-for-4 on Friday, plating two runs and scoring three runs of his own. Cullen also walked once. Friday’s DH was catcher Logan Brown, and he went 1-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI, also scoring a run and striking out once.

(5/18) Saturday: Won 9-5 vs. Columbia Fireflies – FULL RECAP

• (P) A. Rangel: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, BB, 3 K
• (CF) J. Dean: 3-4, HR, 3B, 2B, 4 RBI
• (LF) T. Harris: 3-4, HR, RBI, R

It was Star Wars Night in Rome as Saturday’s matchup with Colombia had a draw of roughly 5,000 fans. The R-Braves didn’t disappoint, with Trey Harris and Justin Dean leading the offense.

Dean was a base-hit away from hitting the cycle, as he plated four of the nine Rome runs.

Catcher Ricardo Rodriguez plated two runs of his own and finished 2-for-3, while Greg Cullen and Jose Bermudez both knocked in runs, with Cullen belting a triple.

Starter Alan Rangel was up-and-down throughout his outing, but thanks to the six XBH from the offense, he notched his third win of 2019. Reliever Victor Vodnik converted the save and added 2 strikeouts.

(5/19) Sunday: Lost 9-8 vs. Columbia Fireflies – FULL RECAP 

• (P) G. Noguera: 5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• (3B/1B) B. Venter: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• (SS) A. Montesino: 1-4, HR, RBI, BB, SB

Rome dropped to Columbia on Sunday in a high scoring affair, but four different R-Braves hitters slugged a home run, which hasn’t happened yet for Rome in 2019.

Gabriel Noguera wasn’t fooling anyone Sunday, pitching around 10 hits and two homers, but the Rome bullpen was great in the later innings, surrendering no runs and only 4 hits total once deployed.

The Rome home runs came from Venter and Montesino above, but also Trey Harris and Greg Cullen. Cullen and Harris finished with two runs and two RBI apiece.

That’s it this week. Share your thoughts and comments below. Who do you think will be the next Braves minor league player to get the call to the Show? Let us know!