Braves: Cristian Pache and Johan Camargo combine for three homers in Gwinnett’s shutout win 

ccx190305 02167atl v nyy

Yesterday has to be the best overall offensive performance for the Braves farm system all season. From Single-A up to Triple-A, all four affiliates scored a ton of runs on Thursday, including Gwinnett’s home run party against Memphis. 

Here’s a recap of all the action…

 

Gwinnett Stripers (18-15)

W, 11-0 vs. Memphis

  • SP, C. Johnstone – 2 IP, 2 K
  • CF, C. Pache – 3 for 5, 2 HR, 4 RBI
  • 1B, J. Camargo – 4 for 5, HR, 2 RBI

BOX SCORE 

It’s games like last night that have made Gwinnett one of the most stacked teams in all of minor league baseball. MLB Pipeline even said so…

 

I was watching this one live in the very beginning. The Stripers started with two strikeouts at the plate in the 1st, with both Drew Waters and Cristian Pache going down swinging. But with two outs, Gwinnett’s offense flipped a switch. The next four consecutive batters recorded hits, including probably the hardest and furthest hit ball of Johan Camargo’s pro career. It was 3-0 after one. 

 

The 3rd featured a welcoming sign as Pache worked a full count and slugged his first of two homers on Thursday. That second long ball, coming in the 8th, was on par with Camargo’s as it hit the building beyond the stadium’s left-center field wall. Here are both dingers…

https://twitter.com/GoStripers/status/1403186596258762754?s=19

 

A five-run 7th by the Stripers, which included another home run, this time by catcher Jonathan Lucroy, was more than enough for Gwinnett to win this one easily. The Stripers out-hit the Redbirds by a tally of 16-2, and five batters in Gwinnett’s lineup were able to bat five times last night.

 

And I didn’t even mention Orlando Arcia, who finished 4 for 5 with a double and two runs. This Gwinnett offense is just ridiculous.

The Stripers pieced together this game on the pitching end with Connor Johnstone starting and working the first pair of frames in hitless fashion. Notable appearances in the ‘pen featured recently acquired reliever Ty Tice from Toronto, who pitched a perfect 6th with one strikeout. Tanner Roark earned the win.

 


 

Mississippi Braves (18-15)

W, 6-4 vs. Biloxi 

  • SP, A. Puckett – 4 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K
  • LF, J. Ramos – 2 for 4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI 
  • C, S. Langeliers – 1 for 4, 2B, RBI

BOX SCORE 

The main takeaway from Mississippi’s fourth-straight victory last night is the continued depth of this lineup lately. For the second-straight night, outfielder Jefrey Ramos came up big with two big hits — a double in the 2nd and a two-run home run in the 6th. Ramos’ long ball ended up being rather meaningful because Biloxi tried to mount a comeback in the 8th as they scored a pair of runs.

https://twitter.com/mbraves/status/1403164643644870663?s=19

 

Prospect catcher Shea Langeliers just keeps on doing everything… and does it well. I just so happened to flip to the M-Braves game on MiLB.TV and just as my screen stopped buffering Langeliers does this…

https://twitter.com/mbraves/status/1403143795320016900?s=19

 

I really don’t understand why folks keep trying to steal against him. But anyways, the star catcher also doubled in a run in the 3rd to add to Mississippi’s 2-0 lead. As you can see in the clip below, Langeliers stays back on this breaking ball perfectly.

 

Other than that, there were a pair of runs knocked in by Trey Harris, though both came via errors by the Shuckers, so no RBI. And shortstop Braden Shewmake had a base-hit as well.

Righty A.J. Puckett started last night’s contest and threw a ton of pitches (87) for just four innings. But a 4th-inning RBI single was his only real blemish, save for the three walks.

 

Relievers Sean McLaughlin, Matt Withrow, Daysbel Hernandez, and Brandon White combined for 10 strikeouts in the final five frames to go with three runs from four hits and 10 walks. 

 


 

Rome Braves (17-16)

L, 6-5 vs. Asheville 

  • SP, J. McSteen – 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, ER, BB, K
  • LF/CF, S. Michel – 3 for 4, HR, RBI, SB
  • CF, M. Harris – 2 for 3, 2 RBI

BOX SCORE

https://twitter.com/TheRomeBraves/status/1403060700856135683?s=19

Rome wore the Braves’ 70s throwbacks last night, which they should just continue doing all year long… and forever and ever… because they’re the best uni’s ever to be made. The stylish garments almost proved to be a good luck charm, too, as the R-Braves nearly came back in the 9th for a walk-off win, thanks to a clutch home run by Shean Michel. 

Speaking of Michel, the 23-year-old finished with three knocks last night — only the second time this season he’s pulled off the hat trick at the plate. Of course, Michael Harris had to do his usual thing, coming away with multiple hits. The star prospect outfielder now has 12 multi-hit games in 2021… in 29 overall games. Put it this way, so far this season, nearly 42% of the time, Harris has ended the night with two or more hits. 

Jake McSteen started for Rome but needed 51 pitches to get the first six outs, so Davis Schwab tried to get the R-Braves to the later innings with three strikeouts and two runs allowed in three frames. Following Trey Riley’s work in the 6th and 7th, Indigo Diaz continued his unreal ability to strikeout batters at ridiculous rates, punching out the side in the 8th.

https://twitter.com/TheRomeBraves/status/1403163787537137666?s=19

 

Roster move: After posting a 5.82 ERA in 21 ⅔ innings with Rome this season, 23-year-old righty — 2019’s 6th round pick by the Braves — Tanner Gordon was sent down to Augusta yesterday. 

 


 

Augusta GreenJackets (16-17)

GM 1: W, 14-6 vs. Myrtle Beach 

GM 2: W, 8-7 vs. Myrtle Beach 

 

GAME 1 (7 innings)

  • SP, R. Munoz – (W), 5 ⅓ IP, 10 H, 6 ER, BB, 2 K
  • LF, B. Parker – 1 for 3, HR, 2 RBI 
  • 1B, L. Stephens – 3 for 4, 2B, RBI

BOX SCORE 

The GreenJackets made up its rained-out game from Tuesday by playing a 7-inning affair yesterday before its regularly scheduled evening game. Augusta’s offense came to play, too, and with a 3-2 advantage in the 3rd, the offense exploded for six runs to put the game all but out of reach. Every GreenJackets batter, except for DH Braulio Vasquez, finished Game 1 on Thursday with at least one hit. And all of Stephen Paolini, Javier Valdes, Brandon Parker, and Cam Shepherd tallied multiple RBI. 

It happens, but this was one of Roddery Munoz’s poor starts. The young righty can be inconsistent at times, but I really liked how he was allowed to go deep in this one. After working around three runs in the first three frames, coming from four singles and a double, Munoz showed some toughness by pitching a clean 4th and 5th before simply running out of gas in the 6th. Despite allowing 10 hits yesterday, I still really like this kid’s talent. 

 

GAME 2

  • SP, E. Rodriguez – 1 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, K
  • 1B, L. Stephens – 1 for 2, HR, 3 RBI
  • RF, W. Carter – 1 for 4, 2 RBI 

BOX SCORE

The MVP for Augusta on Thursday has to be first baseman Landon Stephens, who finished the day by going 4 for 6 with a homer, a double, and four RBI combined in the doubleheader. He really needed it, too; entering yesterday, he was hitting below .220 for the season and was just 9 for 53 (.170 AVG) with 22 strikeouts and no walks over his last two weeks of play. Stephens’ bases-loaded walk in the 5th inning in Game 2 is what made the difference and allowed the GreenJackets to sweep the doubleheader. 

Willie Carter also had a solid Thursday, though he’s been raking all season. Carter finished the two-gamer 2 for 6 with three RBI, two runs, and a walk. That .343 AVG and .900 OPS so far should shoot him up to Rome when the promotions start cranking up. 

Estarlin Rodriguez got the Game 2 start but was roughed up a bit, exiting before completing two innings. The win ended up going to Justin Yeager, who dominated with five strikeouts in 1 ⅔ scoreless frames.

 

Friday’s listed probables will be righty Jose Rodriguez (2.53 ERA) for Mississippi and righty Spencer Strider (2.25 ERA) for Augusta. 

Also, be sure to check out the site’s first installment of its updated Braves 2021 Top 30 Prospect List.

Scroll to Top
%d bloggers like this: