Maier struck out five batters in the win
Gwinnett and Mississippi lost, but both of Atlanta’s lower minor league teams came away with victories on Friday as both squads got excellent performances from their respective starters.
(10-14) Gwinnett Stripers 0, (19-6) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 7
- Bryan De La Cruz, RF: 1-3, BB
- Charles Leblanc, 3B: 1-2, BB
- Hurston Walden, SP: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Friday was a rough one for Gwinnett. Hurston Waldrep didn’t have his best stuff, the offense was limited to just five hits and the defense committed a pair of critical errors in the Stripers 7-0 loss.
Waldrep’s splitter was, as usual, his best pitch in this one as the average exit velocity off the bat was 77.5 miles per hour — by far his best usage. His fastball and slider fared differently, mostly due to those pitches being left in the middle of the zone, as they were hammered pretty hard.
Waldrep allowed five total runs, two of which were earned, on seven hits and four walks as he was tagged with the loss.
The Stripers didn’t fare much better offensively. Carlos Rodriguez actually got into scoring position in the top of the first inning, but it all went downhill from there for Gwinnett.
In the top of the fourth, the Stripers put runners on second and third, but again failed to score either of them, leaving Gwinnett with a 4-0 deficit.
As mentioned above, the Stripers only tallied five total hits, but also drew just three walks in the 7-0 loss.
(8-9) Columbus Clingstones 1, (7-10) Chattanooga Lookouts 6
- Cade Bunnell, DH: 1-3, HR, RBI, R, BB
- David McCabe, 3B: 2-4
- Jhancarlos Lara, SP: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, BB, 7 K
In what is most-likely one of the more odd stat lines you’ll see, Jhancarlos Lara gave up six runs in just 2.1 innings of work but also managed to strike out seven batters in his limited work as the Clingstones weren’t able to overcome the early deficit.
While Lara issued just one walk, he did allow three extra-base hits, which was ultimately his downfall as Chattanooga took a 6-0 lead through the first three innings.
Columbus tallied just two hits through the first four innings before Cade Bunnell launched the first pitch of the fifth frame over the left field wall for a solo homer to make it 6-1. Unfortunately, that would be the only significant offensive outputs Columbus would string together on Friday.
On the bright side, David McCabe went 2-4, which raised his OPS to .924 on the season.
(11-8) Rome Emperors 4, (6-13) Winston-Salem Dash 1
- Patrick Clohisy, CF: 1-4, 2B, R, SB
- Jace Grady, LF: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
- Justin Janas, RF: 2-4, RBI, R
- Adam Maier, SP: 7 IP, 5 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K
For the first time this season, Adam Maier made his first start of five or more innings, as he tossed seven frames for Rome in their win. In his outing, Maier scattered five hits and struck out five while issuing three walks on the night.
Friday’s outing was an encouraging sign for the 23-year-old. Coming into the game, Maier carried an FIP of 7.27 while walking just over 18 percent of the batters he faced. It could just be a simple case of needing to get ramped up before he gets into his groove, but regardless, Maier is one of the more intriguing arms to keep an eye on this year.
Maier’s performance was enough to carry Rome to the win, as the offense outhit Winston-Salem 8-7 on the night. It didn’t take long for the Emperors to jump on the scoreboard.
Patrick Clohisy — more on him in a bit — tallied a one-out double into right field before stealing third base. Titus Dumitru grounded out to the shortstop, which scored Clohisy to make it a 1-0 game. Bryson Horne doubled and Harry Owen drew a walk, but Justin Janas lined out sharply to second base to end the frame.
As for Clohisy, his early season performance has been incredibly encouraging. His strikeout rate of 21.9 percent is down from last season, while his walk rate of 19.2 percent is up by nearly eight points compared to 2024. Through 16 games, Clohisy has posted a WRC+ of 143, which is tops for Rome hitters so far.
Winston-Salem tagged Maier for their lone run of the game in the bottom of the second to tie things up at 1-1.
The Emperors finally retook the lead in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Bryson Horne drew a walk prior to Harry Owen and Justin Janas laced back-to-back singles to score Horne and make it a 2-1 game. Jace Grady later doubled to plate Horne and extend the Rome lead to 4-1.
Relievers Isaac Gallegos and Ryan Bourassa tossed a pair of scoreless innings to keep the Dash at bay as the Emperors got the win.It
(12-7) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (4-15) Delmarva Shorebirds 1
- Douglas Glod, DH: 2-2, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
- Mac Guscette, C: 1-4, 2B, RBI
- Ethan Bagwell, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, BB, K
Augusta jumped out to an early lead and Ethan Bagwell put up his third straight solid start for the GreenJackets in Friday’s contest.
While he may not be as highly touted as other Braves farmhands, Bagwell is flashing signs that he may rocket up prospect lists in the near future. In Friday’s start, Bagwell tossed five innings of two-hit ball while walking just one. For the season, the 19-year-old has thrown 14.1 innings of 1.88 ERA ball.
The lone knock on Bagwell is that he hasn’t shown an advanced ability to miss bats yet. In those 14.1 innings, he’s only struck out six batters thus far. However, Bagwell is still young enough to work on that issue and if he can, he will be a key arm to pay attention to.
At the plate, Douglas Glod had his best performance of the year thus far. The former top international prospect went 2-2 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored. Glod also drew two walks on the year.
Glod’s professional career has been rough, to say the least. However, he has hit in three straight games, so perhaps — and hopefully — this is a turning point for the 20-year-old.
All four of Augusta’s runs in this one came in the first three innings while Bagwell held Delmarva scoreless in his five innings of work. Logan Samuels — who has been excellent in his own right so far — tossed four innings of one-run ball while striking out four to seal up the victory.