Gwinnett struggled both on the mound and at the dish in the loss.
The first minor league game of the season for the Atlanta Braves’ affiliates couldn’t have gone much worse as the Stripers were routed by Charlotte by a 9-1 final.
(0-1) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (1-0) Charlotte Knights 9
- Sandy Leon, C: 1-3, HR, RBI
- Luke Williams, 3B: 1-4
- Bryce Elder, SP: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 7 K
When it comes to Gwinnett’s performance on Friday, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that it was a rather abysmal performance across the board. The good news is that it’s only game one and the only way to go is up.
Bryce Elder got the start in this one, and while it posed a major opportunity for him to get off on the right foot as he tries to work his way to re-joining the big league roster, he failed to seize the opportunity. Lasting just 2.2 innings, Elder scattered three hits, but that wasn’t the biggest issue. While he managed to strike out seven, Elder’s command was severely off as he continued to miss with both his fastball and his offspeed offerings en route to issuing four walks.
Ultimately, Elder surrendered five earned runs before giving way to the bullpen.
Jesse Chavez, Amos Willingham and Enoli Paredes allowed the rest of the damage, as the Knights plated nine runs on the night.
At the plate, things were not much better for the Stripers. Through eight innings, Gwinnett’s lone hit came as Sandy Leon pulled a fastball from former Braves top prospect Jared Shuster for a solo homer over the left field wall. The final hit came on a single from Luke Williams.
The Stripers are back in action on Saturday for game two against the Knights.