Braves Minor League Recap: Garrett Baumann tosses complete game for Columbus

It was an interesting day down on the farm, featuring offensive standouts and solid pitching performances. Let’s dive into it all.

(59-58) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (42-74) Norfolk Tides 6

• Maverick Handley, C: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Carlos Santana, 1B: 3-4
• JR Ritchie, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K

Box Score

Gwinnett came up short on Friday, losing by a 6-2 final to Norfolk, moving to just one game above. 500 on the season.

JR Ritchie got the start and had an ok outing, as he spun four innings of two-run ball and striking out three. However, command issues continue to plague him, as he issued four walks on the night, while 49 out of his 87 pitches were out of the zone. There is still time for him to get three or four more starts this season, and hopefully he will be able to make some serious strides with his control.

In terms of offense, the Stripers matched Norfolk hit-for-hit, but couldn’t string together enough extra base hits to produce more than two runs.

Maverick Handley got the scoring started for Gwinnett in the top of the second for his first triple-A homer to initially give the Stripers a 2-0 lead.

The Tides tied things up in the home half of the third at 2-2, and the Stripers managed to hold Norfolk scoreless from that point forward — until the eighth frame.

Norfolk ended up plating four runs off of Hayden Harris in the inning to take a 6-2 lead on the night, which would hold as the final.

On the other hand, deadline acquisition Tyler Uberstine tossed a pair of scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two on the night.

(52-55) Columbus Clingstones 6, (45-67) Birmingham Barons 2

• Jordan Groshans, 3B: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Eric Hartman, LF: 1-4, R
• Owen Carey, RF: 1-5, 3B, RBI, R
• Ambioris Tavarez, 3B: 1-3, 2B, R
• John Gil, SS: 1-4
• Garrett Baumann, SP: 9 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 8 K

Box Score

While he may have been sent down to double-A to get things right, Baumann put up his best start of the season overall on Friday night.

A complete game, two-run performance from Baumann propelled the Clingstones to a win on Friday night. While he did strike out eight, which is pretty on par for him, the biggest stat was one he didn’t register — walks. Hopefully this serves as a complete turn around for Baumann and he can build off of this and finish the season strong.

It’s the second straight start in which Baumann has performed very well. In his last time out, the righty tossed five scoreless innings, striking out nine, but walked three on the night.

Back to Friday’s action, Columbus got on the board first, as Jordan Groshans launched his 22nd homer of the year in the top of the first, scoring Eric Hartman and make it a 2-0 game.

Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. singled home Owen Carey in the top of the fourth to extend the Columbus lead to 3-0.

Groshans once again came through, this time in the top of the fifth with an RBI-single to extend their lead to 4-1. Groshans later came around to score on a Carey RBI-triple.

The Clingstones tacked on another run in the top of the eighth, as Adam Zebrowski laced a ground-rule double on a liner into left center field, making it a 6-2 game, which held as the final.

(52-56) Rome Emperors 5, (38-72) Asheville Tourists 6

• Alex Lodise, SS: 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Conor Essenburg, DH: 1-3, R, 2 BB
• Luis Guanipa, LF: 1-5, R
• Cade Kuehler, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K

Box Score

Rome ended up on the short end of this one, losing a narrow one-run game to Asheville.

Cade Kuehler got the start and didn’t bring his best stuff. On the night, the righty gave up four earned runs in five innings whiles striking out six and walking four.

All told, it’s been a rough season for Kuehler, who now carries a 5.83 ERA on the season. He’s walked 55 batters in 95.2 innings, while also giving up 21 homers during that span.

In terms of offense, the Emperors came out to play.

Trailing 1-0, the Emperors plated two runs in the top of the third, as Colin Burgess scampered home on a wild pitch to tie things at 1-1. Alex Lodise then proceeded to single into left field to make it a 2-1 game.

Dallas Macias later tied things up at 3-3 with an RBI-single in the top of the fourth.

Lodise once again came through in the top of the fifth — this time with an absolute rocket of a two-run home run — to give Rome a 5-3 lead.

Unfortunately Asheville retook the lead, tying things up at 5-5 in the home half and scoring once more in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 6-5 advantage for the Tourists.

While the bullpen would hold from that point forward, the offense failed to catch up, leading to the Emperors’ demise.

(58-51) Augusta GreenJackets, (62-49) Charleston RiverDogs (POSTPONED)

Rain got in the way of this one, so Augusta will take on Charleston in a doubleheader on Saturday.

(15-37) DSL Braves 7, (33-18) DSL Brewers Gold 8

• Elisandro Ramirez, LF: 2-3, 2 3B, RBI, 2 R, BB
• Luis Fortunato, DH: 2-5, 3B, RBI
• Durban Arnedo, 3B: 2-4, 2 RBI, R
• Geowin Gomez, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 4 K

Box Score

The DSL Braves put up a good fight and, despite outhitting the DSL Brewers, ultimately came up short.

Geowin Gomez got the start and had a very solid day on the mound. Across five innings of work, Gomez allowed one unearned run on three hits while striking out four in the process.

While it was only his second start of the season, Gomez has somewhat flown under the radar. In 32 innings pitched, the righty carries an ERA of 3.09, while striking out twice as many batters (28) as he has walked (14).

It will be interesting to see if the Braves keep him making starts or keep him in the bullpen moving forward.

Back to Friday’s action, Elisandro Ramirez led the offensive charge with a pair of triples — his second and third of the season, respectively — with an RBI and two runs scored on the day. Meanwhile Luis Fortunato registered a triple of his own and drove in a run, while Durban Arnedo brought two home en route to going 2-4 with a run scored o his own credit on the day.

The DSL season is scheduled to come to a close on Saturday in which the Braves take on the Royals Fortuna squad to cap off the year.