IL1 Gwinnett Stripers

Braves Drop Series Finale

May 14, 2007 - International League (IL1)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


DURHAM, NC - The Richmond Braves three-game win streak was snapped on Monday. The Durham Bulls avoided the sweep by taking the fourth game in the series, 3-1, on Monday afternoon. The Braves dropped to 24-10 while the Bulls improved to 18-21 on the season. Richmond is still eight and a half games ahead of Durham in the International League's South Division. The Braves finished their eight-game road trip with a 4-4 record.

Durham struck first, with a pair of solo home runs in the second inning, to give the Bulls an early 2-0 lead. With one-out, left fielder Brent Butler took a 1-0 pitch over the left-field wall. Just one batter later, second baseman Elliot Johnson followed suit, and smashed a 3-2 pitch over the same left-field wall to put Durham up 2-0.

Richmond finally got on the board in the seventh, when Graham Koonce connected on a 0-1 pitch to make it a 2-1 Bulls' lead. The Koonce home run was just the Braves' second hit in Monday's game.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Bulls plated the third run of the game and extended their lead to 3-1. Jerry Owens took off for second and then advanced all the way home after a pair of Braves' errors. Iker Franco fired the ball into center field, where Gregor Blanco made the second error of the play, to allow Owens to come all the way home.

Graham Koonce has now hit a home run in three-straight games for the Braves. It's the first time a Richmond batter has accomplished that feat since Scott Thorman on June 3-5, 2006. Koonce, who has gone deep in each of the three games that he has been with Richmond, has seven dingers this season.

The Bulls' Andy Sonnanstine was in command early as he struck out nine Braves' batters in seven innings. Sonnanstine allowed just one run on two hits in his seven innings of dominance. He picked up his fifth win of the season and improved to 5-2 with a 2.05 ERA. Durham reliever Seth McClung came on and pitched a perfect eighth inning and recorded four strikeouts in the ninth inning, to pick up his second save of the season. McClung caught Escobar looking and got Clark and Bohn swinging. McClung was charged a wild pitch on Bohn's strike three allowing Bohn to reach. However, McClung came right back and struck out the next batter, Koonce, who watched strike three.

Gregor Blanco led off the game with a walk. It would be the only Richmond batter to reach base until Iker Franco recorded a fifth-inning pass. Blanco's sixth-inning single and Koonce's home run were the only Braves to record a hit in the game. Bohn, who reached base after Bulls' reliever Seth McClung struck him out on a wild pitch, was only the fourth Brave to reach base.

Minus the two home runs he allowed, Braves' starter Macay McBride was sharp in the Monday matinee. He struck out five and didn't allow any walks in five innings of work. Out-dueled, McBride picked up his second loss of the season and dropped to 1-2 with a 3.13 ERA. Blaine Boyer and Jeff Bennett also saw action out the Braves' bullpen. Boyer struck out three in two innings and Bennett pitched a scoreless eighth to close out the eight-game road trip.

Richmond returns home Tuesday to begin a four-game series against the Rochester Red Wings. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be the first meeting between the two teams in 2007. The Braves will send RHP Jonathan Johnson (1-1, 5.10 ERA) to the mound to face off against the Red Wings' RHP Kevin Slowey (3-2, 1.51 ERA). The Braves, who wrapped up an eight-game road trip on Monday, will play nine games in 10 days at The Diamond. After the four-game set with Rochester, Richmond will take on the New York Yankees' triple-A affiliate, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, in a three-game series (May 19-21). The Braves close out their homestand with a pair of games against Norfolk (May 24-25).

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