IL1 Gwinnett Stripers

Braves Game Notes

June 7, 2007 - International League (IL1)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


Richmond Braves (32-23) vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (25-31)

Game # 56, Home Game # 27 ♦ June 7, 2007 ♦ 7 PM ♦ The Diamond ♦ Richmond, VA

RHP Ryan Baerlocher (0-0 6.00) vs. RHP Devern Hansack (1-5 3.74)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The third of a four game series and the third of eight meetings vs. Pawtucket, the third of four at The Diamond. Richmond is 0-2 vs. the Red Sox. The Braves have lost 11 straight games vs. the Red Sox, six in a row at home. Richmond's last win over Pawtucket was at The Diamond June 27, 2005. The Braves are 258-251 all-time vs. Pawtucket. The 22nd of 46 meetings vs. North Division clubs, the 11th of 27 at home. Richmond is 10-11 vs. the North, 3-7 at home. Game three of a 10 game, eight day homestand. Richmond is in first place in the South by four and a half games over Durham.

LAST NIGHT'S GAME: The Red Sox beat the Braves 5-3 Wednesday at The Diamond. The Red Sox scored five runs in the first three innings to stretch their winning streak over Richmond to 11 games and send the Braves down to their eighth straight home loss. David Murphy smacked a solo home run in the first to put the Sox in front. Brandon Moss drilled a homer in the second and Bobby Scales knocked in a run with a single to give the Sox a 3-0 advantage. In the third Michael Tucker nailed a solo homer and George Kottaras chased a run home with a single to make it 5-0. The Braves got on the board in the sixth on an RBI double by Brent Lillibridge, cutting the Sox lead to 5-1. In the ninth Carlos Mendez crushed a two-run homer to complete the scoring. Abe Alvarez worked 6.2 innings to earn the win. Kevin Barry took the loss. Moss had three hits for the Red Sox. Mendez had two hits for the Braves.

THE NOT SO FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Braves have lost eight consecutive home games for the second straight June (Richmond lost eight in a row at The Diamond from June 13-20 last year). The Braves have been out-scored 53-24 over the last eight home games. Richmond has a better record on the road (18-11, the best in the IL) than at home (14-12).

STREAKERS: Doug Clark has hits in six straight games (11-24 .458). Brayan Pena has a four game hitting streak (7-19 .368). Carlos Mendez has a four game hitting streak (7-16 .438). T.J. Bohn (3-9 .333) and Brent Lillibridge (5-13 .385) have hits in three straight games. Martin Prado's four game hitting streak ended last night. Graham Koonce four game hitting streak ended last night. Jeff Bennett has tossed 14.1 straight scoreless innings over seven appearances. That is the longest scoreless stretch by a Braves reliever this season.

MAKING AN IMPACT: Ten different R-Braves have earned big league call-ups to Atlanta this season. RHP Blaine Boyer became the latest to earn a promotion Tuesday. He already has worked two scoreless outings for Atlanta. RHP Buddy Carlyle allowed one run in seven innings for Atlanta Tuesday to earn his first MLB win since 1999. INF Yunel Escobar, called up last week, was eight for his first 20 with Atlanta. OF Willie Harris is hitting .375 in 32 games since his promotion. Peter Moylan has a 2.76 ERA in 22 outings for Atlanta. 12 of the 25 players on Atlanta's active roster have appeared with Richmond in 2007 and/or 2006.

TOPPING THE CHARTS: The Braves lead the International League in pitching with a team ERA of 3.24. The Braves also lead in shutouts (eight) and fewest home runs allowed (31). Richmond is tied for third in stolen bases (59). The Braves are third in percentage of opponents caught stealing (.444) and Corky Miller is second best among IL catchers in caught stealing percentage (.458). T.J. Bohn is tied for third in outfield assists

MUMBERS OF NOTE: A streak of 34 consecutive errorless innings, the Braves second best of the season, ended last night. The Braves four and a half game lead in the South is their smallest since April 26. The Braves are in a stretch of 54 out of 58 games vs. American League affiliates. The Braves are 22-18 vs. AL clubs. The Braves are in a stretch of 24 straight games vs. IL North Division clubs. They play their entire eight game season series vs. the Red Sox in a span of 13 days. The Braves are 14-2 when Iker Franco starts at catcher. Richmond's start through 38 games (27-11) was the best in club history. They reached 30 wins in 50 games for the first time since 1985.

UPCOMING PITCHING PROBABLES

Friday, June 8 vs. Pawtucket 7 PM LHP Dan Smith vs. RHP David Pauley

Saturday, June 9 vs. Buffalo (DH) 6 PM RHP Trey Hodges/TBA vs. LHP Jason Stanford/RHP Jake Dittler

Sunday, June 10 vs. Buffalo (DH) 2 PM RHP Kevin Barry/TBA vs. RHP Jeff Harris/TBA

Monday, June 11 vs. Buffalo 7 PM RHP TBA vs. RHP Sean Smith

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