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IL1 Gwinnett Stripers

Cunningham's Late Blast Keys G-Braves' 5-3 win at Rochester

July 21, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


ROCHESTER, NY - Todd Cunningham's two-run home run in the top of the seventh, his first of the season, propelled the Gwinnett Braves (48-48) to a 5-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings (51-46) Tuesday night in game two of the four-game series at Frontier Field.

Cunningham's homer highlighted a three-run inning that brought the G-Braves back from a 3-2 deficit to their second straight win.

Down by one run, Cedric Hunter reached first to lead off the seventh for Gwinnett on a throwing error by Rochester third baseman Doug Bernier. With one out, Sean Kazmar lined a double to left off of Rochester right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Duffey. The Red Wings brought right-hander Alex Meyer in from the bullpen, and the first batter he faced, Daniel Castro, grounded out to shortstop, which plated Hunter from third with the tying run before Cunningham smashed the go-ahead home run.

The game began with Duffey dominating the G-Braves. He retired the first 15 batters in a row as his team was moved out to a 2-0 lead.

The first run by the Red Wings came in the bottom of the first off of Atlanta Braves' right-hander Williams Perez, who was making his second rehab start for Gwinnett. Jorge Polanco led off the bottom of the inning with a double to center field and scored on a two-out single to left by Reynaldo Rodriguez for a 1-0 lead.

The second Rochester run came in the bottom of the fifth against right-hander Jake Brigham, who had relieved Perez in the fourth. Jose Martinez led off the inning by reaching on a throwing error by Castro. Martinez stole second and scored on a single to center by Polanco. The unearned run pushed the Red Wings' lead to 2-0.

The G-Braves finally broke through against Duffey in the top of the sixth. Castro led off with a single to center and moved to third when Cunningham blooped a single to right. Barrett Kleinknecht laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved runners to second and third.

Mallex Smith followed with a groundout to second, which allowed Castro to score and cut Rochester's lead to 2-1. Jose Peraza then crushed an 0-2 pitch from Duffey to right-center field for his sixth triple of the season, scoring Cunningham with the tying run. The triple also increased Peraza's hitting streak to a season-high nine games.

The Red Wings went back out in front in the bottom of the sixth, as Oswaldo Arcia greeted Brigham with a double to right. He scored on a single to left field by Chris Herrmann for a 3-2 lead.

The G-Braves retook the lead in the next half inning and would never surrender it thanks to solid bullpen work.

Perez pitched 3.2 inning with two hits, one earned run, one walk and seven strikeouts. Brigham (W, 2-0) went 2.1 innings with three hits, two runs (one earned) and two strikeouts. Right-hander Ryan Weber (H, 3) worked 0.2 of an inning with two hits. Lefty Greg Smith (H, 2) gave the G-Braves 1.0 scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout. Righty Peter Moylan (H, 2) also pitched 1.0 inning with one hit and one strikeout. Left-hander Matt Marksberry (S, 1) pitched 0.1 of an inning to close the game for his first ever Triple-A save.

Duffey (L, 4-5) went 6.1 innings with four hits, four runs (two earned) and five strikeouts. Meyer (BS, 2) worked 0.2 of an inning with one hit, one run and one strikeout. Left-hander Aaron Thompson pitched 1.0 inning with one hit and one strikeout. Righty A.J. Achter went 1.0 inning with one hit, one walk and one strikeout.

At the plate, Gwinnett was led by Cunningham, who was 3-for-4 with two runs and a two-run homer.

For the Red Wings, Polanco was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

The G-Braves and Red Wings meet in game three of their series at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday night at Frontier Field. Right-handed pitcher Tyrell Jenkins (1-0, 2.45) will start for Gwinnett. The Red Wings will send left-hander Pat Dean (6-8, 3.22) to the mound. Tony Schiavone has the call beginning at 6:30 p.m. on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com.

Check out the Gwinnett Stripers Statistics



International League Stories from July 21, 2015


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