Sports stats



SL1 Mississippi Braves

Errors Prove Costly in Loss on Saturday

April 6, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


KODAK, TN - The Mississippi Braves committed five errors on Saturday night, giving up just one earned run, and dropped their second contest of the opening series, 4-3 to Tennessee at Smokies Stadium. Despite the miscues, the M-Braves (1-2) had a chance to win, tying the game late, but falling in another close game.

Atlanta Braves' No. 12 prospect Joey Wentz made his Double-A debut on Saturday night, the third-straight 2016 draft pick to start a game and took a no-decision. Wentz gave up a first-inning home run to Jared Young but settled in and allowed nothing more. Over 3.2 innings, the 21-year-old struck out four and walked three, yielding five hits before reaching his pitch limit at 74.

Smokies (2-1) starter Keegan Thompson was phenomenal in his season debut, no-hitting the M-Braves through the first five innings. Thompson, the Cubs' 10th ranked prospect struck out eight and walked just one.

Tennessee pushed their advantage to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, taking advantage of two M-Braves errors. Young reached on a C.J. Alexander error at first and then scored on a single to right field by Eddy Martinez that skidded past right fielder Drew Waters. A sacrifice fly brought home, Martinez.

Waters opened the sixth inning with a single against Smokies reliever Michael Rucker to jumpstart a rally. Alejandro Salazar drew a one out and walk and then with two outs, Ray-Patrick Didder lined a triple down the right field line scoring Waters and Salazar, trimming the lead to one.

Salazar tied the game at 3-3 in the eighth inning, crossing the plate on a wild pitch by Jordan Minch (BS, 1 - W, 1).

Roberto Caro started the bottom of the eighth inning for the Smokies with a single and then moved up to second base on a wild pickoff attempt by pitcher Jason Hursh (L, 0-1). Caro went to third on a deep fly out and later scored on an infield single by Cubs top prospect Nico Hoerner.

Craig Brooks took over in the ninth and struck out the Mississippi side to secure his second save of the young season.

Drew Waters collected his second multi-hit game on Saturday, finishing 2-for-5. In his first start, catcher Carlos Martinez was 2-for-4 in the loss. Phil Pfeifer pitched effectively on out the bullpen, allowing no earned runs over 2.0 innings. Jonathan Aro made his Braves debut and fanned two over 2.0 hitless innings.

The Smokies and M-Braves will play game four of the season-opening five-game set on Sunday afternoon at Smokies Stadium. RHP Patrick Weigel (0-0, --) will make his first pitching appearance since 2017 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery and be opposed by LHP Justin Steele (0-0, --) for Tennessee. First pitch is set for 1:00 pm CT with coverage beginning at 12:50 pm CT on 103.9 WYAB and the TuneIn Radio app.

The M-Braves will return to Trustmark Park for the home opener on Wednesday, April 10 against the Mobile BayBears at 6:35 pm CT. The home opener will feature Post-Game Fireworks after the game! For tickets visit mississippibraves.com/tickets or call 888-BRAVES4.

The Mississippi Braves are the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Since the inaugural 2005 season, 139 M-Braves have gone on to Major League Baseball. The M-Braves have made postseason play four times and went on to win the Southern League Championship in 2008. Stop by Trustmark Park or call 888-BRAVES4 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For the latest news and updates, visit mississippibraves.com or connect with @mbraves on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Check out the Mississippi Braves Statistics



Southern League Stories from April 6, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central