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SL Mississippi Braves

Game Info: Saturday, August 17 at Biloxi Shuckers: 6:05 PM: Keesler Federal Park

August 17, 2024 - Southern League (SL)
Mississippi Braves News Release


Mississippi Braves (21-22, 52-59) at Biloxi Shuckers (25-17, 55-54)

Saturday, August 17, 2024 - 6:05 PM - Keesler Federal Park - Biloxi, MS

Game 112 of 137 - 2nd Half 44 of 69 - Away Game 61 of 74

Starting Pitchers: RHP David Fletcher (2-4, 6.44) vs. RHP K.C. Hunt (0-1, 1.69)

Watch Live: Bally Live / MiLB.TV / MLB At Bat

Listen Live: 102.1 The Box

Recent Roster Moves:

8/15: C Adam Zebrowski transferred to Mississippi from High-A Rome

STARTING LINEUPS

TODAY'S GAME: The M-Braves continue a road series on Saturday night with game five of a six-game set against the Biloxi Shuckers at Keesler Federal Park ... This is the fifth of six series against Biloxi this season ... The M-Braves will play their final series in the farewell season against their in-state rival, September 10-15, in Biloxi.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT: The Atlanta Braves No. 9 prospect Drue Hackenberg was dominant on Friday night over 6.0 scoreless innings, striking out six and walking one as the M-Braves shut out the Biloxi Shuckers 2-0 at Keesler Federal Park. The shutout was the second by the M-Braves pitching staff this week and the 13th of the season. With three steals, the M-Braves reached 200 stolen bases for the first time in club history and are the first team in Double-A and 10th in Minor League Baseball this season to reach the 200 mark. Hackenberg notched his fourth quality start for the M-Braves (21-22, 52-59) on Friday night and didn't allow a Biloxi (25-17, 55-54) batter to reach second base over the first five innings. Milligan was on base three times Friday night, finishing 2-for-4 with two doubles, two stolen bases, and a run scored. Conley logged another two-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base, and is 5-for-13 thus far in the series. The Mississippi bullpen remained reliable as Jake McSteen, Rolddy Munoz, and Elison Joseph (S, 3) worked the final 3.0 scoreless inning on two hits with three strikeouts.

ROAD SUCCESS: The M-Braves are 12-4 over their last 16 road games since the All-Star Break. After starting the season 6-14 on the road, the M-Braves are 25-15 over their last 40 games away from Trustmark Park, including a 4-1 mark in a home-away-from-home series at Toyota Field, June 13-16. They won a club record nine straight games away from Pearl from May 12 to June 5. The streak included a six-game sweep in Chattanooga, May 21-26.

HACKEN-BRAUN: RHP Lucas Braun and RHP Drue Hackenberg have put together two of the top seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization. The two have combined for 39 starts and 236 strikeouts in 212.0 innings; Hackenberg leads the organization with 119 strikeouts and is T-1st with 20 starts. He ranks among the organizational leaders in opponent's batting average (2nd, .220), WHIP (4th, 1.25), innings pitched (4th, 100.1), and ERA (3rd, 3.59) ... Braun leads the organization in innings pitched (111.2), and is among the leaders in ERA (4th, 3.71), starts (T-3rd, 19), WHIP (3rd, 1.23), opponent's batting average (6th, .252), and wins (T-3rd, 6).

16-Strikeout Game: Hackenberg became the first pitcher in Minor League Baseball to strike out 16 on July 21 at Pensacola, setting a new club record. He became the 21st Minor League pitcher since 2005 to record 16 or more strikeouts in a single game

STARTING STUDS: Five M-Braves starters rank among the Atlanta Braves Top-30 prospect list according to Baseball America's early August release. Jhancarlos Lara (No. 10), Darius Vines (No. 13), Drue Hackenberg (No. 15), Lucas Braun (No. 18), and Ian Mejia (No. 25). Luis De Avila (No. 24) is currently on the IL.

ROSTER SHAKEUP: The M-Braves have made 12 roster moves since July 28. On August 15, C Adam Zebrowski was promoted to Mississippi from High-A Rome. On August 12, RHP Jhancarlos Lara was promoted from High-A Rome ... OF Justin Dean was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett on August 7 and OF Ethan Workinger was added from High-A Rome. On August 3, RHP Darius Vines was outrighted to Mississippi from Atlanta and activated on August 4. Also on August 4, RHP Anthony Vizcaya was released, and C Nick Clarno was transferred and placed on the Development List. C Javier Valdes was released on July 28, INF David McCabe was reinstated from the 60-day IL and transferred to Mississippi on July 30, OF Geraldo Quintero was placed on the IL, and OF Bryson Worrell was transferred from Rome on July 31.

MCCABE MAKING IT BACK: DH David McCabe had Tommy John surgery in February, returned to action, and made his M-Braves debut on July 30. McCabe hit his first home run on August 9 vs. Pensacola, his first home run since August 18, 2023, while with Rome. In 2023, McCabe led the Braves farm system with 75 RBI and finished T-3rd in homers with 17.

TOLVE SLUGGING AWAY: C Tyler Tolve leads the club with 11 home runs and is T-2nd in the Southern League with eight long balls since June 21, batting .271 with five doubles, a triple, 23 RBI, and .891 OPS in 31 games.

THE MAN OF STEAL PROMOTED: OF Justin Dean was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett after the game on Wednesday. Dean set a new M-Braves single-season record with 47 stolen bases in 92 games. On July 28 at Montgomery, Dean surpassed Matt Young's record of 42 (set in '09) in just 88 games. Dean is the M-Braves all-time leader with 117 steals.

M-BRAVES SET SINGLE-SEASON STEALS RECORD: With five stolen bases on July 20 at Pensacola, the M-Braves set a new single-season record for steals in a season (in 88 games), surpassing the previous mark, 159, set by the 2007 club.

Leading Double-A: Mississippi leads Double-A with 200 stolen bases (200-for-248, 81%) through 111 games. The closest club is Montgomery, with 176. The M-Braves are on pace for 247 (1.80 per game) in 2024. Birmingham set the Southern League record with 264 in 1989.

First to 200 Steals: With three steals on August 16 at Biloxi, the M-Braves became the first team in Double-A and 10th in minor league baseball to reach 200 steals in 2024.

Four players with 30+ steals: The M-Braves became the first team in Minor League Baseball to have four players with 30+ steals in 2024. Justin Dean led the way at the time of his August 8 promotion to Triple-A and led Double-A with 47. Cal Conley ranks 4th in the Southern League with 36, Cody Milligan is 7th with 33, and Geraldo Quintero is 9th with 30 ... The M-Braves became the first team with 4+ players with 30+ steals since the 2022 Down East Wood Ducks (5). The most by a team since 2005 was the 2017 Lancaster Jethawks with six players.

HARPER'S HOT SUMMER: Pearl River CC and Southern Miss product Landon Harper didn't allow a run over 13 M-Braves outings and 25.1 innings pitched from June 2 to August 4, striking out 21 and walking two. He didn't allow an earned run over his 28.1 innings between Rome and Mississippi over the same span. The 25.1 innings without a run is the third-longest in the Southern League this season. Overall, Harper is 1-0 with a 1.19 ERA (4 ER/30.1 IP), four walks, and 26 strikeouts in 15 appearances and two starts.

IMPRESSIVE ON-BASE STREAK: INF Keshawn Ogans has reached base safely in 34 of 39 games since June 9. The Cal product saw his team-high 24-game on-base streak end on July 30. Over the streak, he hit .287 with a .374 OBP, 3 doubles, 5 RBI, 13 runs, 9 walks, 3 HBP, and 4 steals. The streak was the fourth-longest in the league this season and the longest by an M-Brave since Jesse Franklin V had a 23-game on-base streak, July 16-August 12, 2023.

HACKENBERG BECOMES STRIKEOUT KING: RHP Drue Hackenberg became the first pitcher in Minor League Baseball to strike out 16 on Sunday, July 21 at Pensacola, setting a new club record. He became the 21st Minor League pitcher since 2005 to record 16 or more strikeouts in a single game and the first since Matt Sauer, who totaled 17 for Double-A Somerset on Aug. 25, 2022.

The 16-K Game: The 22-year-old didn't walk a batter over 7.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits and retiring the final 14 Pensacola batters. The righty retired the side in order in the first inning -- coming one strike shy of an immaculate frame -- before retiring the side again in the second. Hackenberg topped the M-Braves' strikeout record of 14 previously held by Ian Anderson (June 28, 2019) and Tommy Hanson (June 25, 2008).

M-BRAVES TO THE SHOW: RHP Parker Dunshee became the eighth M-Braves alum and fourth from the 2024 squad to make an MLB debut this season on August 8 for Atlanta. He also became the 177th alum to debut since 2005. Dunshee joined Roddery Munoz (4/20, MIA), Tyler Ferguson (5/7, OAK), Spencer Schwellenbach (5/29), Justyn-Henry Malloy (6/3, DET), Hurston Waldrep (6/9), C.J. Alexander (6/24, KC), and Tanner Gordon (7/9, COL) and Nacho Alvarez Jr. (7/22, ATL). Overall, 176 former M-Braves have made their Major League debut.

THE JUCO BANDIT HAD A GREAT JUNE: Cody Milligan homered in back-to-back games on June 25-26, for the first time as an M-Brave and had three multi-hit games in the Montgomery series. The Binger, OK native, went 9-for-24 with two doubles, two homers, four RBI, three runs, and two stolen bases in the June 25-30 series. In June, Milligan hit .300 and was T-5th in the league with 11 extra-base hits, plus eight RBI, five walks, and six stolen bases. His .538 slugging percentage ranked seventh in the league.

"MAY" BE A GOOD SIGN...NO JUNE SWOON: After going 7-15 in April, the M-Braves went 28-26 the past two months, completing a 16-10 May and 12-14 June. The 16 wins in May were the fifth-most in Double-A. The Mississippi pitching staff gave up the second-fewest runs in Double-A (86) during the month and posted a 3.19 ERA.

WALDREP TO THE SHOW: RHP Hurston Waldrep was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett on May 8, and after just one start in Triple-A, he made his major league debut on June 9 at Washington. He was the 173rd player to move from Mississippi to "The Show." The Atlanta Braves' first-round pick in 2023 (24th overall) went 3-1 with a 1.19 ERA from Mississippi in May, with 31 strikeouts to seven walks.

MEJIA TOSSES FIFTH NO-HITTER IN M-BRAVES HISTORY: RHP Ian Mejia's seven-inning no-hitter in game two of the Friday, May 17 doubleheader vs. Biloxi was the fifth no-hitter in M-Braves history, and first individual one since Tommy Hanson's nine-inning no-hitter on June 25, 2008, vs. Birmingham at Trustmark Park. The M-Braves beat the Barons 6-0, and Hanson walked three and struck out 14 in the game. There have been three combined nine-inning no-hitters in team history (Julio Teheran & Tyrelle Harris, 8/2/10 vs. Mobile, Ian Anderson & Jeremy Walker, 6/28/19 vs. Jackson (TN), and Bryce Elder & Daysbel Hernandez, 7/10/21 vs. Pensacola.

FINAL SEASON IN MISSISSIPPI: On January 9, it was announced that after 20 years, 2024 will be the M-Braves' final season in Pearl, MS. As of the start of the 2025 season, the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves will be relocating to Columbus, GA.

M-BRAVES REACH 1,200 WINS: The April 25, 13-3 win over Montgomery was Mississippi's 1,200th in franchise history. It took the M-Braves until the sixth game of the inaugural season in 2005 to win the first game in club history, which was an April 12, 2005, 7-4 win over the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in game two of a doubleheader at Pringles Park. Jeff Francoeur was 0-for-3, with a walk and RBI, in the game, using a five-run sixth fueled by RBIs by Scott Thorman, Francoeur, and Derrick Gibson. Brian O'Connor got the win for Mississippi.

COACHING STAFF WITH A NEW FLO: After spending one season as manager of the Braves High-A affiliate Rome Braves (Emperors), Angel Flores will take the reins for the first time at the Double-A level, succeeding Kanekoa Texeira. Texeira was promoted to manager of the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers after Matt Tuiasosopo was named to the Braves' Major League coaching staff for 2024. Flores returns to Mississippi, where he served as bench coach in 2022. Flores took over as interim manager from April 26 to May 15, 2022, while Bruce Crabbe took a leave of absence from the club. During the 18-game stretch, the M-Braves went 10-8. During his first season as a full-time manager last year, Flores led the R-Braves to a 34-32 record in the second half and an overall 64-68 mark. Rome closed the year with a 21-15 record in August and September. Overall, he holds a 74-76 record as a manager.

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