SL1 Mississippi Braves

M-Braves Extend Winning Streak to Four Games on Thursday

Published on April 18, 2019 under Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


CHATTANOOGA, TN - The Mississippi Braves (7-5) extended their winning streak to four games with a 5-3 victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts (4-8) on Thursday night at AT&T Field. Drew Waters finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI and Cristian Pache walked twice and homered for the second straight game. The 20-year-old duo at the top of the lineup extended their streaks in the process.

Connor Johnstone was activated to the roster this morning from Triple-A Gwinnett for a spot start. The 24-year-old made the most out of his 54 pitches by dealing 4.1 innings of one-run baseball, striking out two and walking one.

The M-Braves went up 1-0 right out of the gate in the top of the first inning. Pache drew a one-out walk and scored immediately on a double by Luis Valenzuela. The Braves' shortstop has seven RBI in the series and nine on the year.

Johnstone retired nine of the first ten batters before running into some trouble in the fourth inning. Chattanooga tied the game at 1-1 on their third hit of the frame, a double by Tyler Stephenson.

Chattanooga starter Tony Santillan (L, 0-1) threw 98 pitches and walked Daniel Lockhart with two outs in the sixth inning. Wyatt Strahan came in out of the bullpen and walked four straight M-Braves batters, including relief pitcher Jonathan Aro (W, 2-0) to put the M-Braves on top 2-1. Waters brought in Jonathan Morales and Garrison Schwartz on a double down the right-field line to stretch the advantage to 4-1. Waters extended his on-base streak to ten games by notching his third three-hit game of the season.

Aro worked 2.0 innings and gave up a two-run home run to Brantley Bell in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull the Lookouts within a run at 4-3. Jordan Harrison worked 1.2 scoreless innings behind Aro to preserve the lead.

Pache gave the M-Braves a big insurance run in the ninth inning with a solo homer that hit the scoreboard in left field. The homer traveled 405 feet and was his second in two days. Pache extended his hitting streak to nine games in his final at-bat and leads the Southern League with 13 RBI. He's also the first Southern League player to reach ten extra-base hits.

Josh Graham (S, 2) closed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth inning and secured his second save.

he M-Braves will try for a five-game sweep on Friday night at AT&T Field. LHP Kyle Muller will make the start for the M-Braves against Chattanooga LHP Scott Moss. First pitch is set for 6:15 pm CT with coverage beginning at 6:00 pm on 103.9 FM and the TuneIn Radio app.

The M-Braves return to Trustmark Park for a promotion-filled homestand this Saturday, April 20 through April 24. Saturday will include Fireworks following the 6:05 pm game. Sunday there will be pre-game Easter Egg Hunt prior to the 1:05 pm first pitch. The M-Braves will play back-to-back 10:35 am games on Monday and Tuesday and the series will wrap up with a First Responders Wednesday on April 24 with first pitch at 6:35 pm. 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

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Southern League Stories from April 18, 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