IL1 Gwinnett Stripers

Stellar Sims, Bourjos Slam Lead Stripers to 7-1 Win

Published on May 10, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - A Peter Bourjos grand slam and 6.2 solid innings from Lucas Sims led the Gwinnett Stripers to a 7-1 victory over the Charlotte Knights Thursday afternoon at Coolray Field.

Bourjos' slam came after Charlotte starter T.J. House walked two batters and reliever Colton Turner walked another to load the bases. The Stripers' center fielder then launched a 396-foot bomb to left field to break open the game to 6-0.

The slam came as insurance for the right-hander Sims, making his first start for the Stripers since April 30. The Lawrenceville, Georgia native, celebrating his 24th birthday, went 6.2 innings and allowed seven hits, one earned run, no walks and struck out six on 101 pitches.

Sims (W, 2-1) worked out of trouble in the third inning after allowing singles to Jake Elmore and Eddy Alvarez to lead off the frame. But catcher Chris Stewart picked Elmore off second base, then Sims induced a double play from Charlie Tilson to end the inning.

In the fifth, Elmore reached with a one-out single but was promptly picked off again, this time by Sims at first. Sims repeated the act the next inning, when he hit Jacob May with a pitch but nabbed him at first, too. The Stripers ended up with a season-high three pickoff plays on the day.

Offensively, the Stripers scored their first run in the first via two singles by Bourjos and Rio Ruiz, and an RBI single by Carlos Franco. In the fourth, Danny Santana led off with a double and was brought home two batters later on a Stewart sacrifice fly.

The one-out walks to Phil Gosselin, Stewart and Ezequiel Carrera in the sixth set the table for Bourjos, who simultaneously tallied his first Gwinnett home run, his second career grand slam and matched his professional career game-high in RBIs (4). Ruiz and Austin Riley followed with singles, and Ruiz scored on a Franco sacrifice fly for his International League-leading 27th RBI.

House (L, 1-4) finished with 5.1 innings, six hits, four earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts. Turner was charged with three runs on three hits over 1.2 innings. Thyago Vieira pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.

In relief of Sims, Miguel Socolovich pitched 2.1 scoreless, hitless innings with four strikeouts.

Bourjos led the Stripers' offense, going 3-for-5 with the grand slam and two runs scored. Franco finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs, and Stewart was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

The Stripers (13-19) begin a three-game weekend series against the Norfolk Tides on Friday at 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Left-hander Max Fried (1-0, 2.45) goes for Gwinnett, while righty Tim Melville (4-0, 2.86) will start for Norfolk. Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 and 93.5 FM The Other Side of the River beginning at 6:35 p.m.

For tickets, call 678-277-0340 or visit GoStripers.com.

Check out the Gwinnett Stripers Statistics

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



International League Stories from May 10, 2018


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