SL Mississippi Braves

Sunday, June 20 vs. Birmingham Barons: 2:05 PM: Trustmark Park

Published on June 20, 2021 under Southern League (SL)
Mississippi Braves News Release


Mississippi Braves (ATL) (24-17, 2nd, AA-S South, -1.0) vs. Birmingham Barons (CHW) (23-17, T-1st, AA-S North, --)

Starting Pitchers: RHP Touki Toussaint (0-0, --) vs. RHP Kade McClure (1-3, 5.10)

Game #42 | Home Game #24

Radio: 103.9 FM WYAB and (LISTEN LIVE LINK)

TV: MiLB.TV

Today's Promotions:

Father's Day Pregame Catch: Dad's will have a chance to play catch on the field from 1:20-1:50.

Sunday Family Funday: Enjoy matinee baseball every Sunday at Trustmark Park and take advantage of fun activities for the entire family. Kids 14-and-under will have the opportunity to run the bases after the game, presented by Game on Wheels.

Today's Roster Moves:

N/A

TODAY'S GAME: The Mississippi Braves (ATL) continue a 12-game homestand on Sunday afternoon, with the finale of a six-game series against the Birmingham Barons (CHW) at Trustmark Park (4-1). This is the first of two series meetings between the clubs, and 12 total games. The M-Braves will visit Regions Field in Birmingham, August 3-8. The Tennessee Smokies (CHC) will be the next opponent for the M-Braves, June 22-27.

- Saturday's win clinched the third series win, in the last four dating back to a 5-1 series win at Trustmark Park, May 26-30. The Braves haven't lost a series since dropping the first two series against Pensacola and at Biloxi.

- The Braves are 119-106 all-time against the Barons and 65-44 against the Barons at Trustmark Park. The Braves went 4-6 against Birmingham in 2019.

**SUNDAY STARTER**: RHP Touki Toussaint will continue his rehab assigment today and make the start for the M-Braves. He makes the start on his 25th birthday, after throwing 3.0 innings and 28 pitches on Tuesday in Rome. The Haiti native was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right shoulder strain on March 26.

M-BRAVES WALK-OFF WITH FOURTH-STRAIGHT WIN ON SATURDAY: Trey Harris raced home on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, to give the M-Braves a 3-2 victory and 4-1 series advantage over Birmingham. This is the M-Braves' third, four-game winning streak on the year. Hayden Deal worked a season-high 6.0 innings and struck out a season-best seven in a no-decision. The Barons had a perfect game going through 6.0 innings, until a pair of walks and Harris single broke it up in the seventh.

AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS: Shea Langeliers ranks among the league leaders in home runs (3rd, 9), slugging (4th, .531), OPS (6th, .882), extra-base hits (T-8th, 14) and total bases (10th, 60). Justin Dean leads the league in stolen bases (10), and T-1st in doubles (10). Jacob Pearson is T-5th in triples with 2. Brandon White is 3rd in saves (7). Nolan Kingham is T-1st in starts (8), T-3rd in wins (4), 1st in innings pitched (47.2), 7th in ERA (2.64), 7th in WHIP (1.05), and T-3rd in winning percentage (.800). Hayden Deal is 9th in ERA (3.28).

KINGHAM'S INCREDIBLE STRETCH: Nolan Kingham has given up three earned runs total in 25.1 total innings this month (four starts) while walking two batters against 14 strikeouts. The Las Vegas native hasn't allowed a run over his last two starts and 14.2 innings, on seven hits with 11 strikeouts and no walks.

LEADING THE LEAGUE IN PITCHING AND DEFENSE: The M-Braves lead the league, are 3rd in all of Double-A baseball with a 3.38 ERA, and 6th in the minors. M-Braves hurlers have served up just 19 home run balls, the fewest in Double-A, and T-4th-fewest in all of minor league baseball.

- The starting rotation holds a 2.83 ERA with 183 strikeouts in 182.2 IP. In June, the rotation is 7-2 with a 1.64 ERA, 23 walks and 86 strikeouts. Braves starters rank 3rd in MiLB.

- The M-Braves lead the Double-A South with a .984 fielding percentage, just 23 errors in 41 games, and are T-1st with 35 double plays turned. M-Braves catchers have caught 22 attempted base-stealers, which leads all of Double-A baseball and ranks T-2nd in all of MiLB (Tri-City, 26).

DON'T RUN ON SHEA: Shea Langeliers is 16-for-29 in catching opposing base stealers, 55%. His 16 caught stealings, seven double plays and 30 assists are first among catchers in minor league baseball. He's caught nine of his last 12, would-be base stealers.

TURNING THINGS AROUND: The M-Braves are just one game back of Pensacola in the division, and are 16-5 over their last 21 games dating back to May 27. Since starting the season 0-4, the Braves are 24-13, and have won two of their last three series.

43 HOME RUNS ON THE YEAR: The M-Braves have 43 home runs so far this season, in 40 games, ranking 3rd in the Double-A South (BIR, 51/RCT, 57). Of the 162 runs scored this season, 73 have come via the home run ball (45%). In just 41 games, the M-Braves are nearly half way to the 2019 total (in 139 games) of 87. The Braves remain last in hitting in the league at .209.

THE FOUR-HIT MACHINE: Justin Dean recorded a 4-hit game on June 13 at Biloxi and June 17 vs. Birmingham, the first 4-hit games of his career. The Mauldin, SC native is on a 5-game hitting streak, batting .579 over the streak. In 15 June games, he leads the club with a .345 batting average, seven extra-base hits and 10 RBI.

RAMOS REDEPTION: After batting .071 in May with no extra-base hits, the 22-year-old is batting .281 in June with three home runs, two doubles, nine RBI and .921 OPS.

151 MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUTS: LHP Kyle Muller made his major league debut for the Atlanta Braves in the top of the fifth inning on June 16 vs. Boston. Muller became the first M-Braves alum to debut in 2021 and 151st all-time. Muller made 27 starts for the M-Braves over the 2018 and 2019 seasons, going 11-7 with a 3.14 ERA. The Dallas, TX native gave up four hits and two runs in the outing with one strikeout in 1.0 inning of relief.

WINNING ROAD TRIP: The M-Braves went 8-4 on the road trip to Pensacola and Biloxi, splitting six games in Pensacola, before taking five of six from Biloxi. Overall, the M-Braves outscored the opposition, 61-41, averaging 5.1 runs per game, 21 doubles, tw triples, 18 home runs and .232 batting average. On the mound, the M-Braves posted a 3.30 ERA with 105 srikeouts, 40 walks, in 103.2 innings, holding opponents to just a .211 batting average.

FIRST ROUND PICKS AND PROSPECTS: The squad features both of Atlanta's first-round selections from the 2019 draft in catcher Shea Langeliers (#9) and shortstop Braden Shewmake (#21). They represent the third and fourth-ranked prospects in the organization, according to MLB.com and Langeliers is #64 on the MLB.com Top 100 and sixth-ranked catching prospect in baseball.

- Overall, the M-Braves feature eight of the Braves' Top 30 prospects. After Langeliers and Shewmake, OF Trey Harris (#14), RHP Victor Vodnik (#15), RHP Daysbel Hernandez (17), INF Greyson Jenista (#19), INF C.J. Alexander (#20) and OF Justin Dean (#26) are among the Top 30.

WELCOME TO THE DOUBLE-A SOUTH: In MLB's new structure for the 2021 season, the M-Braves will be part of the Double-A South. The eight-team circuit consists of eight former members of the Southern League, split into two divisions. Mississippi will be in the South Division along with the Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers), Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays), and Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Miami Marlins). The North Division will consist of the Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox), Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds), Rocket City Trash Pandas (LA Angels), and Tennessee Smokies (Chicago Cubs).

- The M-Braves will play the South Division in 80 of the 120 games this season. In a shedule quirk, the M-Braves will not play the new Rocket City Trash Pandas this season. The clubs were scheduled to meet during the first series of the 2020 season.

2019 SEASON IN REVIEW: The Mississippi Braves concluded their 15th anniversary season in Central Mississippi with a 64-75 overall record, finishing fourth in the Southern League South Division. While the club missed out on the postseason for the third-straight season, the 2019 campaign saw the 3 millionth fan enter Trustmark Park, 1,000th franchise win, third no-hitter in club history, record three postseason All-Stars and the first Southern League Most Valuable Player.

Check out the Mississippi Braves Statistics

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Southern League Stories from June 20, 2021


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