SL Mississippi Braves

Thursday, June 3 at Pensacola Blue Wahoos: 6:35 PM: Blue Wahoos Stadium

Published on June 3, 2021 under Southern League (SL)
Mississippi Braves News Release


Mississippi Braves (ATL) (13-13, 2ND, AA-S South, -3.0) at Pensacola Blue Wahoos (MIA) (16-10, 1st, AA-S South, +3.0)

Starting Pitchers: RHP Odalvi Javier (1-0, 1.76) vs. RHP Jeff Lindgren (2-1, 2.91)1)

Radio: 103.9 FM WYAB and (LISTEN LIVE LINK)

TV: MiLB.TV

Today's Roster Moves:

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TODAY'S GAME: The Mississippi Braves (ATL) continue a 12-game road trip tonight with game three of a six-game series against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (MIA) and Blue Wahoos Stadium (1-1). The second leg of the road trip will take the M-Braves to face Biloxi for the second time at MGM Park.

AGAINST THE FISH: The M-Braves are 3-5 against the Wahoos this season, dropping four of six in the opening series of 2021, May 5-9, at Trustmark Park. The M-Braves and Wahoos meet 30 times this season (18 games at Trustmark Park and 12 at Blue Wahoos Stadium). The Wahoos return to Pearl, July 6-11.

LANGELIERS HITS THREE HOME RUNS IN 9-4 WIN ON WEDNESDAY: Shea Langeliers hit three home runs and went 4-for-5 with four runs scored to lead the M-Braves to a 9-4 victory on Wednesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The three-homer game was the second in team history. Ryan Casteel hit the first three-homer game at Pensacola on July 3, 2019. Trey Harris joined Langeliers with four hits, finishing 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI. Hayden Deal earned his first Double-A win on the mound with season-best 5.2 innings of two-run baseball, striking out six and walking one. Of the season-high 15 hits, C.J. Alexander, Greyson Jenista, and Jefrey Ramos had two-hit games on Wednesday.

LANGELIERS AGAINST THE WAHOOS: Langeliers has gone 7-for-25 (.280), with a .920 OPS, five home runs, a double, and seven RBIs in eight games against the Blue Wahoos. The Baylor product has two homers and driven in six runs in 42 at-bats against the rest of the league in 2021.

SIC 'EM...: The three-homer game was the first of his career and first since hitting three home runs for Baylor during the 2019 NCAA tournament against Nebraska-Omaha. He ended up with three home runs and an NCAA-record 11 RBI in the 24-6 Bears win. The four hits and four runs matched career highs.

AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS: CJ Alexander is T-4th with 5 home runs...Justin Dean is T-1st with 7 stolen bases...Shea Langeliers is T-9th with 4 home runs, T-10th with 12 walks. 10th in slugging, .484 and 8th in OPS .865...Brandon White is 3rd in saves with 4...Nolan Kingham is 3rd with 27.0 innings pitched.

GREAT RELIEF: Troy Bacon has yet to allow a run in relief so far this season and is 2-0 with 12 strikeouts and two walks over his first 12.2 IP. He's holding the opposition to just a .186 AVG.

WITHROW GETTING THE JOB DONE: 27-year-old RHP Matt Withrow has allowed just one earned run over his first six outings (3 starts) this season, posting a 0.55 ERA in 16.2 innings with 16 strikeouts and 11 walks.

ONE-RUN GAMES: The M-Braves had won six-straight one-run games until the 4-3 loss on Tuesday in Pensacola. The Braves lost their first four to begin the season, and are 6-5 overall. Only Pensacola has more wins in one-run games than Mississippi (9-2).

SOLID DEFENSE: The M-Braves rank 2nd in the Double-A South with a .979 fielding percentage (BLX, .981), just 19 errors in 26 games, and 1st with 28 double plays turned. M-Braves catchers have given up only 13 stolen bases, which is the best in the league. Shea Langeliers is 10-for-20 in catching opposing base stealers, 50%, which leads all of Double-A baseball.

USING THE LONG BALL: The M-Braves have 26 home runs so far this season, ranking 3rd in the Double-A South (BIR, 38/RCT, 34). Of the 93 runs scored this season, 47 have come via the home run ball (51%). Braves batters rank last in the league with a .203 batting average.

LANGELIERS NAMED AA-SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK: The former 9th overall pick in 2019 and Baylor star ended his week on Sunday night with a walk-off single to give the M-Braves a fourth-straight victory, 2-1, over Montgomery. Over the week, the 22-year-old hit .421 (8-for-19) with two doubles, a home run, five RBI, five runs, and a .476 on-base percentage. In a week in which the Braves went 5-1, Langeliers capped his week with his first professional grand slam on Thursday night in the third inning of a 7-6 win over the Biscuits.

M-BRAVES FINISH SECOND HOMESTAND 8-4: The M-Braves went 3-3 against Chattanooga and 5-1 against Montgomery to finish a successful 8-4 homestand from May 18-30. With Sunday's win, the M-Braves are 14-12 in extra-inning games since the new rule of a runner at second base was installed in 2018.

GRAND SALAMI TIME: Langeliers' grand slam last Thursday night against Montgomery was the first by the M-Braves since Luis Valenzuela blasted one in Chattanooga on April 15, 2019. The grand slam was the first by a Braves player at Trustmark Park since Carlos Martinez hit one on June 12, 2018. The M-Braves have hit just four grand slams since 2014. For Langeliers it was his first professional home run and first since hitting a pair during the Cape Cod League during the summer of his freshman year at Baylor.

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.

BRAND NEW COACHING STAFF: The 17 newcomers on the Opening Day 28-man roster joined an entirely new coaching staff, all having major league experience. The M-Braves are led by manager Wyatt Toregas and are joined by hitting coach Einar Diaz, pitching coach, former Braves first-round pick Dan Meyer and coach Devon Travis.

- Toregas, 38, is a former catcher who played in 22 major-league games across two seasons with Cleveland (2009) and Pittsburgh (2011). After spending the previous five minor-league seasons managing in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, the upcoming campaign will be his first with the Braves, including most recently with High-A Bradenton in 2019. in five seasons, Toregas holds a 293-263 (.527) record as a skipper entering the 2021 season.

150 MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUTS: Despite no season in 2020, the M-Braves saw their 150th player make their major league debut. Starting in 2005, the 150 include 32 All-Star Game appearances, 11 Silver Sluggers, 12 Gold Gloves, 11 World Series champs, two Rookies of the Year, and one MVP.

- In 2020, William Contreras, Joe Odom (SEA), Ricardo Sanchez (STL), Cristian Pache, Ian Anderson, Patrick Weigel, Bruce Zimmermann and Tucker Davidson. The first was Brian McCann back in June 2005.

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 3, 2021


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