Saturday’s slate in the Braves’ system came with a little bit of everything: a quality start in Gwinnett, a breakout day from Conor Essenburg in Rome, and a pair of A-ball clubs playing the second-to-last game of their seasons in Augusta and Rome. The farm split the day, but the loudest individual performance belonged to Essenburg, who reached base five times and kept piling up extra-base damage.
Gwinnett came through with a 5-3 win over Charlotte behind Cedric De Grandpre, who delivered a true quality start. He worked six innings, gave up three runs on five hits, walked one, and punched out eight while generating 13 whiffs. Bailey Falter covered two scoreless innings after that, and Joel Payamps finished it off for the save after Gwinnett pushed across three runs in the bottom of the eighth to grab the lead.
The Stripers’ offense was driven from the top. Jim Jarvis was on base all night, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs, and an RBI.
Lizandro Espinoza added a 2-for-4 line with a run, and Rowdy Tellez chipped in a double, a run, and two RBIs. Those three combined for five of Gwinnett’s eight hits, half of its four walks, four runs, and three RBIs.
Brett Wisely, Chuckie Robinson, and Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. supplied the other hits with singles.
Rome’s 13-6 win over Winston-Salem was the day’s biggest offensive outburst, and Conor Essenburg was right in the middle of it. He went 2-for-3 with two doubles, three walks, four runs, and an RBI, reaching base five times in all.
Carter Beck also did plenty of damage, finishing 2-for-5 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored. Cade Doughty added three hits, including a double, and Cody Miller reached twice with a pair of hits and a pair of walks.
Brody Fowler got the start for Rome and gave the club four innings of two-run ball, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out four. Carter Lovasz then ran into trouble and was charged with four runs in two-thirds of an inning. From there, Jacob Kroeger, Drew Christo, and Blayne Enlow kept Winston-Salem quiet the rest of the way.
Columbus fell 6-2 to Pensacola in a game where the offense never really found traction. Braden Scott started and was hit for five runs over four innings, giving up seven hits and a walk while striking out three.
He also surrendered three home runs. Anderson Pilar followed with a strong outing, allowing just one hit and two runs over three and a third innings with four strikeouts and six whiffs, and that lone hit was another Blue Wahoos homer.
LJ McDonough gave up two more runs in two-thirds of an inning, and Ian Mejia allowed a run in the eighth.
The Clingstones managed only four hits and a walk. John Gil was the only player with more than one hit, collecting a single and a triple, while Adam Zebrowski doubled and Luke Waddell singled.
Eric Hartman and Owen Carey went hitless in four at-bats apiece, and Alex Lodise and Dixon Williams were both hitless in three at-bats, with each of them reaching once on hit-by-pitch. Columbus struck out 16 times, and everyone except Waddell struck out at least once.
Augusta dropped a 6-4 decision to Charleston, but Manuel Campos and Yamvier Carrero gave the GreenJackets plenty to talk about. Campos went 1-for-4 with a triple, a walk, two RBIs, a run, and two stolen bases.
Carrero was even sharper, going 2-for-2 with two walks, a run, and a stolen base. Between them, they accounted for half of Augusta’s walks and three of the club’s seven hits.
Luis Arestigueta started for Augusta and gave up three runs on five hits and three walks over four and two-thirds innings. He struck out three and generated 10 whiffs, but command again proved to be an issue. Nico Wagner followed and allowed three runs, two earned, over the next two and a third innings, and Kade Woods closed with a scoreless eighth and two strikeouts.
The rest of Augusta’s offense came from singles by Junior Tilien, who had two, along with Dallas Macias and Cooper McMurray. Parker Brosius went 0-for-4, and Caleb Klein was hitless in four at-bats but did draw a walk.
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