Wednesday, July 21, 2021
-Clint Manry
Yesterday was Game 1 of a new week and a new series for the Braves minor leagues. Here’s a brief recap of what happened down on the farm for Tuesday’s games…
(32-34) Gwinnett Stripers
PPD vs. Norfolk
(40-27) Mississippi Braves
L, 1-0 vs. Biloxi
- SP, O. Javier – (L), 7 IP, 4 H, ER, 5 K
- SS, R. Unroe – 1 for 3, 3B
- C, S. Langeliers – 1 for 3
The M-Braves just didn’t have it on offense yesterday as the Shuckers held Mississippi to only three hits as a team. However, defense and pitching were sharp on Tuesday, and righty Odalvi Javier put together his second-best start of the 2021 season, per Game Score, striking out five in seven innings of one-run ball. Javier will now enter his next outing with a 2.93 ERA in 61.1 innings this season.
There also was a significant roster move for the M-Braves yesterday. Moving up from High-A Rome, right-handed pitcher, and the Braves 16th-ranked prospect on my latest Top 30 List, Freddy Tarnok was promoted to Mississippi.
(33-34) Rome Braves
L, 5-4 vs. Bowling Green
- SP, D. Vines – (L), 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 K, HR
- C, L. Brown – 2 for 4, 2 2B, RBI, R
- 2B, R. Delgado – 2 for 4, 2B, RBI, R
Make it four losses in a row for Rome as they again begin a series against Bowling Green – one of the top teams in High-A right now. Starter Darius Vines had his first poor outing with the R-Braves as until yesterday he was sporting a 2.65 ERA in his first 17 innings for Rome. The R-Braves offense only managed four hits on Tuesday, led by catcher Logan Brown who finished with a pair of doubles.
(28-37) Augusta GreenJackets
PPD vs. Columbia
(6-6) FCL Braves
W, 11-4 vs. Orioles Orange
- SP, C. Clouse – IP, H, ER, BB, K
- CF, B. Mezquita – 3 for 5, 2 R
- 1B, M. Backstrom – 2 for 4, 2B, RBI, SB
- 2B, E. Stephens – 1 for 3, 2B, RBI, 2 BB
- LF, C. Reyes – 2 for 4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB
The FCL Braves offense broke out for 11 hits on Tuesday, including thee XBH and three stolen bases. Brandol Mezquita continues to rake down in Florida as he tallied three more hits yesterday to push his season AVG up to .366. Four different Braves batters ended the day with a multi-hit game. The takeaway from this one, though, was that 26-year-old righty Corbin Clouse started the affair. Clouse, a former 27th-round pick by the Braves, made his 2021 debut on Tuesday, even though he only faced five batters and made it through one inning. Clouse is a talented pitcher, and though he struggled a bit back in 2019 with Triple-A Gwinnett, this is someone to pay attention to in the minors.
