Sunday in the Atlanta Braves system saw Brett Sears make his Double-A debut, continuing his domination of the minor leagues at a third level in the first two months of the 2025 season. We also got a homer from Isaiah Drake on a day the Braves affiliates dropped three out of their four games.
Louisville Bats 6, Gwinnett Stripers 4
Box Score
Statcast
James McCann, C: 2-4, 2B, BB, R, RBI, .302/.343/.469
David Fletcher, SS: 3-4, 2 2B, .180/.221/.213
Bryce Elder, SP: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 8.76 ERA
Bryce Elder turned in five and two thirds quality innings on Sunday afternoon. Elder allowed three runs on six hits and a walk, picking up three strikeouts. Domingo Gonzalez picked up the final out in the sixth and went the seventh without allowing any more damage. Then Domingo Gonzalez came in and faced three hitters, allowing all of them to score before being chased from the game without recording an out. Finally Jesse Chavez pitched a scoreless inning to complete this game on the pitching side.
It’s been a rough season for David Fletcher at the plate, but he had arguably his best game of the season on Sunday. Fletcher went three for four with a pair of doubles. Meanwhile James McCann was two for four with a double, walk, run scored, and run batted in. The pair of big league veterans combined for all of the Stripers extra base hits and almost half of the team’s total hits. Still despite that every Striper except Eddys Leonard had a hit in the loss, with Cade Bunnell reaching base three times thanks to a pair of walks in addition to his single.
Swing and Misses
Bryce Elder – 8
Montgomery Biscuits 1, Columbus Clingstones 0
Box Score
Brett Sears, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA
Hayden Harris, RP: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.48 ERA
The headline event in the Braves system on Sunday was the Brett Sears Double-A debut, and it’s safe to say it didn’t disappoint. Sears went six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out seven and picking up 15 swings and misses. It’s been quite a rise for last year’s senior sign draft choice, coming all the way from the Augusta bullpen and making it to Columbus by midseason. On the year he has a 1.69 ERA and and 0.80 WHIP. Blane Abeyta was next with a scoreless inning. Shay Schanaman followed and walked three in an inning, giving up one run, then Hayden Harris picked up two strikeouts in his inning.
As good as Sears was in this one, it wasn’t enough as the offense was shut out on two hits and two walks. Cal Conley and Keshawn Ogans each singled, while Ethan Workinger and Drew Compton each drew walks. Conley also added his 15th steal of the year.
Swing and Misses
Brett Sears – 15
Blane Abeyta – 4
Shay Schanaman – 4
Rome Emperors 5, Hub City Spartanburgers 4
Box Score
Will Verdung, 1B: 4-5, 2B, .290/.373/.366
Ambioris Tavarez, SS: 1-4, BB, R, .248/.363/.333
Adam Maier, SP: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 5.01 ERA
Adam Maier made this start and did just enough to keep the game within striking distance for Rome. Maier lasted five and two thirds, allowing seven hits and no walks with four strikeouts. His run total doesn’t tell the whole story though, as he allowed four runs – including a pair of homers, in the fourth inning and didn’t allow any runs in any of his other innings. Rob Griswold went the next two and a third innings without allowing any more runs to score, picking up the win. While William Silva got the save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Will Verdung was the star at the plate on Sunday, going four for five with a double. He has quietly had a very good month of May, posting a .778 OPS for the month. Harry Owen and Bryson Horne also helped the Emperors cause with two-hit games, though all of those hits went for singles. Ambioris Tavarez went one for four with a walk and scored a run. Both Patrick Clohisy and Titus Dumitru picked up hits in the win, with Clohisy having a triple and also stealing a base.
Swing and Misses
Adam Maier – 6
Charleston RiverDogs 10, Augusta GreenJackets 8
Box Score
Colby Jones, 2B: 3-4, HR, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB, .220/.319/.284
Isaiah Drake, LF: 2-5, HR, R, RBI, .279/.355/.415
Mason Guerra, 1B: 2-3, BB, R, RBI, .244/.358/.543
Seth Keller, RP: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 6.46 ERA
It was Samuel Mejia’s start and it did not go according to plan. Mejia struggled badly with his command in this one, throwing more balls (32) than strikes (31), as he failed to complete the third inning. He lasted just two and a third, allowing six runs on five hits and four walks with a couple of homers allowed. There was some positive to his outing though, as he struck out four and picked up an impressive 16 swing and misses in just 63 pitches. Juan Sanchez followed and also struggled, giving up four runs (three earned) over the next inning and two third. It was Seth Keller going four scoreless innings with just two hits and no walks that kept the GreenJackets in this game, even if he wasn’t missing bats. Finally Jacob Gomez came on to pitch a clean final inning, picking up a pair of strikeouts.
Isaiah Drake and Colby Jones led the Jackets offense in this one, with each of them hitting a homer in the loss. Jones went three for four, walked, scored twice, batted in a pair, and stole a base on the night he hit his first homer of the season. Drake ended up going two for five. The red hit Mason Guerra continued his recent run of success by going two for three with a walk, run, and RBI. Guerra had an OPS of .549 after the May 4th game, and after today has it up to an impressive .901 on the season after a May that saw a slash of .315/.356/.685. Owen Carey and Nick Montgomery also each had a hit in the loss.
Swing and Misses
Samuel Mejia – 16
Jacob Gomez – 4
Juan Sanchez – 4
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