Minor League Report - Saturday June 3

The Braves Show's Bill Shanks recaps the night's action around the Braves' farm system, including the return of Gonzalo Lopez and Francisley Bueno (pictured at left). Also, can Jo Jo Reyes continue his great pitching after a solid month of May?

RICHMOND

Despite two home runs from left fielder Scott Thorman, Richmond saw its two-game winning streak end Saturday night with a 4-3 loss to Syracuse.

Josh Towers, recently demoted by Toronto, gave up the two solo homers by Thorman and a RBI single from Martin Prado. He went seven innings and allowed the three runs on nine hits to pick up the victory.

Chuck James got the start for Richmond and allowed three runs in five innings, along with one walk and two strikeouts. Jonathan Johnson gave up the winning run in the sixth inning when Rob Cosby doubled home John Hattig.

Thorman now has 11 home runs on the season, with 30 RBI and a .301 average. Prado also had two hits on the night.

Richmond is now 23-32 on the season. Kevin Barry goes for the Braves Sunday in the final game of the series.


MISSISSIPPI

Sean White, Francisley Bueno, and Zach Schreiber combined for a nine-hit shutout as the Mississippi Braves won their sixth in a row with a 3-0 win over the Carolina Mudcats.

White pitched five scoreless innings and allowed six hits, walked one, and struck out four. Bueno, coming back after a stint on the disabled list with shoulder tenderness, pitched 2.2 scoreless innings and allowed only two hits and struck out four. Schreiber picked up his fifth save of the season with 1.1 innings, two walks, and three strikeouts.

The Braves broke through in the fourth inning. Barbaro Canizares singled to lead off the inning. Then a throwing error by the Mudcats' shortstop allowed Canizares to score all the way from first.

In the fifth, Canizares singled home Gregor Blanco, and then Matt Esquivel singled in Yunel Escobar to make it 3-0.

Since being bombed in Jacksonville on May 18th, White has allowed three earned runs in his last three starts (18 innings).

Canizares was 2-5 on the night and is now hitting .346 in Double-A. Esquivel had three hits to raise his average to .262. He now has 32 RBI on the season.

The six-game winning streak has the Braves now at 25-31 on the season. Chris Waters pitches Sunday against the Mudcats.


MYRTLE BEACH

Myrtle Beach's winning streak is now at four after another solid pitching performance from lefty Matt Harrison as the Pelicans beat Potomac 5-1 Saturday night.

Harrison improved to 7-3 on the year allowing only one run on four hits in eight innings, with two walks, and eight strikeouts. Harrison's ERA dipped 20 points to 2.67. His ERA in his last four starts is 1.61.

The Pelicans got on the board in the fourth inning on Brandon Jones' fifth home run of the season. Mark Jurich then doubled home Van Pope in the sixth inning to make it 2-0.

In the eighth inning, the Pelicans got a little insurance as Jones singled home J.C. Holt. Then Jurich doubled again scoring two runs this time and the lead was 5-0.

The Nationals scored one run on Harrison in the bottom of the eighth, but Gonzalo Lopez came into the game in the ninth inning to end the game for the Pelicans. Lopez was activated Saturday after missing the last year and a half with Tommy John surgery. Lopez gave up a hit and a walk, but struck out a batter in his one inning of work.

Myrtle Beach is now only a game under .500 at 27-28. They wrap up the series with the Nats Sunday at 1:05 pm. Jake Stevens is scheduled to pitch for the Pelicans.


ROME

Well you knew Jo Jo Reyes had to have a subpar performance at some point this season, and after a tremendous May he started off June with his first loss of the year losing to Savannah 7-3.

Reyes allowed six runs on seven hits in four innings of work. He had an ERA of 0.93 in his six starts of May, but he saw his ERA balloon from 2.47 to 3.18 on Saturday.

The Sand Gnats scored two in the first and one in the second inning. Then Reyes could not get out of the fifth inning before Savannah scored three more runs making it 6-1.

Elvis Andrus drove in Rome's only run with a single in the sixth inning. Andrus is now hitting .283 and has 30 RBI on the season.

The Braves are now 37-17 on the season. Jeff Lyman is scheduled to start Sunday in the series finale.


Bill Shanks is the author of Scout's Honor: The Bravest Way To Build A Winning Team, a look inside the Braves‘ traditional scouting and player development philosophies. Email Bill at .