Minors report 829: Shea Simmons named SAL postseason all-star; M-Braves fall to 2nd
Shae Simmons was the only member of the Rome Braves named to the South Atlantic League posteason all-star team. Simmons will happily accept it knowing he has long since beein promoted two levels and should only see Rome again to pick up his hardware.
Before his well-earned promotion, Simmons appeared in 39 games for Rome, posting a 1-1 record and a league-leading (at the time) 24 saves. In early August, the Braves moved him over Lynchburg to Class AA Mississippi, where he scarcely missed a beat. Not closing, he still only allowed hits in three of his 10 appearances, holding Class AA hitters to a .121 average. Combined, he owned a 1.55 ERA in 49 games (52 innings, 80 strikeouts, 20 walks, no home runs).
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Lynchburg clinched the wild card playoff berth Thursday with its doubleheader split and will play a best-of-three series in Potomac, which won both halves. Lynchburg is 33-33 for this half, 69-66 overall.
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As the Gulf Coast League wrapped up its regular season Thursday, another of the Braves' interesting international signees got a little face time. Adrian Rivero, a Cuban left-hander signed initially for the 2012 season. He was 0-1 in thd DSL last year, and earned his first pro win Thusday after speinding 2013 in the GCL.
Rivero, 6-3, 185, walked more than he struck out, but worked only eight games, all in relief as the 22-year-old continues to be brought along slowly. Also earning special mention Thursday was GCL starter Alex Grosser, who fired four hitless innings before giving way to Rivero.
Grosser, drafted in the 11th round in 2013, was only 1-3 in his pro debut, but with a sterling 2.15 ERA. He only started five times out of 13 appearances, allowing a mere 12 hits in 29 innings. In July, the new signee worked 8.2 hitless innings in relief before being installed in the rotation. Still only 18, he was the 11th round pick in the 2013 draft.
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THURSDAY'S GAMES
CLASS AAA
Durham 7, Gwinnett 6
SP: Poveda 6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K.
LP: Lamm (3-3) 0.2 IP, 0 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K.
Constanza 3-5, 2B, R, RBI; Boggs 2-5, 2B, R, RBI; Yepez 1-4, 2 RBI; Gosselin (3B) 2-4, R, RBI; Kazmar 2-4, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI.
Durham starter: Mike Moore (Rehab) 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
CLASS AA
Jacksonville 4, Mississippi (74-61) 3
SP: Lee 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.
LP: Jaime (2-4) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
Simmons 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K. (1.80)
La Stella 2-3, R (.340); Jones 1-3, 2 RBI; Hefflinger 2-3, 2B, R, RBI.
M-Braves tied for 1st with Jacksonville.
ADVANCED CLASS A
Game One
Carolina 7, Lynchburg (68-66) 4 (7)
LP: Lugo (0-2) 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
E. Reyes 2-3, HR (5th), 3 RBI; McGill 1-2, 2B, RBI; Castro 1-4, R; Rohm 1-3, SB (.308).
Game Two
Lynchburg (69-66) 3, Carolina 2 (12)
SP: Ross 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.
Fish 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. (2.37)
WP: Weaver (1-0) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Kubitza 2-5; Elander 2-4, HR (4th), RBI; E. Reyes 1-5, 2B; Weaver 1-3, HR (4th), RBI; Castro 1-5; Rohm 1-4, 2B (.308); Lipka 1-1, 2B, R.
NOTE: Elander and Weaver both hit HR and threw out a runner at the plate. Weaver also had win!
CLASS A
Savannah 5, Rome (71-64) 3
LP: Lafreniere (7-13) 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.
Peraza 3-5, SB (61); Franco 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Kalenkosky 1-2, 3B; Wren 2-4, R, SB (32).
SHORT-SEASON
Danville (27-36) 3, Greeneville 2 (10)
SP: Dettmann 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER(1R), 1 BB, 6 K. (2.09)
WP: Sechler (2-0) 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
V. Reyes 2-4, RBI (.321); Luna 1-4, RBI; Livesay 1-5, R; Reynolds 1-4, R (.309)..
GCL Braves (26-34) 3, GCL Tigers 1
SP: Grosser 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K.
WP: Rivero (1-0) 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
Espinosa (Save, 2) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
H. Garcia 2-4; McKenzie 1-3, 2B, RBI; F. Sanchez 1-3, RBI; Reed Harper 0-4 (.296).
(NOTE: Final game)
