MINORS FINAL 7/5: Drafted bats producing; Cunningham demands attention
Even though he got his MLB debut out of the way in 2013, Gwinnett OF Todd Cunningham is not often discussed when the topic of Braves' prospects is brought up. Perhaps it should. He had a game of a lifetime Friday night, with four hits and game-saving catch as the G-Braves finally beat their nemesis, Durham.
The Braves' No. 15 prospect went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and made a game-ending diving catch Friday night as Triple-A Gwinnett held on for a 3-2 victory over Durham.
Cunningham started quickly, leading off the game with a double and scoring on Phillip Gosselin's ground-rule double. The 25-year-old center fielder tripled to start the third, then came home on a sacrifice fly by Gosselin to give the G-Braves a 2-1 lead.
Cunningham singled in his final two at-bats, finishing a homer short of the cycle.
"Well, I've been kind of scuffling lately and I've been trying to make adjustments and doing some work in the cage," he said. "It was nice to see it pay off. Fourth of July, big crowd, close ballgame, having those hits helped make the difference tonight. It's always nice when it reflects a win."
Cunningham may have made his most significant contribution in the top of the ninth. With runners on first and second and two outs, Durham's Justin Christian hit a liner to the right-center field gap, but Cunningham laid out and made the catch.
"It was just a good time for a diving catch," he said. "Up by one, no one likes to go into extra innings and everyone is excited about the fireworks. Closer in, guy hit a line drive; came in, laid out and tried to make the play to end the game."
A night after going 2-for-4, it appears the Alabama native has snapped out of a 6-for-31 funk that dropped his batting average to .268, the lowest it had been in two months. Part of the reason behind the slump was the fact that Cunningham was working his way back from a thumb injury that forced him to miss the first two weeks of June.
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Even though No. 1 pick Braxton Davidson is playing like a teen ager who is adjusting to the spotlight, some of the Braves' older picks are clearly wanting the Braves to know they'll be ready for prime time very soon.
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We've talked quite a big about Jordan Edgerton (.408-3-21 in just 14 games), who has 2 strikeouts in 57 PAs
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But their sixth-round pick, lefty-hitting CF Keith Curcio out of Florida Southern has already earned a promotion to Rome, where he's hitting .316 after a .259 start in Danville. He has two doubles and a homerin his first seven games while notching an assist or two from his CF role. Turns 22 in December, could be this year's Wren (6 triples, 23-24 in SBs while at Southern, the same school that gave the Braves Gus Schlosser).
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SATURDAY'S BOX SCORES
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CLASS AAA
Gwinnett 5, Durham 2
WP: C. Martin (6-6)6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K.
Severino (Save, 1) 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Cunningam 2-3, 3B, 3 RBIs.
E. Reyes 1-4, 2B, R, RBI.
Constanza 3-4, R, RBI, SB.
CLASS AA
Montgomery 3, Mississippi 1
LP: G. Ross (2-1) 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
Peraza 1-4.
Wren 2-4.
ADVANCED CLASS A
Frederick 17, Lynchburg 3
SP: Parsons 4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 2 WP.
Skinner 2-3, 2B, R, RBI.
Ahrens 2-3, 2B, R.
Nick 1-4, 2B.
CLASS A
Charleston 9, Rome 1
LP: Brosius (2-6) 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
Otero 0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K.
Wilson 2-4, 2B, RBI.
V. Reyes 1-3, SB.
SHORT-SEASON
Burlington 5, Danville 4
SP: Grosser 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.
Salazar 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
LP: M. Sims (BS, 0-1) 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Godfrey 3-5, 2B, 2 R.
Kreitemeier 1-4, 3 RBIs.
Edgerton 1-3, RBI, R.
GCL Pirates 7, GCL Braves 6
Pirates 3 runs without a hit in first 3 innings.
SP: Jacob Webb 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.
LP: Sambola (0-1) 1 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
Silva 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. (0.00)
Sechler 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.
Carlos Perez 0.1 IP, 0 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, WP.
Daris 3-5, 2B, R.
Davidson 1-3, R, BB.
Manwaring 2-3, R, 2 RBIs.
JJ Franco 2-5, 2 RBIs.
DSL Tigers 10, DSL Braves 2
LP: Joaquin (3-1) 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.
Philips 1-3. (ONLY HIT)
Arias 0-2, RBI, 2 BB.
