Constanza's Streak Ends At 22, Venters And Moylan
Rehab, And Graham Makes AA Debut In Friday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Jose Constanza's 22 game hitting streak ended in a rain shortened game, Jonny Venters and Peter Moylan made successful rehab appearances, JR Graham had a nice AA debut, and Trenton Moses and Jackson Laumann stayed hot.

Gwinnett Braves 3, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 11, 6 innings, rain

• Jose Constanza DH 0-2, BB, .321 AVG
• Ernesto Mejia 1B 2-2, HR (21), 2 RBI, .308 AVG
• Ruben Gotay 3B 1-2, 2B, RBI, .215 AVG
  
• Jonny Venters 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA

Rain forced this game to be called after the top of the sixth inning. In the first inning, Jonny Venters needed just 6 pitches, 5 of them strikes, to complete a perfect inning in his first rehab appearance for Gwinnett. Jose Constanza saw his 22 game hitting streak come to an end, going 0-2 with a walk. It was the longest hitting streak in Gwinnett Braves history, and the longest in the International League since 2007. During those 22 games, Constanza went 38-96, a .391 average, with four doubles, 7 RBI, and 7 runs scored, and catapulted himself into the league lead in batting average. Ernesto Mejia homered for the second straight day, and over his last 10 games, he's hitting .350 with a .750 slugging percentage, a 1.159 OPS, 4 doubles, 4 homers, 8 RBI, and 4 walks.

Gwinnett will face Scranton/Wilkes/Barre again on Saturday.

Mississippi Braves 8, Jacksonville Suns 5

• Todd Cunningham CF 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI, BB, .315 AVG
• Christian Bethancourt C 2-5, RBI, E (7), .243 AVG
• Joey Terdoslavich 1B 2-5, 2B, RBI, .282 AVG
• Jason Christian SS 2-3, BB, .213 AVG
• JR Graham 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 3.60 ERA
• Cory Rasmus 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K, W (2), 3.92 ERA

JR Graham had a solid AA debut tonight, striking out 5 while allowing 2 earned runs, both coming of a 5th inning homer. The 22 year old righty, selected in the 4th round of the 2011 draft, was 9-1 with a 2.63 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, 6 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, and 4 K/BB in 102.2 innings over 17 starts for High A Lynchburg before his promotion. Cory Rasmus picked up his second win of the year by striking out 5 over 2 scoreless innings, giving him 45 strikeouts in 41.1 innings this year. Todd Cunningham drove in a pair of runs with a triple, extending his hitting streak to 8 games. He's gone 13-34 with 2 triples, 4 RBI, 4 walks, and 2 steals during that stretch. Christian Bethancout has a modest 4 game hitting streak after a 2 hit performance tonight, making him 5-19 with 3 RBI in those games. In his last 2 games, Joey Terdoslavich has gone 3-9 with 2 doubles. Jason Christian has gone 3-7 in his last 2 games.

Gary Moran will face the Suns tomorrow.

Lynchburg Hillcats 0, Carolina Mudcats 3

• Braeden Schlehuber C 2-4, 2B, .292 AVG
• Mike Lee 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 5.00 ERA
• Ryan Weber 2.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2.13 ERA

The Hillcats collected just 2 hits tonight, and both came off the bat of catcher Braeden Schlehuber. In his last 2 games, the 24 year old has gone 5-9 with 2 doubles, a triple, and 3 RBI. Mike Lee, a 6'7" righty, made his first start for Lynchburg, taking the loss by allowing 3 earned runs over 5.1 innings. Ryan Weber returned to the Hillcats after spending the last couple months with Rome, and he tossed 2.2 scoreless innings. While he struggled in Rome, posting a 5.88 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 72 innings over 16 appearances, including 11 starts, but he's done very well with Lynchburg, putting up a 2.13 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP in 12.2 innings over 9 appearances.

Aaron Northcraft will face the Mudcats in the middle game of the series on Saturday.

Rome Braves 3, Savannah Sand Gnats 2

• Tony Mueller CF 3-4, SB (20), .262 AVG
• Elmer Reyes SS 1-3, 2B, RBI, E (24), .270 AVG
• Jarrett Miller 3.1 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 4.11 ERA
• Ronan Pacheco 2.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K, W (2), 0.68 ERA
• Peter Moylan 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 9.00 ERA

Peter Moylan made his eighth rehab appearance, pitching on back to back days for the first time, and after allowing 1 run in 1 inning of work yesterday, he tossed a scoreless inning tonight. Jarrett Miller struck out 4 over 3.1 scoreless innings, a nice comeback after allowing 7 earned runs in 9.1 innings over is last 2 starts. Ronan Pacheco picked up his second win of the year with 2.2 scoreless innings. The 23 year old Dominican lefty has been masterful since being sent down from Lynchburg, allowing just 1 earned run, 11 hits, and 3 walks, while recording 11 strikeouts in 13.1 innings over 8 appearances. Tony Mueller rapped out 3 singles tonight, and 68 of his 73 hits on the season have gone for singles. He also picked up his 20th stolen base, which leads the team. Elmer Reyes rapped out a RBI double, and in his last 4 games, he's gone 6-15 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. After committing 5 errors in 28 games at shortstop and 9 errors in 71 games at second base last season, the 21 year old Nicaraguan has 24 errors in 82 games at shortstop this season.

David Starn will pitch for the R-Braves Saturday night.

Danville Braves 5, Burlington Royals 7

• Aris Alcantara 1B 1-3, HR (4), RBI, SAC, .326 AVG
• Trenton Moses 3B 3-4, RBI, E (3), .304 AVG
• Felix Marte LF 2-4, 2B, .347 AVG
• Blake Brown RF 2-3, SAC, .196 AVG
• Ernesto Silva 6 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.60 ERA

Trenton Moses stayed hot, rapping out 3 singles and driving in a run. The 26th round pick has gone 8-14 with a double, a homer, and 4 RBI in his last 4 games. Felix Marte went hit a double as part of a 2 hit day, after going 1-10 in his last 3 games. Aris Alcantara hit his fourth homer of the year, extending his hitting streak to 6 games, going 8-23 with a double, a homer, and 2 RBI in that span. Blake Brown had a pair of hits today after going 3-24 in his last 9 games. Ernesto Silva allowed 5 runs in 6 innings of work, but only 3 of the runs were earned. After posting 4.4 BB/9 and 1.2 K/BB in 51 innings with Rome this year, the 20 year old Panamanian has improved his control with Danville, allowing just 2 walks in 35 innings, good for 0.5 BB/9 and 7 K/BB.

Mauricio Cabrera will start the series finale tomorrow.

GCL Braves 1, GCL Tigers 7

• Connor Lien RF 1-3, .262 AVG
• Jackson Laumann 1B 2-4, .321 AVG
• Tyler Tewell 1-2, .333 AVG
• Seth Moranda SS 3-4, E (5), .250 AVG
• Andry Ubiera 3 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 3.96 ERA
• Shae Simmons 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
• Donovan Drake 3 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 1.08 ERA

Jackson Laumann had his fourth straight multi-hit game and extended his hitting streak to 5 games. During the 5 game hit streak, the 18 year old has gone 11-21 with a double and 2 RBI. Seth Moranda was 3-17 over his last 8 games, but rapped out 4 hits today. In his last 9 games, Tyler Tewell has gone 10-26 with 2 doubles and 6 RBI. Andry Ubiera tossed 4 shutout innings in his last start, but the 19 year old Dominican allowed 4 earned runs in just 3 innings today. Shae Simmons tossed 3 scoreless innings, and in 14.1 innings over 7 appearances, the 22nd round pick hasn't allowed an earned run, and has allowed 5 hits, 8 walks, and struck out 15. Donovan Drake allowed 3 runs today, but only 1 was earned, the first earned run he's allowed in 8.1 innings over 5 appearances this season. The 23 year old pitched 3 games with the independent Windy City Thunder Bolts of the Frontier League before the Braves signed him.

Luis Merejo will face the Tigers tomorrow.

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