Thursday, September 1 vs. Tennessee Smokies: 6:35 PM: Trustmark Park
September 1, 2022 – Southern League (SL) – Mississippi Braves News Release
Thursday, September 1, 2022, | 6:35 PM CT | Trustmark Park| Pearl, MS
Mississippi Braves (ATL) (56-65, 27-25, 2nd SL South, -6.5) vs.
Tennessee Smokies (CHC) (65-57, 28-25, 2nd SL North, -3.0)
Starting Pitchers: RHP Tanner Gordon (8-4, 5.72) vs. RHP Ryan Jensen (2-4, 4.55)
Game #122 | 2nd Half #53 | Home Game #59
Today’s Roster Moves
N/A
Today’s Promotions:
Truckworx Thirsty Thursday™: 16 oz. Beers and fountain drinks are just $2!
Can Koozie Giveaway: The first 500 adult fans will receive a Can Koozie courtesy of Corona Hard Seltzer!
Bonus Bark in the Park Night: For an extra night, your pup will get in free with a signed waiver at the gate, presented by Hollywood Feed! Woof Woof!
Free Live Trivia: The Farm Bureau Grill & Outdoor Patio hosts free live trivia. Join us for Thirsty Thursday, $2 tacos, and Live Trivia!
Free Military Tickets: All active or retired military members will receive free field-level or general admission tickets with valid IDs. We appreciate our military and welcome all those that have served to join us at Trustmark Park!
TODAY’S GAME: The M-Braves continue a six-game series against the Tennessee Smokies at Trustmark Park. This is the final meeting between these two clubs in the regular season.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The M-Braves lost 3-1. LHP Dylan Dodd allowed just one earned run in six innings, taking a tough-luck loss. The M-Braves tried to rally in the ninth. Logan Brown hit an RBI single, and the tying run got on base before a Justin Dean lineout ended the game.
STRONG STARTING PITCHING: Over the last 13 games, the M-Braves starting pitchers have posted a 3.68 ERA. The starter made it at least five innings in 10 of those 13, covering a total of 110.0 innings.
CALL HIM MR. MALLOY: Since his promotion on July 12, Justyn-Henry Malloy is hitting .288 with five home runs, 10 doubles, 25 RBI, 28 walks, and .874 OPS in 39 games. He shot up the most recent prospect rankings, jumping 14 spots to No. 13 in the Braves MLB Pipeline Top 30. – The Georgia Tech product hit .301 in August with three home runs, eight doubles, 15 RBI, 20 walks, 20 runs, and .935 OPS.
BIG BAD BUNNELL: Cade Bunnell is currently in his third stint with the M-Braves this season. In 28 games for Mississippi, he is batting .337 with six home runs, seven doubles, two triples, 24 RBI, 24 walks, and 1.100 OPS. Bunnell was a 40th-round pick in 2019 by Atlanta. – Bunnell logged his first multi-homer game on August 25 at Birmingham, smashing a solo home run in the fourth and a three-run shot in the ninth.
THE SLUGBAUER MAKING MISSISSIPPI HISTORY: 1B Drew Lugbauer has hit a club-record 42 career M-Braves home runs over two seasons. He hit 18 home runs in 2021 and is tied for the league lead with 24 in 2022. He is currently two home runs away from tying Ernesto Mejia’s (2012) and Mike Hessman’s (2001) single-season franchise record (26). Lugbauer also set a club record with seven RBI on Saturday, July 2, at Biloxi.
– Lugbauer hit a walk-off three-run homer on Friday, July 8 vs. PNS, and a walk-off single on Friday, June 3 vs. MTG. He is in the league’s top 10 in…home runs (24, T-1st), RBI (70, 1st), XBH (48, 2nd), walks (68, 3rd), doubles (24, 8th), runs (62, T-10th), and total bases (185, 3rd).
YOSEMITE SAM: INF/OF Cody Milligan has started 53 games in the leadoff spot and has 20 hits, batting .385, including a hit in eight of his last 13 first innings. He’s also hit in 13 of his last 15 games since August 10, batting .355 with five doubles.
MILLER TIME: INF Jalen Miller is at his best in clutch situations. With RISP, he is batting .344 with two home runs and 31 RBI., With RISP two outs, he’s batting .333 with one homer and 20 RBI. The Atlanta native is batting .231 with seven homers and 38 RBI this season.
TAKE ‘EM TO THE DELI: INF Riley Delgado keeps on hitting, ranking 7th in the Southern League with a .271 batting average. He had an eight-game hit streak from 7/23-8/4 and an 11-game hit streak from 5/13-25.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE SMOKIES: The M-Braves won two of six games against the Tennessee Smokies in a wacky series at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, TN, from August 9-14. Three of the losses came by one run. – On Friday, August 12, the night’s 30 combined runs set a new Mississippi Braves team record in the 16-14 win. The seven-run fourth inning was a season-high, while the nine-run comeback was the second-largest in team history. The M-Braves became the first team in minor league baseball in 2022 to give up double-digit runs in an inning and win the game.
– The M-Braves lost a pair of 1-0 games. RHP Alan Rangel threw five innings of one-run ball on Thursday, and LHP Dylan Dodd delivered five innings of one-run ball on Saturday.
– The M-Braves attempted another comeback on Sunday. Down 8-4 in the ninth, the Braves scored three runs and brought the tying run to third base but came up short 8-7.
– During the series, INF Vaughn Grissom was promoted straight to Atlanta on August 10. He is batting .324 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 18 games for the Braves. M-
BRAVES TO MLB IN 2022: OF Drew Waters (8/22), C Shea Langeliers (8/16), RHP Freddy Tarnok (8/16), INF Vaughn Grissom (8/10), INF Joey Meneses (WSH, 8/2), RHP William Woods (ATL, 4/27), RHP Bryce Elder (4/12), OF Michael Harris II (5/28 from MIS), and LHP Joey Wentz (DET, 5/11) as former M-Braves to make their MLB debut this season. In total, 160 have made their debuts, and 23 have been promoted directly from Mississippi since 2005.
VALDÉS JOINS ELITE COMPANY: Catcher Javier Valdés became the first Mississippi Braves player to homer in his first two Double-A games on Tuesday and Wednesday. He was the first M-Brave to homer in his debut since Ronald Acuña Jr. homered on the first pitch he saw at the Double-A level on May 10, 2017, vs. Mobile.
THE COMEBACK KIDS: The M-Braves have come back in the eighth inning or seven more this season after just two such comebacks last season. Against the Barons, the M-Braves scored four of the final five runs to win an 11-inning thriller on Friday. On Sunday, Bunnell smashed a game-winning grand slam in the ninth.
APRIL SHOWERS, MAY FLOWERS, JUNE THUNDERSTORMS, JULY SUNSHINE, AUGUST TORNADOS: After going 7-13 in April, the M-Braves turned it around with a league-best 16-10 record in May. In June, the club was 7-19, tying their club record for losses in June. The M-Braves went 16-8 in July. The 16 wins were 2nd in AA and T-5th in MiLB and included a six-game sweep of Rocket City (the first six-game sweep in club history). The M-Braves finished 10-15 in August, continuing the remarkable trend.
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