Stripers' Offense Reemerges to Back Smith-Shawver's Quality Start in 6-2 Win Over Buffalo 

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. – Atlanta Braves No. 2 prospect AJ Smith-Shawver turned in a sparkling start for the Gwinnett Stripers (35-34) to set the stage for an offensive resurgence to close the curtain on Coolray Field this season with a 6-2 win over the Buffalo Bisons (30-38) on Sunday afternoon at Coolray Field.

Decisive Plays: A solo home run by Josh Kasevich in the second inning staked Buffalo to a 1-0 lead. The Stripers got to Bisons' starter Jake Bloss in the fourth inning, as two singles from Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Drake Baldwin set up an RBI single from Luke Waddell and RBIs from Yolbert Sanchez and Sandy Leon to push Gwinnett to a 3-1 lead. After a pair of RBI sacrifice flies from Alvarez Jr. in the fifth and Sanchez in the sixth, J.P. Martinez cranked a solo home run (6) in the seventh to cap a breakout game for the offense.

Key Contributors: Martinez (1-for-4, HR, RBI) had his third home run of the series while Sanchez (1-for-3, 2 RBI) collected his first RBIs as a Striper. Waddell (3-for-4, RBI) and Alvarez Jr. (2-for-3, RBI) recorded multi-hit games. On the mound, Smith-Shawver (W, 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) picked up his third win of the season. For Buffalo, Kasevich (1-for-4, HR, RBI) and Jonatan Clase (1-for-3, RBI) had the two RBIs.

Noteworthy: Gwinnett concluded its season at home with a 39-35 record. Martinez went through a stretch of 66 games without a home run from May 10-September 9 but has now homered three times in his last five games. Over his last five outings, Smith-Shawver is 2-1 with a 3.03 ERA (10 ER in 29.2 IP), 1.01 WHIP, .183 BAA and two of his four career Triple-A quality starts.

Next Game (Tuesday, September 17): Gwinnett at Jacksonville, 7:05 p.m. ET at 121 Financial Ballpark. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com.