Smith-Shawver Stellar Over Six Scoreless Innings in Stripers’ 6-3 Win at Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Atlanta Braves’ No. 2 prospect AJ Smith-Shawver turned in his best Triple-A start of the season, holding the Louisville Bats (19-27) to three hits over 6.0 scoreless innings and striking out seven to lead the Gwinnett Stripers (25-22) to a 6-3 victory on Wednesday night at Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Atlanta Braves’ No. 2 prospect AJ Smith-Shawver turned in his best Triple-A start of the season, holding the Louisville Bats (19-27) to three hits over 6.0 scoreless innings and striking out seven to lead the Gwinnett Stripers (25-22) to a 6-3 victory on Wednesday night at Louisville Slugger Field.
Decisive Plays: Gwinnett took a 1-0 lead in the third inning and never trailed as Chadwick Tromp drew a bases-loaded walk from Louisville starter Connor Phillips (L, 2-7). In the sixth, the Stripers raised the lead to 3-0 on a pair of perfectly executed double steals. J.P. Martinez stole second and Zack Short stole home to make it 2-0, and later in the frame Eli White stole second and Martinez stole home for a 3-0 advantage. In the seventh, a bases-loaded walk by Short and sacrifice fly by Drake Baldwin highlighted a three-run frame that made it 6-0 Stripers. Dylan Dodd yielded three runs in the eighth, but Jimmy Herget (S, 2) struck out a pair in a scoreless ninth to preserve a 6-3 lead.
Key Contributors: Smith-Shawver (W, 2-5) threw a season-high 6.0 innings (3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO) in his first quality start of the season, earning his first win with the Stripers since May 1. Baldwin (2-for-4, RBI) and Short (2-for-4, RBI) each had multi-hit games for Gwinnett. For Louisville, Rece Hinds went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Noteworthy: Smith-Shawver’s quality start was just the third of his Gwinnett career. The Stripers drew a season-high 13 walks in the game and won despite going 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranding 16 on base. Eli White went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
Next Game (Thursday, August 22): Gwinnett at Louisville, 6:35 p.m. ET at Louisville Slugger Field. Broadcast: 6:20 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com.
Next Home Game (Tuesday, August 27): Gwinnett vs. Columbus, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It's Coolray Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field, as fans can load up on $2 hot dogs and $1 desserts.