Stripers Walk Off Nashville as Baldwin and Alvarez Jr. Continue Impressive Starts
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Atlanta Braves' No. 11 prospect Drake Baldwin drew a bases loaded walk in the 10th inning to secure a come-from-behind 4-3 win for the Gwinnett Stripers (33-35) over the Nashville Sounds (35-33) on Saturday night at Coolray Field. Baldwin also hit a game-tying home run in the
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Atlanta Braves' No. 11 prospect Drake Baldwin drew a bases loaded walk in the 10th inning to secure a come-from-behind 4-3 win for the Gwinnett Stripers (33-35) over the Nashville Sounds (35-33) on Saturday night at Coolray Field. Baldwin also hit a game-tying home run in the sixth inning while Braves' No. 6 prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. went 4-for-4.
Decisive Plays: After Dylan Dodd opened with four scoreless innings, a two-run homer by Eric Haase staked Nashville to a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning. Baldwin hit an opposite field laser home run (2) to left field to even the score at 2-2 in the sixth. In the top of the 10th, Haase delivered Nashville a 3-2 lead on an RBI single off Daysbel Hernandez (W, 3-0). Forrest Wall singled through the left side to tie the game in the home half. With the bases loaded and one out, Baldwin drew a walk in a 3-2 count to score Luke Williams and send the Stripers to a walk-off 4-3 win.
Key Contributors: Baldwin (1-for-4, HR, 3 RBIs), Alvarez (4-for-4, 2B, BB), and Wall (1-for-5, RBI) drove the offense for Gwinnett and provided clutch at-bats. Brian Moran (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO) delivered valuable relief innings. For Nashville, Haase was the offense, going 2-for-3 with the homer and three RBIs.
Noteworthy: Baldwin notched his first career Triple-A walk-off RBI and became the fourth different player in Gwinnett history to do so with a walk. Williams extended his hitting streak to 14 games, which is the longest active streak in the International League. Alvarez Jr. is batting .500 (9-for-18) with two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBIs through four games in his Triple-A career.
Next Game (Sunday, June 16): Gwinnett vs. Nashville, 1:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 12:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. RHP Taylor Widener (3-4, 5.80 ERA) will start for Gwinnett against LHP Aaron Ashby (1-3, 7.40 ERA) for the Sounds. It's Sunday Funday presented by Country Financial at Coolray Field, with Pregame Catch on the Field and Postgame Kids Run the Bases. Fans can also purchase a Father's Day Buffet pack for $42.