Tuesday March 19th, 2024 6:34AM

Slam dooms Folty in G-Braves loss

By AccessWDUN staff

LAWRENCEVILLE — A sixth-inning grand slam by Matt Tuiasosopo spoiled an otherwise impressive performance by right-handed starter Mike Foltynewicz, as he and the Gwinnett Braves fell 5-1 to the Charlotte Knights on Saturday night. A season-high 9,788 fans packed Coolray Field for the Independence Day game.

Foltynewicz (L, 1-5) cruised through the first 4.0 innings with seven strikeouts and a fastball that touched 99 mph. However, a leadoff walk came back to bite him in the fifth inning when Tyler Colvin laced a two-out single to left field that gave the Knights a 1-0 lead.

The fateful blow by Tuiasosopo came with two outs in the sixth, and none of the four runs were earned because of a fielding error by third baseman Adonis Garcia on a two-out grounder by Jason Coats. That miscue put runners on the corners, and Foltynewicz issued his third walk of the night to load the bases and set the stage for the grand slam.

The home run was the 13th allowed by Foltynewicz in his last 13 starts, including nine starts with the Atlanta Braves from May 1 to June 14.

He did not return after the sixth inning. Foltynewicz ended his night with five runs allowed (one earned) on five hits, three walks and eight strikeouts. He threw 104 pitches, 60 for strikes.

Right-handed reliever Carlos Fisher threw the next 2.0 innings and held Charlotte scoreless with one hit allowed, two walks and three strikeouts. Righty David Carpenter struck out one batter in a scoreless top of the ninth for Gwinnett.

The G-Braves (42-40) trailed 5-0 and had one hit against Charlotte right-handed starter Shawn Haviland (W, 4-4) when he exited the game after 6.0 innings. Haviland walked two batters and struck out one in his 59 pitches (33 strikes).

The only hit for Gwinnett against Haviland came from Jose Peraza in the fourth inning. The G-Braves’ second baseman singled to left field and swiped second base for his 22nd stolen base of the season.

Gwinnett pushed across its only run of the night in the eighth inning. Chicago White Sox’ right-handed reliever Matt Albers, pitching on a Major League rehab assignment, gave up a leadoff single to Christian Bethancourt and a one-out RBI double to Daniel Castro. Albers did not allow another hit in his 2.0 innings.

Peraza also singled to lead off the ninth inning against left-handed reliever Zach Phillips, finishing 2-for-4 for his team-leading 28th multi-hit game of the season. Phillips escaped damage in the final inning despite allowing Peraza’s single and walking Bethancourt.

Tuiasosopo singled in two of his other at-bats and went 3-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season and four RBIs for the Knights.

The G-Braves and Knights (46-37) will play the middle game of their three-game series at 2:05 p.m. Sunday at Coolray Field. Gwinnett’s starting pitcher has yet to be officially announced. Charlotte will send right-hander Terance Marin (2-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound. Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com beginning at 1:30 p.m.

On “Sunday Funday,” which includes Pre-Game Catch on the Field and Post-Game Kids Run the Bases, SOCOM Para-Commandos will parachute into Coolray Field before the game. It’s also “Minions Day,” as fans can enter to win tickets to see the new Minions movie and meet a Minion at the ballpark, courtesy of Lake Lanier CVB. Christian band New Method will perform a post-game concert as part of “Family and Faith Day.” To purchase tickets, call the Coolray Field Ticket Office at 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.

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