G-Braves break losing skid, roast IronPIgs

LAWRENCEVILLE -- The Gwinnett Braves stopped their losing skid with a strong 7-2 win against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Tuesday night at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville.

Gwinnett snapped their season-long losing streak (tied) at four games thanks to some relief from the bullpen and a bit of early offense. The G-Braves (26-25) remain in second place in the International League South division at 3.0 games behind Durham with the win. The IronPigs (31-20) remain in first place in the IL North.

The G-Braves offense got going right out of the gate, scoring the first run in the first frame and then four more in the second inning for a 5-0 lead. Gwinnett put 10 of their first 13 batters of the game on base, leading to the watershed of runs.

G-Braves pitcher Jose Lugo went 4 innings in his first start of the season for after moving out of a reliever's role. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and struck out 3 batters in the no decision. Meanwhile, Anthony Varvaro (1-5) snapped another losing streak with his first win of the year out of the bullpen, going 3 innings of scoreless/hitless work with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. Fellow reliever and closer Jairo Asencio also tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless ball for his fifth save of the season.

Right fielder Stefan Gartrell continued his tear at the plate for Gwinnett, going 2-for-4 with a home run (8) and 3 RBIs (28) -- he now has 11 RBIs in his last nine games. Left fielder Wilkin Ramirez also went 3-for-4 on the night with a pair of RBIs (18) and a steal, while third baseman Shawn Bowman was 3-for-3 with a home run (6) and a another 2 RBIs (13).

The G-Braves play game three of the current eight game homestand, the third of a four game series against Lehigh Valley on Wednesday night at Coolray Field at 7:05 p.m. Gwinnett will throw LHP Yohan Flande (2-1, 4.29) against Lehigh Valley RHP Brian Gordon (3-0, 1.01). The game can be heard on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM.

-- NOTE: Each Wednesday, G-Braves fans can log onto the Twitter (www.twitter.com/gwinnettbraves1), Facebook (www.facebook.com/gwinnettbraves1) and official website (www.gwinnettbraves.com) to grab a different deal each week.