LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett Braves’ shortstop Daniel Castro helped reward right-handed starter Matt Wisler with a win when he hit a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning to score the lone run Saturday in a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Clippers at Coolray Field.
Wisler (3-3) threw a career-high 8.1 innings in Gwinnett’s second consecutive shutout win over the Clippers. They also defeated Columbus 4-0 Friday in the opener of the three-game series.
Only two Columbus (24-26) batters reached base against Wisler all night. He walked Francisco Lindor to begin the game and end his night with one out in the ninth, and allowed singles to James Ramsey in the second and fifth innings.
No Clippers’ batter managed to get past first base, and Wisler struck out seven hitters in a performance that featured 80 strikes in 112 pitches. Right-handed reliever David Carpenter(S, 1) got Tyler Holt to fly out to center fielder Jose Peraza and struck out Jesus Aguilar to finish the game.
G-Braves’ pitchers have not allowed a run in 18.1 innings across the last three games, and three of their five shutout wins on the season have come in their last four games.
The contest Friday was scoreless for both sides through a full seven innings, as Clippers’ left-handed starter T.J. House matched Wisler through 5.2 frames with no runs allowed on three hits with five walks and three strikeouts. A two-out walk to Sean Kazmar and a single by Wil Nieves ended House’s night, but right-handed reliever Jeff Manship struck out Castro to end the sixth.
Castro exacted revenge in his next at-bat in the eighth against righty Anthony Swarzak (0-1) with a base hit to right field that scored Cedric Hunter for the decisive run. Hunter pinch ran for designated hitter Ryan Lavarnway, who singled to center for his first hit as a G-Brave. Lavarnway was signed by the Atlanta Braves earlier in the day and made his organization debut with Gwinnett (24-26).
Lavarnway also reached base on walks in both of his first two at-bats in a 1-for-2 night.Mycal Jones was the only Gwinnett batter with multiple hits. He singled and stole second base in the fifth and singled again in the seventh. Jones reached third base in the seventh after a groundout to second by Eury Perez and a wild pitch by Swarzak, but Columbus escaped the threat when Swarzak struck out Peraza.
Swarzak pitched the entire eighth inning for the Clippers with a run allowed on two hits, a walk and the lone strikeout. Manship went 1.1 innings with one hit allowed and three strikeouts.
The G-Braves and Clippers will finish their series with a game at 2:05 p.m. Sunday at Coolray Field. Left-hander Greg Smith (1-3, 3.55 ERA) gets the start for Gwinnett against fellow lefty Nick Maronde (0-6, 6.34 ERA) of Columbus. Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com beginning at 1:30 p.m.
It’s a “Sunday Funday” at Coolray Field, as fans will have the chance to participate in Pre-Game Catch on the Field for the first 20 minutes after the gates open, and kids will be able to run the bases following the game. To purchase tickets, call the Coolray Field Ticket Office at 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.
