Jonny Venters made the start for the G-Braves as part of a Major League rehab assignment and worked a perfect first inning, throwing just six pitches. Jose Lugo (L, 2-6) replaced Venters and took the loss with eight runs on nine hits over just 2.1 innings. Cole McCurry yielded three more runs over 2.1 innings for Gwinnett.
Scranton jumped out to an early lead after tallying three runs in the second inning off Lugo. Jack Cust greeted Lugo with a single, then scored as Kosuke Fukudome blistered a triple into right-center. Ramiro Pena added an RBI single scoring Fukudome and Kevin Russo grounded into an RBI force-out scoring Cole Garner to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.
Mejia answered back with a pair of hits to help the G-Braves draw even. The big first baseman singled and scored on a two-out double by Ruben Gotay that cut the deficit to 3-1 in the second inning. An inning later, Mejia smashed a two-run shot to left for his 21st blast of the year, tying the game at 3-3.
Scranton wasted little time recapturing the lead, as they crossed the plate five times in the fourth inning against Lugo. Russo ripped a two-run double to left-center scoring Pena and Doug Bernier to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead. Francisco Cervelli added an RBI double and Brandon Laird tacked on two more runs with another double to increase the lead to 8-3 and chase Lugo from the game.
McCurry stranded an inherited runner for Lugo in the fourth and worked a scoreless fifth, but was touched up for three runs in the sixth. Garner smacked a two-run double as part of the damage. The G-Braves did not get the opportunity to hit in the bottom of the sixth.
John Maine (W, 4-3) went the distance for the Yankees with 5.0 innings for the complete-game win. The right-hander surrendered three runs on four hits and struck out three while walking two. The former Major Leaguer needed just 84 pitches, 53 for strikes, to get through his outing.
Unfortunately, Jose Constanza went 0-for-2 at the plate, ending his incredible Gwinnett franchise record hitting streak at 22 games. Constanza's streak was the longest streak in the International League since the 2007 season, when Columbus's Brandon Watson put together an IL-record 43-game hitting streak.
The Gwinnett Braves and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees play game two of the four-game series on Saturday night at Coolray Field, first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The Gwinnett starter is slated to be left-hander Brent Leach (0-2, 1.59 with Double-A Mississippi), while the Yankees will throw right-hander Ramon Ortiz (7-3, 2.84). Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM / 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play.
With the new school year just around the corner, Georgia Power and the Gwinnett Braves are teaming up to hand out a free backpack to the first 2,000 fans through the gates on Saturday night at Coolray Field.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/7/250920