LAWRENCEVILLE — Right-handed starter Cody Martin did not allow a hit in the seventh inning Thursday, but the Indianapolis Indians scored the go-ahead run anyway and went on to beat the Gwinnett Braves 4-3 at Coolray Field. The G-Braves’ season-long four-game winning streak came to an end with the loss.
Martin (L, 1-3) opened the seventh with a walk to Tony Sanchez, and Sanchez came around to score without the benefit of a hit. He reached second base when Martin threw late to the bag on a bunt by Gorkys Hernandez and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Pedro Florimon. Gustavo Nunez drove Sanchez home with a groundout to second base to give the Indians their final one-run advantage.
Brent Morel nearly single-handedly pushed the Indians to a 3-1 lead by the top of the third inning against Martin. He drilled a two-run home run to center field in the first inning and tallied a two-out RBI single in the third.
The G-Braves (36-36) tied the game 3-3 with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Mallex Smithrecorded his first Triple-A base hit and stolen base against Indianapolis (43-31) right-handed starter Angel Sanchez (W, 1-0). Smith moved to third when Jose Peraza singled to left field and scored when Sanchez threw wide of first base in a pickoff attempt of Peraza.
Adonis Garcia came through with a run-scoring single later in the frame that scored Peraza and evened the score at three. It was Garcia’s 10th RBI of the seven-game homestand and his team-leading 36th of the year.
Gwinnett got its first run in the second inning when Christian Bethancourt scored on a groundout to first base by Todd Cunningham after he had stolen second and third.
Both starters settled down after the third. Sanchez gave up only a fourth-inning single and sixth-inning walk, and Martin allowed nothing more than a double and a walk until the seventh inning.
Only two of the four runs Martin allowed were earned. He yielded five hits and walked two batters to go with six strikeouts in his 7.0 innings. He threw 106 pitches and 65 strikes. Right-handed reliever Carlos Fisher worked 1.2 scoreless innings with one hit and three strikeouts, while lefty Greg Smith recorded the final out of the top of the ninth when he got Jaff Decker to fly out to left field.
Sanchez completed 6.0 innings with three runs allowed on seven hits and one walk with two strikeouts. Right-hander John Holdzkom (H, 4) pitched 2.0 innings of relief. He did not allow a baserunner and struck out three. Righty Blake Wood (S, 19) closed the game despite a walk and a single in the ninth.
Seven of the nine Gwinnett starters had a hit but none had more than one. For Indianapolis, Morel finished a team-best 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
The G-Braves begin an eight-game road trip with the first of three games against the Pawtucket Red Sox at 7:05 p.m. Friday at McCoy Stadium. Right-hander Alex White (0-0, 3.60 ERA) will make his third start for Gwinnett. Pawtucket will send righty Steven Wright (2-1, 3.24 ERA) to the mound. Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Gwinnett returns home for a 7:05 p.m. game against the Charlotte Knights on Saturday, July 4. G-Braves’ players will wear special Patriotic Jerseys presented by Republic Services that will be auctioned off during the game in a silent auction. Proceeds will benefit Operation One Voice. Fans will also be treated to a spectacular post-game fireworks display to celebrate Independence Day. To purchase tickets, call the Coolray Field Ticket Office at 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/6/319379/homestand-ends-with-loss-for-g-braves