Gwinnett Edges Toledo, 3-2

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA - Atlanta Braves' right-hander Brandon Beachy tossed 4.0 innings of two-run baseball in his first rehab start for Gwinnett, and the Braves (19-30) scored two runs in the seventh to upend the Toledo Mud Hens, 3-2 on Friday night at Coolray Field. Back-to-back doubles by Joe Leonard and Paul Janish ignited the come-from-behind victory.

Pitching in front of 6,225 fans in his first professional game since undergoing "Tommy John" surgery on June 21, 2012, Beachy looked solid. He threw 70 pitches, 35 for strikes and struck out three Toledo hitters. His final line included two runs on two hits, three walks, one home run allowed and one wild pitch.

The G-Braves backed him early, taking advantage of two errors and a walk to score a run in the first inning. Jose Constanza and Todd Cunningham reached on fielding errors, and Tyler Pastornicky walked to load the bases. Ernesto Mejia grounded into a double play, scoring Constanza from third to give Gwinentt a 1-0 lead.

The Mud Hens evened the score in the top of the second. Nick Castellanos doubled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch by Beachy, making it 1-1.

Toledo pulled ahead in the fourth. Danny Dorn smacked a Beachy curveball over the right field fence to give the Mud Hens a 2-1 lead.

Mud Hens' starter Jose Alvarez kept the G-Braves' bats on ice early. After walking Pastornicky in the first, the left-hander set down the next 11 batters in order. Through 6.2 innings, he had allowed just one hit.

However, Brandon Boggs proved to be Alvarez's worst enemy as the switch-hitting designated hitter laced a single with two outs to spark a seventh-inning rally. Leonard followed with a double off the wall in center to score Boggs, and Janish doubled down the left field line to score Leonard for a 3-2 G-Braves' lead.

Alvarez (L, 4-3) suffered the loss, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits over 7.0 innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Following Beachy's outing, Yohan Flande (W, 2-4) was excellent in relief. The lefty picked up the victory, tossing 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed two hits and struck out four. Wirfin Obispo and Pat Egan dusted off the Mud Hens for the final four outs. Egan (S, 1) recorded his first save of the season, pitching a scoreless ninth. 

Offensively, Boggs led the way with a 2-for-3 night, while Leonard and Janish chipped in with an RBI each. With the win, the G-Braves have consecutive home victories for the first time since winning four straight at Coolray Field from April 5-7.

Castellanos paced the Mud Hens, going 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Dorn added his team-leading ninth homer of the season in the fourth.

The Gwinnett Braves play game three of the four-game series against the Toledo Mud Hens on Saturday night at Coolray Field, first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. G-Braves left-hander Sean Gilmartin (2-3, 4.23) will face Toledo Mud Hens right-hander Shawn Hill (0-4, 4.92). Listen to the game on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play

The first 2,000 fans in attendance on Saturday night will receive G-Braves Mini Bats sponsored by Charter Communications. Tickets are on sale now by calling the Coolray Field Box Office at (678) 277-0340 or by visiting gwinnettbraves.com