Missed Opportunities Cost Stripers in 10-3 Loss at Memphis

Gwinnett leaves 16 runners on base in game five loss to Redbirds

Former Redbird Jake Walsh pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless relief for the Stripers on Friday night. (Matthew Caldwell)

By Dave Lezotte (@davelezotte)

May 17, 2024

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Gwinnett Stripers (21-22) put runners on base in eight of nine innings on Friday night at AutoZone Park but couldn’t come up with the big hit in a 10-3 loss to the Memphis Redbirds (22-21). Gwinnett left 16 runners on base in the contest, stranding the

Decisive Plays: The Stripers opened the scoring in the first inning against Andre Pallante as Forrest Wall led off with a double and scored on a single by David Fletcher. Down 2-1 in the second, Sandy Leon walked and scored on a sacrifice fly by Fletcher to tie it at 2-2. Memphis went ahead for good in the bottom of the second on a two-run home run by Victor Scott II off Allan Winans (L, 3-3). RBI singles by Matt Koperniak and Nick Raposo extended the Redbirds’ lead to 6-2 in the third, and a four-run fourth highlighted by RBI singles from Jose Fermin and Alfonso Rivas made it 10-2. In the eighth, a two-out RBI single by J.P. Martinez cut it to 10-3.

Key Contributors: Wall went 3-for-4 with a double, run scored, and two stolen bases to lead Gwinnett’s 13-hit attack. Fletcher went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Relievers Patrick Halligan (1.2 IP, 2 H), Jake Walsh (1.1 IP, 0 H), and Ken Giles (1.0 IP, 0 H) combined on 4.0 scoreless innings to finish the game. For Memphis, Scott (1-for-5, homer, 2 RBIs) and Koperniak (1-for-5, 2 RBIs) had multi-RBI efforts and Prieto (3-for-5, 2 doubles, RBI) had a game-high three hits.

Noteworthy: Wall’s second-straight three-hit effort extended his on-base streak to 13 games. Eli White went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to nine games, tied for the Stripers’ longest this season. Ryan Casteel replaced Leon late in the contest and went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles. Gwinnett is now 0-5 when allowing 10 runs this season.

Next Game (Saturday, May 18**):* Gwinnett at Memphis, 7:35 p.m. ET at AutoZone Park. Broadcast: 7:20 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. RHP *AJ Smith-Shawver** (1-1, 5.96 ERA) for the Stripers against RHP Adam Kloffenstein (0-4, 5.31 ERA) for the Redbirds.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, May 21): Gwinnett vs. Jacksonville, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It's the return of Coolray Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field, with $2 hot dogs and $1 desserts.