Braves sweep Yanks on O'Malley's walk-off grand slam

DANVILLE, Va. - Ryan O'Malley delivered a two-out walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Braves to a third-straight victory Thursday night. O'Malley's dinger broke a 2-2 tie and earned the Braves the series sweep over the Yankees by a final score of 6-2. The victory lifted the Braves to 14-13 on the season and put the squad back at .500 at home.

Cameron Stanton made the first start of his professional career, a spot start in place of Luis Gamez who was receiving extra rest. Stanton, a 2016 draft pick out of St. Edwards University in Texas, pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. He recorded one strikeout and allowed one walk, exiting the game with a 2-0 lead.

Danville's first runs came by way of a two-run dinger from Brett Cumberland, his second home run of the season. After J.B. Moss reached on a one-out single in the bottom of the third, Cumberland connected for the long ball, homering over the centerfield wall.

Pulaski got a run back in the top of the fifth when Estevan Florial singled home Welfrin Mateo, who reached on a Braves fielding error. The Yankees would tie the game in the top of the seventh on a line-drive double from Isiah Gilliam that scored Blake Rutherford. The Braves prevented any further damage in the inning by gunning down the go-ahead run, Tim Lynch, with a relay throw from Isranel Wilson to Matt Gonzalez to Cumberland, who applied the tag at home.

The Braves loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth via back-to-back walks from Marcus Mooney and Moss and a single from Cumberland. After Yankees' pitcher Icezack Flemming struck out two, O'Malley stepped in looking for the walk off and delivered just that with a blast over the rightfield wall.

Danville scored all six of its runs via the long ball and tallied a total of six homers in the series against Pulaski. The Braves scored six runs on nine hits and two Pulaski errors Thursday, while the Yankees scored two runs on eight hits and one Braves error.

Brandon White earned his first professional win after working the top of the ninth for Danville.

The Braves will remain in Danville for a three-game series against Princeton beginning Friday night. The first 500 fans at Friday's 7pm game will receive a foam tomahawk, presented by T.J. Davis State Farm. There will also be pre-game concert from Spencer Key as part of the Danville Braves Community Concert Series presented by Danville Toyota. All active and retired military personnel can once again receive free admission to the game as part of Military Appreciation Night presented by Angus Heating and Air and Blue Ridge Beverage. Gates open at 5:45 pm with the first pitch at 7.