Braves Held to Six Hits in 9-3 Loss to Drive
The bats could not get it done for the Rome Braves (11-9) in tonight’s 9-3 loss to the Greenville Drive (9-11). Rome managed just six hits off of Greenville pitching in the second game of this week’s series at State Mutual Stadium. The Drive took the lead with a two-run
The bats could not get it done for the Rome Braves (11-9) in tonight’s 9-3 loss to the Greenville Drive (9-11). Rome managed just six hits off of Greenville pitching in the second game of this week’s series at State Mutual Stadium.
The Drive took the lead with a two-run first inning and never looked back. Rome pushed their first run across as Bryce Ball doubled, moved to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1. Greenville scored two more runs in the top of the fourth, but their big burst came in the top of the sixth as a bases-loaded walk and a three-run double brought in four runs for the Drive to give them an 8-1 advantage. The Braves added another run in the home-half of the seventh when a Bryce Ball groundout brought home Kevin Josephina, but Greenville responded in kind with a run of their own the following half-inning. Though Rome scored on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth, it was too little, too late in the six-run defeat.
In a day that was mostly quiet for the Rome offense, Bryce Ball put together a solid performance. The first baseman was 1-for-3 with one run scored and two runs batted in. The Mason City, Iowa, native tallied his third double of the season in the loss. Ball leads the team with three homers but is batting just .189 in 2021. The 2019 24th-round pick is hoping to build upon this outing and find more consistency at the plate moving forward.
DeVito struggled for the first time all season on Wednesday night. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed four earned runs on six hits and three walks in four innings. DeVito struck out five Greenville batters. After entering with an ERA of 1.35, that mark increased to 3.12 with the defeat.
Rome hits the diamond again tomorrow night at home. The High-A Braves will host the Drive for Game 3 of six this week. Each side has now won one game against the other and will look to get the upper hand in the series on Thursday evening. Tomorrow night’s contest will also be the first bobblehead giveaway of the season, as the first 500 fans through the gates will receive a Freddie Freeman MV-Free Bobblehead, Presented by Redmond Regional Medical Center. Other game highlights include Thirsty Thursday, in which fans can purchase $2 12oz domestic draft beers and fountain drinks, and Wing Night, in which fans can buy discounted wings exclusively from the pizza stand on the third base concourse.