COLUMBUS, OH – The Gwinnett Stripers (62-42) rolled past the Columbus Clippers (59-44) by a 12-2 score on Friday night in game one of a three-game series at Huntington Park. The Stripers’ offense tallied 17 hits, while the pitching staff recorded 17 strikeouts against the International League West Division-leading Clippers.
Scoring Recap: Adam Duvall got the scoring going in the fourth inning with an RBI triple to right-center. The lead stayed 1-0 until the seventh when Gwinnett scored four times to go up 5-0. An RBI double by Sean Kazmar Jr. made it 2-0, a two-run single by Riley Unroe pushed the lead to 4-0, and a sacrifice fly by Andres Blanco made it 5-0. An inning later, the Stripers added five runs to go up 10-0. RBI singles by Kazmar Jr., Pedro Florimon, Ryan LaMarre, and Travis Demeritte drove in four of the five runs. In the ninth, an RBI double by Blanco and pinch-hit RBI single by Connor Lien made it 12-0 Gwinnett. Columbus ended the shutout with two runs off Daniel Winkler in the bottom of the ninth.
Stripers Stats: Touki Toussaint, making his first Triple-A start since May 9, was dominant as he struck out nine over 4.0 scoreless, two-hit innings. Patrick Weigel (W, 4-1) went 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Corbin Clouse struck out four over 2.0 scoreless innings, and Thomas Burrows struck out two over 1.0 scoreless inning. At the plate, Blanco was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, Unroe was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Kazmar Jr. was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
Clippers Stats: Starting pitcher Mitch Talbot (L, 2-3) worked 6.0 innings with six hits and three earned runs. Four relievers combined to allow nine runs over 3.0 innings. Offensively, Daniel Johnson was 2-for-4 with one run.
Postgame Notes: Duvall’s fourth-inning triple raised his IL-leading RBI total to 84. Blanco is 7-for-9 with three doubles in his last two games. The Stripers improved to an IL-best 62-42 and remain 2.5 games ahead of Durham for first place in the IL South Division.
Next Game (Saturday, July 27): Gwinnett at Columbus, 7:15 p.m. at Huntington Park. LHP Kolby Allard (7-4, 3.80 ERA) for the Stripers vs. RHP Danny Salazar (MLB Rehab, 0-0, 0.00 ERA) for the Clippers. Radio Broadcast: 7:00 p.m. on 97.7 and 93.5 FM “The Other Side of the River.”
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The Gwinnett Stripers are the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, playing their 11th season at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga. For tickets, team merchandise or more information, visit GoStripers.com. Follow the Stripers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GoStripers.