LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Ryan LaMarre went 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lift the Gwinnett Stripers (7-4) over the Charlotte Knights (7-5) 9-8 on Monday at Coolray Field. Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz made his third rehab start for Gwinnett and pitched 3.2 innings with five runs (four earned) on six hits in a no-decision.
Scoring Recap: With Gwinnett trailing 3-0 in the second inning, LaMarre brought in two runs with a two-out single to cut the deficit to 3-2. In the third, Alcides Escobar and Charlie Tilson both drove in runs to give the Knights a 5-2 edge. Raffy Lopez laced an RBI double in the fourth and scored on a single by LaMarre to make it 5-4. In the fifth, Travis Demeritte doubled to score two and Pedro Florimon followed with a two-run single to put the Stripers ahead 8-5. An RBI double by Ryan Cordell and run-scoring error trimmed the lead to 8-7 in the sixth, but LaMarre added insurance with an RBI double in the seventh to make it 9-7 Stripers. Nicky Delmonico (1) blasted a solo home run off Rafael De Paula in the eighth, but Elian Leyva (S, 1) came on to get the final four outs and preserve the 9-8 win.
Stripers Stats: Following an 85-pitch, 49-strike rehab start for Foltynewicz, Jordan Harrison (W, 1-0) pitched 1.1 innings and gave up two runs on two hits in his Stripers debut. De Paula (H, 1) struck out five and yielded a run on one hit over 2.2 innings. Leyva earned the first save of his affiliated baseball career with 1.1 scoreless innings. In addition to the big night for LaMarre, Lopez went 3-for-3 with a double and three runs, and Demeritte went 1-for-2 with three runs and two RBIs.
Postgame Notes: LaMarre’s four RBIs tied his professional career high, last accomplished on August 29, 2018 for the Chicago White Sox at the New York Yankees. Adam Duvall went 1-for-4 to extend his team-best hitting streak to nine games. The Stripers moved a half-game ahead of Charlotte for first place in the International League South Division.
Quote: “Everything felt great, especially that last inning,” Foltynewicz said. “The whole game didn’t go as planned, but the last 80 pitches I felt as best as I have. We kept them off balance for a majority of the night.”
Next Game (Tuesday, April 16): Gwinnett vs. Charlotte, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. RHP Bryse Wilson (0-2, 7.36 ERA) for the Stripers vs. LHP Jordan Guerrero (0-1, 10.13 ERA) for the Knights. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on 97.7 and 93.5 FM “The Other Side of the River.”
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