For the third straight game, the Greenjackets, the Low-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, struck first, against Washington Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey, who was making a rehab start.
Ambioris Tavarez singled as the leadoff man in the first, and immediately swiped second base. After a pair of flyouts, Will Verdung ripped a single to left field, which drove in Tavarez with the first run of the game.
After a Jace Grady single, Rainey was pulled for Mason Denaburg. The righty then walked Kade Kern to load the bases, and then missed with a wild pitch as Verdung dashed home.
But in the home half of the first, the Freddies battled back. Elijah Nunez singled and stole second base, before Dylan Crews followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.
In the very next half inning, Tyler Collins got plunked, then took second on a wild pitch. Tavarez then brought Collins in with a single to right field.
Cam Magee reached on a fielder’s choice, then Drew Compton punched a ground ball through the right side to make it 4-1 Augusta.
A Jace single brought Magee home, before Denaburg issued another walk to load the bases, and prompt a pitching change to Kevin Rodriguez. He allowed an RBI groundout to EJ Exposito to make it 6-1 after the top of the second.
Crews brought another run in with a sac fly in the third inning, but it was all Augusta from there on out.
Exposito added an RBI single in the fourth, before the GreenJackets plated four more runs in the top of the fifth. Compton worked a bases-loaded walk, Verdung and Exposito each singled, and Jace Grady rolled a ball over to first base to make it 11-2.
And in the sixth, Compton doubled in Tavarez, Verdung lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Magee, and finally Grady launched a two-run homer to make it 15-2 Augusta.
Owen Murphy earned his sixth win of the year, while Sam Strickland secured a four inning save, and Tanner Rainey took the loss.
For Game 5 on Saturday, Riley Cornelio takes the ball against the lefty Adam Shoemaker.
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Chris Graham
