LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia – Rehabbing Atlanta Braves’ right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver allowed one unearned run and struck out five over 4.0 innings to lead the Gwinnett Stripers (12-11, 50-47) to a rain-shortened 4-2 win over the Iowa Cubs (12-12, 43-52) on Thursday night at Gwinnett Field. Aaron Schunk and Jose Azocar each posted multi-RBI games before weather halted play after the fifth.
Decisive Plays: Iowa got on the board in the first inning with an RBI single from BJ Murray Jr. to make it 1-0. In the second inning, the Stripers pushed across three runs with an RBI single by Azocar and a two-run double off the bat of Schunk to take a 3-1 lead. The I-Cubs made it a one-run ballgame at 3-2 in the fifth when Brett Bateman stole second base and scored as catcher Jair Camargo’s throw ricocheted off his helmet into left-center field. In the bottom of the fifth, Azocar drove in another Gwinnett run with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. At the conclusion of the fifth, the game was called due to rain.
Key Contributors: Azocar (2-for-2, sacrifice fly, 2 RBIs) and Schunk (1-for-2, double, 2 RBIs) both had multi-RBI efforts. Smith-Shawver (W, 1-0) threw 4.0 innings (2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) before being relieved by Anthony Molina (S, 1). For Iowa, Bateman (2-for-3, double) had two of the club’s three hits.
Noteworthy: Patrick Clohisy (2-for-3) has hit safely in eight straight games to start his Triple-A career, batting .567. Both Ronald Acuña Jr. (0-for-2) and Ha-Seong Kim (0-for-1, 2 walks) continued rehab assignments for the Atlanta Braves.
Next Game (Friday, July 24): Gwinnett Stripers vs. Iowa Cubs, 7:05 p.m. ET at Gwinnett Field. It’s Crayola® Night, with crayon-inspired specialty jerseys, donation drives, and activities around the concourse. It's also Fireworks Friday presented by Akins Ford, with postgame fireworks (weather permitting). TV Broadcast: 7:00 p.m. on Peachtree Sports Network. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.