Rome falters to Greenville
ROME BRAVES: Drive 10, Braves 4
A baseball season is full of games where things go wrong from the start, and the Rome Braves have certainly seen their share.
The Braves fell behind four runs in the first inning Saturday, and the Greenville Drive registered 23 base runners in a 10-4 loss for Rome at State Mutual Stadium.
“We tried to keep momentum, but they seemed to score in the top of the inning every time we scored,” said Rome manager Randy Ingle.
The Braves never led, and it is only the second time in the last 17 games the team has allowed more than 10 runs. The loss keeps the team in last place in the South Atlantic League Southern division standings.
The Braves used their bullpen the entire game, utilizing reliever Chad Sobotka to start the game.
Unfortunately for Rome, Sobotka would not last the first inning.
Four of the first five Drive players in the first scored, beginning with outfielder Danny Mars reaching on an error. After a walk by third baseman Rafael Devers, designated hitter Andrew Benintendi destroyed a ball to right field to make it 3-0 early.
The hit parade continued with singles coming from three of the next four batters and another run scored. Sobotka then walked the ninth batter in the order — catcher David Sopilka — to load the bases and bring his night to an end.
“It was a bullpen day, we knew we were going to throw the bullpen today, although David got off to a bad start,” Ingle said. “It’s difficult, but it was something we planned for but could not execute.”
The Braves escaped the first with only four runs allowed, and were able to chop that deficit in half when they posted two runs in the second. First baseman Matt Tellor led the inning with a double and infield singles by outfielder Stephen Gaylor and second baseman Ryan Gebhardt scored the runs.
But Rome still needed to put together eight innings with its bullpen. The tall task was led by Francisco Gonzalez, who replaced Sobotka in the first inning and went 3 1-3 innings.
Gonzalez’s blemish came in the third, when two walks, a double and a triple produced three more runs and gave the Drive a 7-2 lead.
Mitchell Osnowitz was next from the bullpen and got hit with a rally in the sixth. Three singles and a triple by shortstop Javier Guerra came in a span of five batters and the lead was opened up to 10-3.
Despite losing by six runs, the Braves outhit the Drive, 14-13. The big difference came on walks, where Greenville held an 8-0 advantage.
The Braves still have four games left in their final homestand of the season, beginning with a game today at 2 p.m.
With the games it has left, Tellor said the team can look at its 14 hits as a positive and finish strong for the season.
“We are just coming out here grinding every day. It’s the dog days of summer,” Tellor said. “We aren’t in contention. We are just trying to get better now everyday as a team and get better for next year. We are just grinding out here.”
Rome will end the season on the road beginning Thursday with five games in North Carolina against the Hickory Crawdads.