The Gwinnett Stripers stunned the Indianapolis Indians on Friday night, riding a tenth-inning grand slam from Matthew Batten to an 8–4 victory at Victory Field.
After Indianapolis tied the game in the ninth, Gwinnett loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the tenth. Batten, who entered the night hitting .180, turned on a 2-1 pitch from Nick Dombkowski and launched it over the left-field fence for his sixth home run of the season.
Dustin Leonard scored earlier with a two-run homer in the sixth, his tenth of the year. Yainer León followed with a solo shot later in the inning, part of a two-hit performance that included his sixth double of the season.
Blake Burkhalter delivered another solid start on the mound, holding Indianapolis to one earned run over five innings while striking out four. He leaned heavily on his cutter, which generated 12 whiffs on 22 swings and helped lower his ERA to 1.80.
Burkhalter, identified by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman as a Braves prospect to watch this season, showed the sharp cutter that has drawn very high praise from former Braves pitcher Tim Hudson.
Michael Petersen provided a highlight out of the bullpen, touching 100 mph and striking out three in a scoreless seventh inning. The right-hander has a 3.13 ERA through 40 appearances. Wander Suero sealed the win with a clean bottom of the tenth, continuing a strong season in which he owns a 1.50 ERA.
Jonathan Ornelas reached base five times, including a triple and three walks. León’s home run was his eighth, and Batten finished the night with four RBIs.
Analysis:
The Stripers’ bullpen flashed some of the system’s best raw stuff. Burkhalter’s cutter remained nearly untouchable, and Petersen’s fastball overpowered hitters in one of his sharpest outings this year. Though John Brebbia surrendered the tying runs in the ninth, Gwinnett’s offense responded decisively.
Batten’s grand slam punctuated a game in which the Stripers hit three homers and delivered late-inning production that has often eluded them this season.
Pitching Lines:
Blake Burkhalter: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K
Michael Petersen: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K
Wander Suero (W, 1–0): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Gwinnett improved to 37–54 with the win. The series continues Saturday night in Indianapolis.
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