Gwinnett Braves Rally for 2-1 Victory in Season Opener

Sometimes winning ugly is better than losing. The Gwinnett Bravesin front of 8,553 fans and the home team did not disappoint. After Durham, who is the AAA team for the Tampa Bay Rays, scored a run in the top of the fifth, Gwinnett rallied with two in the bottom of the fifth and used three relievers for a 2-1 victory at Coolray Field.

Veteran righthander Rodrigo Lopez made the home opening start and was shaky for six innings but was able to pick up the win. Three relievers pitched the final three innings and Jairo Asencio picked up the save for the Braves (1-0). Lopez gave up a hit in each of his six innings including two in the fifth but was able to escape with just one run given up.

A doubleplay in the first and bad base running by Brandon Guyer in the second prevented the Bulls from scoring. Guyer hit a double to left center that Jordan Shafer relayed to the first baseman and when Guyer saw it go behind the second baseman, he kept running while Joe Mather easily threw out Guyer. In the fifth inning Ray Olmeda singled and scored on a Justin Ruggiano double to give Durham the 1-0 lead.

But in the bottom of the fifth, Mather and Mauro Gomez hit back to back doubles for a run and after a Shawn Bowman single put runners at the corner, Shafer had a bunt single to plate Gomez and give the Braves the 2-1 lead.

Cory Gearin pitched the seventh, Juan Abreu pitched the eighth and Asencio pitched the ninth. He gave up two 2-0ut singles before striking out Robinson Chirinos to end the game.

Durham starter Richard De Los Santos worked the first four innings and retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced including 10 in a row at one stretch but he gave up three hits to start the fifth before being pulled out of the game. He threw 65 pitches with 42 strikes but could not make it out of the fifth inning.

"I thought we did an outstanding job with runners on base," said G-Braves manager Dave Brundage. "Eleven hits and three walks and he pitched like a professional like he is. He had good command. He commanded both sides of the plate. For the most part he did a commendable job."

The offense was slim but Brundage felt like they manufactured the runs in the fifth inning. "Mather got the double and we tried to move him over and we scored just the way you draw it up," Brundage said. "It was a nice job by Jordan executing the bunt where it was suppose to be and we end up getting a run."

Brundage also praised the bullpen. "You look at our bullpen we have a good bullpen one through seven," he said. "Not just the guys that pitched tonight but good job by guys making quality pitches with guys on base. We pitched well enough to win. We manufactured some runs.

"We handled the ball tonight and we made nice pitches when we had to. We were pitching to a pretty good offensive ball club. We do a lot of little things right. It's just game one and I know we'll have our hiccups along the way but it's a nice start to the season. Nice job of executing from a pitcing standpoint and from an offensive standpoint."

Lopez was also glad to pick up the win. "I felt really good out there. I made some mistakes. My location was not good on some guys. It was the wrong pitch for the wrong guy," said Lopez. "But talking with J.C. and talking with the catcher I was able to make some adjustments. I know I pitched from the stretch pretty much all game but I was able to make the pitches when I needed them."

Lopez (1-0) pitched six strong innings gave up 7 hits, one run, two walks and three strikeouts. He threw 88 pitches with 55 strikes. "I thought it was a good game," Lopez said. "I know I need to work on some things. The pitches were up. But I am satisfied. A win is a win."

Gwinnett will play game two of the series tonight at Coolray at 7:05 p.m. Julio Teheran will start for the G-Braves.

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