Braves Affiliates Sweep for the First Time in 2024

The Atlanta Braves saw all four minor league teams win for the first time this season

Mississippi Braves' Cade Bunnell (24) gears up to swing at the ball during a minor league contest. / Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY

The Atlanta Braves may have been off yesterday, but the minor league system wasn't.

And it was a good day to be a Braves affiliate.

For the first time in the 2024 season, all four Braves minor league affiliates won their games, sweeping all four road contests.

Gwinnett Stripers

Atlanta's AAA affiliate was on the road against the Norfolk Tides, affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Gwinnett won in extras, 2-1, thanks to Dylan Dodd's strong start and a six-out finish from veteran reliever Ken Giles.

Dodd pitched seven innings, allowing only one run on three hits, walking just one batter and striking out seven. The 25-year-old lefty, who made seven starts for Atlanta last season and went 2-2 with a 7.60 ERA, has shown improvements in both run prevention and limiting baserunners this season. His ERA is almost a run and a half lower than last season's AAA mark of 5.91, while his hits per nine innings is down by 1.2 to a 9.2 H/9 mark.

Giles, who signed with Atlanta on the eve of spring training but wasn't able to make the Opening Day bullpen, pitched the ninth and ten innings, striking out four while not allowing a hit or a walk. He threw 20 of 27 pitches for strikes and picked up his first win of the season. When the Braves need another major league reliever, he's a good bet to be the first one to get the call.

Mississippi Braves

The AA Braves went into Montgomery's Riverwalk Stadium and blasted the Biscuits, a Tampa Bay Rays affiliate, by a 13-3 score.

While the offense was the star of this one for Mississippi, with four Braves picking up multiple hits and the trio of catcher Tyler Tolve, shortstop Cal Conley, and first baseman Bryson Horne all finishing with three, starter Drew Parrish outdueled Rays 2nd-round pick Ian Seymour with six innings of three run (two earned) ball with seven strikeouts, earning his 2nd win of the season.

Top pitching prospect Hurston Waldrep is on the mound tonight for Mississippi, set to take on Montgomery's Ben Peoples at 7:35 PM ET.

Rome Emperors

The High-A Emperors went into Winston-Salem and blanked the Dash (Chicago White Sox affiliate) 8-0.

Pitching prospect Owen Murphy threw an absolute gem, going seven scoreless innings with just one hit allowed, striking out ten. He lost his perfect game to open the seventh, when Dash second baseman Loidel Chapelli tripled to right field, but Murphy stranded him at third with two strikeouts and a pop-out to cap off a career-long outing. He threw just 89 pitches, 61 of them for strikes.

Augusta GreenJackets

In what was a theme last night, Augusta got a great start on the mound and some dominant hitting to take down the Columbia Fireflies (Kansas City Royals affiliate) by a score of 6-1.

Didier Fuentes gave Augusta five strong innings, with the only hit and only run allowed coming on a solo homer by Royals #12 prospect Austin Charles, striking out five and walking just one.

Fireflies rightfielder Jace Grady was the offensive star in this one, hitting two homers and collecting three RBIs, while designated hitter Drew Compton went 2-3 with a double and an RBI.