Braves Snow Under Stars: W, 5-2

The Braves took an early 4-0 lead Friday night and never looked back as they defeated the Huntsville Stars 5-2 in front of an announced crowd of 1,596 at snowy Joe Davis Stadium. A freak snow shower covered the sky for about 10 minutes in the 8th inning making Huntsville feel more like Milwaukee.

Jo-Jo Reyes, making his first AA start, was brilliant through 4 innings facing just two over the minimum. In the 5th, however, he walked three batters and hit another before exiting in favor of Charlie Morton (1-0, 0.00 ERA) who picked up the win in relief. Ryan Basner tossed 3 innings of relief allowing just one unearned run while striking out one. Zach Schreiber tossed a perfect 9th for his first save of the season.

The Braves got a great performance from Matt Esquivel (3-4, RBI) and JC Holt (2-5, 2 runs, SB) at the plate. The Braves continued to show their agressiveness picking up 5 stolen bases. The Braves also finished 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position while holding Huntsville to 0-for-10 in the same category. Jarrod Saltalamacchia also picked up his first hit of the season with an RBI double in the 5th and also scored twice and added a stolen base to his stat sheet.

The Braves will continue a five game set in Huntsville, Alabama at Joe Davis Stadium as they take on the Huntsville Stars, the AA Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, in game three of the series. The Braves On Deck Circle presented by Wendy's will start things off at 1:05pm with the First Pitch following at 2:05 PM (CT). The Braves are scheduled to send LHP Dan Smith (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the hill, while the Stars will counter with RHP Mike Jones (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

Check out the Braves Minute here. To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.

BRAVES BITES:
* The Braves improve to 1-1 when scoring first.
* The Braves 1-through-7 batters combined to go 10-29.
* The Braves improve to 1-0 when leading after eight innings.
* The Braves finished 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
* The Braves registered 7 more strikeouts on the mound.(Performance Sports Academy K's for Kids Total: $19 to the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital)

ACTIVE HIT STREAKS (3 games or more):
* NONE

HIT STREAKS ENDED:
* NONE

HITLESS STREAKS ENDED:
* NONE

ACTIVE HITLESS STREAKS (More than 0-4):
* Mark Jurich (0-7)

TRANSACTIONS:
* NONE

by
Bryan Eubank