(Story and photo of Owen Murphy courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
SALEM, Va. – The Augusta GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves) twirled a gem against the Salem Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) on Aug. 11, picking up a 3-1 win on the back of stellar pitching. Salem (18-22, 48-55) was no-hit through six innings by Owen Murphy, while Augusta (18-22, 49-56) scored twice in the seventh and once in the eighth to even the series at two games a piece.
Two of the hottest pitching prospects in each organization took the mound for the Friday night clash, with Owen Murphy getting the start for Augusta after a five-inning, nine-strikeout effort the previous week and Yordanny Monegro having leaped into the recently released prospect rankings himself. The pair of gunslingers looked the part, with Monegro working five scoreless innings and striking out a career-high 11, while Murphy did not give up a baserunner through his first three innings of work.
Augusta had men reach in each of the first four innings, but left men at second in each frame. Monegro’s outing ended after five innings and 11 men down on strikes, while Murphy allowed Mikey Romero to reach via a walk in the bottom of the fourth, but through six innings the Chicago native had yet to allow a hit.
In the top of the seventh, Augusta broke the scoreless tie after Jose Dilone singled and Nick Clarno reached via an error. With men on second and third, Tyler Collins drove in his 37th run of the year on a fielder’s choice, before a balk from Royman Blanco scored the second run.
Owen Murphy’s no-hit bid ended as Mikey Romero tripled off the wall to open the seventh, before he concluded his outing with a strikeout, his eighth of the day. In Murphy’s last two starts, he has struck out 17 opponents while giving up just four hits and two runs. Romero scored on a sacrifice fly as Samuel Strickland entered, halving the lead to 2-1. Augusta added that run back in the top of the eighth on a Kade Kern infield single, and that 3-1 lead would hold as Strickland retired six of the final seven batters he faced to close out the game.
Augusta remains on the road during this two-week trip to the commonwealth of Virginia to take on the Salem Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) and Fredericksburg Nationals (Washington Nationals), before returning home for the final 12 games at SRP Park this year. Don’t miss out on your final chance to see the 2023 GreenJackets in action! To purchase tickets and learn more about the upcoming promotions, games, and more, visit https://www.milb.com/augusta/fans/gj-homestand-preview.
Subscribe to the Augusta Good News newsletter here.
Support local journalism: Local stories on local people, organizations and events. That’s the focus of Augusta Good News. And you don’t have to go through a paywall to find these stories. An independent voice in Augusta, Ga., Augusta Good News is not funded by a billionaire or a large corporation; it doesn’t have celebrity reporters who have agents. It’s local women and men who are invested in the community and want to tell its stories. You can support local journalism and help us expand our coverage by becoming a supporter. Through Ko-Fi, you can give once or set up a monthly gift. Click here to learn more. Thank you!
