July 18, 2019–7:11 a.m.

KEVIN KAREL

Rome finished off their brief homestand with an emphatic 8-1 getaway day victory over Lexington on Wednesday afternoon. The Braves got strong pitching from RHP Odalvi Javier and RHP William Woods and clutch hitting throughout the lineup to take the finale at State Mutual Stadium.

In a reversal of fortune from the previous night, the Braves bats performed well with runners in scoring position. Greg Cullen got them going early. In the Bottom of the 1^st Cullen drove an RBI single into left-center to score Braden Shewmake, giving Rome a 1-0 lead.

Tied 1-1 in the 3^rd Cullen again delivered. With runners at second and third, he drove a ball down the left-field line to score two and give Rome a 3-1 lead. That shot ultimately produced the game-winning RBI for the Braves as Lexington would not score again against the Rome staff.

The Braves blew the game open late with one run in the 7^th inning and four more in the 8^th versus the Legends bullpen. Jose Bermudez, Justin Dean and Braulio Vasquez all produced RBI hits. The Bermudez knock was a two-run single and seemed to put the game out of reach. Rome finished the day 6-15 with runners in scoring position.

Javier performed well and earned the win on the mound for the Braves. He threw 6 innings and allowed one run on five hits while striking out two and walking two. Javier has now made four starts in July covering 24 innings and has surrendered only three earned runs, giving him an ERA of 1.13 for the month.

Woods got the save with 3 shutout innings of work. He gave up one hit while striking out three and walking one.

Cullen led the day for the offense, going 3-4 with three RBI. Cullen is currently batting .318 in July with a .474 on-base percentage. He’s driven in 10 runs in 13 games this month. Bermudez stayed hot as well with another multi-hit effort. He went 2-4 with two RBI and has now had multiple hits in four straight games, raising his average from .208 to .235 during that span. Shewmake was 0-3 but walked twice, scored two runs and stole a base.

Rome took two of three games from Lexington and now hits the road for a four-game series at McCormick Field against the Asheville Tourists. First pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 7:05 pm Thursday evening from North Carolina. Rome will start LHP Dilmer Mejia (5-1, 2.48).

Rome Braves (15-12, 45-51):                        8 R       10 H    0 E

Lexington Legends (11-15, 48-47):              1 R         6 H    3 E

W: Odalvi Javier (3-6)

L: Evan Steele (4-3)

S: William Woods (3)

Time: 2:39

Attendance: 1,338