The Gwinnett Braves won their season opener Thursday night at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, defeating the Durham Bulls 2-1.
Joe Mather struggled in spring training with Atlanta, hitting .145 (8-for-55), but Thursday, Mather was 2-for-3 and scored a run.
The G-Braves scored two runs in the fifth inning. Mather led off with a double. Mauro Gomez followed him to the plate and also doubled, driving home Mather. Two batters later, with one out, Jordan Schafer bunted to score Gomez from third.
The Bulls, who outhit the G-Braves 11-6, had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth.
G-Braves starter Rodrigo Lopez (1-0) pitched six innings. He allowed seven hits and one run and walked two. He also struck out three.
Cory Gearrin, Juan Abreu and Jairo Asencio combined for three innings in relief of Lopez.
