D-Braves manager Runge happy to have division locked up early

Paul Runge is pleased Danville clinched the Appalachian League East Division title and a berth in the Appy League Championship Series on Sunday with nine games remaining in the regular season for several reasons, both tactical and personal.

What’s nice about wrapping up a postseason berth so early is that the D-Braves can give their regular players some much-needed rest after grinding through the regular season.

Runge also gets the opportunity to line up his pitching the way he wants it for the playoffs.

And there’s one other reason, a personal reason, the usually guarded D-Braves manager is happy — because reserve players who haven’t gotten to see much playing time will find their way onto the field as the usual starters are rested. Sure that’s good for the Braves from a developmental standpoint, but there’s more to it than that for Runge.

“It was nice for me personally to see a lot of our guys get an opportunity that haven’t been playing for a while,” the longtime D-Braves manager said after the division-clinching victory against Johnson City on Sunday, “because I know what it’s like to be in that role. I was in that role as a utility player in the major leagues and didn’t play very often. So deep down I always have a place for those guys, and it was nice to see them all get an opportunity.”

Runge has spent three decades as a player and coach in professional baseball and has been affiliated with the Braves organization since 1979, when he was drafted as a shortstop in the ninth round out of Jacksonville University. He played for the Atlanta Braves from 1981-88, the San Diego Padres in ’89 and the Toronto Blue Jays in ’90, but did not get into a major league game while with the Padres or the Blue Jays.

In eight seasons with Atlanta, Runge received only 345 at-bats and appeared in just 183 games, which for a full-time player works out to slightly more than one full season on the field. He played in only 19 games in his first three seasons and never had more than 90 at-bats in a single year.

It’s no wonder he has a soft spot for the guys buried on the depth chart.

Runge, 51, has spent the majority of his life involved with baseball, and has followed his playing days by piecing together an extremely successful career as a minor league manager, especially in Danville. In six years with the D-Braves, he’s guided the team to 239 victories, a mark that ranks him fourth in all-time wins among Appalachian League managers. He also managed the short-lived Danville 97s of the Carolina League in 1998, making this his seventh season managing minor league baseball in Danville.

While he’s led the D-Braves to their fifth division title in six years, the club has only won the Appalachian League championship once, in 2006. This year, with the D-Braves clinching a playoff spot so early, Runge is getting an opportunity to enjoy a bit of personal satisfaction.

But aside from player development and spreading around playing time, winning the league crown remains this season’s ultimate objective.

“We’ve got some good things going on, we just need to stay focused and keep concentrating on what we need to do down the stretch,” Runge said. “We know that whoever wins that other division will present a challenge of its own. We’ve been there before, but we also know that in a short series anything can happen, so we still have some things we need to concentrate on.”

Season-high 6th straight

Danville upended Johnson City 3-1 Monday at Dan Daniel Park, winning its sixth consecutive game to match a season high. The D-Braves have won 12 of their last 13 games.

Jordan Kreke went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the D-Braves (43-17), while Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg and Christian Bethancourt each supplied a pair of hits. Bethancourt also scored twice.

Chris Masters earned his seventh victory of the season by hurling six innings of shutout ball. He allowed three hits while striking out six and walking two. David Hale limited the Cards to one run in the final three innings to earn his first career save.

Johnson City (31-27), which is winlesss against Danville this season, was limited to four hits and shut out until managing a run in the ninth inning.

Wiley promoted

First baseman Derek Wiley was promoted to Class-A Rome. The 31st-round pick in this year’s draft hit .231 (15-65) with three doubles, two home runs and five RBIs in 25 games with Danville. It will be Wiley’s first career stint with Rome.

On deck

Danville LHP Tyler Stovall (3-1, 2.96 ERA) opposes Johnson City RHP Chris Notti (3-1, 4.72 ERA) at 7 p.m. today at Dan Daniel Park as the D-Braves go for the series sweep.