Memphis Redbirds 6, Charlotte Knights 3 (Statcast box)
The Knights (55-64) pitching was essentially their downfall Sunday, as Jonthan Cannon struggled through his second straight outing with Charlotte, leading it to a fifth loss in a row while falling to the Redbirds (64-54), 6-3.

Cannon started off the game in rough shape with a leadoff single and a two-run home run to quickly put Memphis up two. The Knights had cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double from Will Robertson, but the same formula worked for the Redbirds in the second inning: A walk and a dinger allowed Memphis to take a three-run lead.

The Charlotte offense took a nap for roughly eight innings after that, out-hit 10-6 by Memphis and going just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. They attempted to chip away late in the game as Corey Julks mashed a solo home run — his second hit of the day, joining Robertson as the other multi-hit game. The only other run driven in for the Knights was on a long ball from Tim Elko in the bottom of the ninth, which would have tied it had Wikelman González not given up a two-run tank the inning prior. Charlotte unfortunately would have to eat the loss, and hopefully will use the off day to reset and get back on track.

Birmingham Barons 6, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3
The Blue Wahoos (58-55) jumped out to an early three-run lead in the first three innings against righthander Tanner McDougal, but the Barons (69-45) battled back and ended up winning the game, 6-3, to bounce back from their back-to-back losses over the weekend. McDougal gave up those three runs on six hits, including a two-run home run from Pensacola in the bottom of the first, and another RBI single in the bottom of the third, but he didn’t walk anyone and struck out four.

In relief of McDougal was lefthander Tyler Schweitzer, who played in the long relief role and was excellent for four innings by giving up just two hits and ultimately earning the win — his fifth. The rest of the Barons bullpen was somehow even more efficient, and neither Mark McLaughlin nor Garrett Schoenle allowed a hit and each struck out one, with Schoenle earning his seventh save of the season.

The Birmingham bats started to fire up as soon as the pitching locked it down, and the Blue Wahoos helped out by making an error that allowed two runs to score for the Barons in the top of the fourth. They kept it rolling in the sixth as DJ Gladney tied it up at three on a base hit, just in time for Calvin Harris to blast a three-run shot to right and take a 6-3 lead.

The offense had six hits on the night with quite a few opportunities to score, and finished going 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. They also walked four times and were absolute menaces on the bases, going 6-for-6 in stolen bases.

Asheville Tourists 5, Winston-Salem Dash 3
The Dash (44-68) matched the Tourists (48-64) in hits (nine), but Asheville was more timely with their RBIs and ended up beating Winston-Salem, 5-3, to take the series. The Dash had actually scored first in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead as Drake Logan manufactured a run after walking to get on base. Logan stole second and was moved over to third on a base hit from Jackson Appel, just for Kyle Lodise to drive him in with a sacrifice fly on the next at-bat.

Lefthander Lucas Gordon had made his 19th start of the season for Winston-Salem, and was fairly solid until the third inning when he gave up two runs on two singles, a stolen base, and a fielder’s choice that allowed the Tourists to take a 2-1 lead. He gave up another in the fourth after a base hit stole second just to be driven in on a double to center to make it a 3-1 lead for Asheville before being pulled with two outs. The Dash ended up using five relievers for the rest of the game, and gave up just four hits combined with seven strikeouts and zero walks, though Luke Bell gave up two more runs in the top of the eighth that put the Tourists ahead.

Though the Dash had nine hits, they went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight on base. Alec Makarewicz, Jeral Perez, and T.J. McCants all had multi-hit days, with Makarewicz walking to drive in a run in the fifth and McCants driving in the final run on a double in the bottom of the ninth. Sadly, Samuel Zavala and Perez weren’t able to keep the rally going and the Tourists won the game.

Augusta GreenJackets 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4
The Ballers (52-62) had taken a two-run lead in the fourth, but Liam Paddack had a rough sixth inning that allowed the GreenJackets (61-49) to score four to defeat Kannapolis, 5-4 to get swept and drop their eighth game in a row. Colby Shelton hit a two-run bomb in the bottom of the fourth to put the first runs on the board and put Kanny up 2-0, giving starter Justin Sinibaldi some much needed support, especially since he was struggling with his control and walked four batters in his 4 1/3 innings compared to one strikeout.

Paddack was efficient when he came in to replace Sinibaldi and got the two outs needed, but he had a hard time into the fourth as he gave up the tying run before being pulled with runners on the corners, leaving Jake Peppers to deal with the mess that was made. Unfortunately he gave up a double that put the GreenJackets up two, and then gave up one of his own on an RBI single to make it, 5-2, Augusta.

The Ballers had only gotten five hits all game, and Arxy Hernánedez did what he could in their attempt to come back in the bottom of the ninth, as he mashed a two-run shot before Grant Magill grounded out to end the game and tack another into the L column.