Charlotte Knights 8, Buffalo Bisons 4 (Statcast Box)
The Knights (27-30) lost this series 4-2, but had a huge six-run offensive inning in the fifth that allowed them to salvage one more win and defeat the Bisons (22-33), 8-4. Chris Rodriguez opened the game up for Charlotte with three innings of three hits, two walks and two Ks, but the following two pitchers — Chase Plymell and Nick Nastrini — did not fare as well. Thankfully the Knights had an eight-run lead, but both pitchers gave up two earned runs, though walks were the death of Nastrini, who dealt three of them but only gave up one hit.
Walks were a problem for the entire pitching staff, in fact. All four pitchers combined for eight, and the team had one more walk than strikeouts (seven) … definitely not great.
The offense at least had the backs of their pitchers on Sunday, and even though Buffalo out-hit the Knights, 9-7, Charlotte was 4-for-12 (.333) with runners in scoring position. Brooks Baldwin and Jacob Amaya combined for five RBIs; Amaya was able to create a ton of traffic with two hits and three walks, and Baldwin had the sole extra-base hit with an RBI triple in the fifth.
Penn Murfee (2 IP, H, 2 BB, K) held down the final two innings for Charlotte, and earned his second Triple-A win this season.
Poll
Who was the MVP for the Knights?
Brooks Baldwin: 1-for-4, 3B, R, 3 RBI, BB, 2 K
Corey Julks: 1-for-5, RBI
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
Tristan Gray: 1-for-4, 2 R, BB
Jacob Amaya: 2-for-2, 2 RBI, 3 BB
Chris Rodriguez: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, PO
Penn Murfee: 2 IP, H, 2 BB, K, HBP, W
33%
Brooks Baldwin: 1-for-4, 3B, R, 3 RBI, BB, 2 K
(4 votes)
0%
Corey Julks: 1-for-5, RBI
(0 votes)
0%
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
(0 votes)
0%
Tristan Gray: 1-for-4, 2 R, BB
(0 votes)
58%
Jacob Amaya: 2-for-2, 2 RBI, 3 BB
(7 votes)
8%
Chris Rodriguez: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, PO
(1 vote)
0%
Penn Murfee: 2 IP, H, 2 BB, K, HBP, W
(0 votes)
12 votes total
Poll
Who was the Cold Cat for the Knights?
Tim Elko: 0-for-5, 2 K
Bryan Ramos: 0-for-3, R, BB
Dru Baker: 0-for-4, R, BB, K
Chase Plymell: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, BB
Nick Nastrini: 2 IP, H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K
88%
Tim Elko: 0-for-5, 2 K
(8 votes)
0%
Bryan Ramos: 0-for-3, R, BB
(0 votes)
0%
Dru Baker: 0-for-4, R, BB, K
(0 votes)
0%
Chase Plymell: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, BB
(0 votes)
11%
Nick Nastrini: 2 IP, H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K
(1 vote)
9 votes total
Birmingham Barons 8, Knoxville Smokies 4
Riley Gowens was excellent in his five-inning start, and gave up just one run on two hits, one of those being a home run. He also did not walk a batter but struck out four in return. The Barons (28-22) scored early with four runs in the top of the first from a Knoxville throwing error and a three-run bomb from Wilfred Veras to make up for his five-strikeout day yesterday.
They held the lead through a rain delay (which knocked out Gowens) until the seventh, but a tough inning from Jared Kelley led to a blown save from Andrew Dalquist which allowed the Smokies (24-26) to tie the game and threaten extra innings. Eric Adler shut down the Smokies for the final inning to seal the 8-4 win, though Dalquist was able to mooch his fifth win of the season.
Ryan Galanie was the main reason that Birmingham was able to win the game, however. The Barons started to get something going in the top of the ninth while tied at four, and Jacob Burke ended up getting thrown out at home while attempting to score. Three consecutive walks later, Ryan Galanie mashed his only hit of the day (1-for-5) … a grand slam, to provide Birmingham with four runs of support.
Poll
Who was the MVP for the Barons in their thrilling win?
Riley Gowens: 5 IP, 2 H, HR, R, 4 K
Eric Adler: 1 IP (bottom nine), 0 H, K
William Bergolla: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, BB
Ryan Galanie: 1-for-5, HR (Grand Slam), 2 R, 5 RBI
Jacob Gonzalez: 3-for-4
Wilfred Veras: 2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, 2 K
50%
Riley Gowens: 5 IP, 2 H, HR, R, 4 K
(4 votes)
0%
Eric Adler: 1 IP (bottom nine), 0 H, K
(0 votes)
12%
William Bergolla: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, BB
(1 vote)
37%
Ryan Galanie: 1-for-5, HR (Grand Slam), 2 R, 5 RBI
(3 votes)
0%
Jacob Gonzalez: 3-for-4
(0 votes)
0%
Wilfred Veras: 2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, 2 K
(0 votes)
8 votes total
Poll
Who was the Cold Cat for the Barons?
DJ Gladney: 0-for-3, BB, K
Colby Smelley: 0-for-3, BB, K
Jason Matthews: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
Jared Kelley: 1 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, K, H
Andrew Dalquist: 1 ⅓ IP, H, BB, 3 K, BS, W
0%
DJ Gladney: 0-for-3, BB, K
(0 votes)
14%
Colby Smelley: 0-for-3, BB, K
(1 vote)
0%
Jason Matthews: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
(0 votes)
85%
Jared Kelley: 1 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, K, H
(6 votes)
0%
Andrew Dalquist: 1 ⅓ IP, H, BB, 3 K, BS, W
(0 votes)
7 votes total
Hub City Spartanburgers 3, Winston-Salem Dash 1
Trailing for essentially the entire game, the Dash (18-33) offense never provided any run support for their pitching staff, and ended up tying the series with the Spartanburgers (27-24) at three in their 3-1 loss. Lucas Gordon wasn’t bad for his five innings, but he gave up two runs and one of the four hits he gave up was a homer. Gordon obtained his sixth loss of the season, but is still floating around a 3.00 ERA (3.17).
The offense out-hit Hub City 7-5, but went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base as a team. Righthander Jose Gonzalez had a beautiful six-inning start against Winston-Salem, and racked up nine strikeouts with zero walks. He also accumulated 21 swings and misses — the most in High-A.
Three of the seven Dash hits were for extra bases, but they couldn’t muster more than one run across the plate. It also didn’t help that they couldn’t get the offense cooking until the ninth inning before falling two runs short.
Poll
Who was the MVP for the Dash?
0%
Alec Makarewicz: 1-for-4, R, 2 K
(0 votes)
100%
Samuel Zavala: 2-for-4
(6 votes)
0%
Jake Peppers: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
(0 votes)
0%
Carson Jacobs: 1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
(0 votes)
6 votes total
Poll
Who was the Cold Cat for the Dash?
Lucas Gordon: 5 IP, 4 H, HR, 2 R, 4 K, L
Morris Austin: 1 IP, H, HR, R, K
Terrell Tatum: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
Jeral Perez: 0-for-4, 3 K
Wilber Sánchez: 0-for-2, BB, K
0%
Lucas Gordon: 5 IP, 4 H, HR, 2 R, 4 K, L
(0 votes)
16%
Morris Austin: 1 IP, H, HR, R, K
(1 vote)
0%
Terrell Tatum: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
(0 votes)
83%
Jeral Perez: 0-for-4, 3 K
(5 votes)
0%
Wilber Sánchez: 0-for-2, BB, K
(0 votes)
6 votes total
Charleston RiverDogs 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4
The Cannon Ballers (27-24) scored four runs through the fourth inning and didn’t score again, but their bullpen blew the lead and allowed the RiverDogs (24-27) to take the game and series win. Lefthander Kaleb Sophy had a great five-inning start and gave up just one run on five hits while also striking out five batters. It was his third start of the season for Kannapolis and while it’s been just 15 ⅓ innings, it’s actually impressive that he only has a 1.74 ERA while having a 7.74 FIP. Sophy’s walk and strikeout rates are essentially inverted from where they should be, with just a 4.3% strikeout rate compared to a whopping 23.9% walk rate — though somehow he is still leaving runners on base 88.2% of the time. With his ERA where it’s at, normally I’d say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but in this situation, please fix it. The quicker the better.
The Ballers scored their first run on a base hit from Nate Archer, and then strung together a few hits in the fourth to tack on three more and command a four-run lead. Gabriel Rodríguez had come in to relieve Sophy, but he wasn’t able to get an out before being pulled. He gave up two runs on two its (including a homer), but Carlton Perkins also allowed two runs and three walks to hand the lead over to Charleston.
Nick Altermatt attempted to get out of the bad situation that spun up from Perkins, but he ended up with the blown save and the bats couldn’t recover.
Poll
Who was the MVP for the Cannon Ballers?
Ronny Hernández: 2-for-3, R, BB, E
Jorge Corona: 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI
George Wolkow: 1-for-4, RBI, K
Arnold Prado: 1-for-4, R, K, OA
Nate Archer: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K, SB
Kaleb Sophy: 5 IP, 6 H, R, 5 K, WP
Jack Young: 1 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K, H
Ryan Burrowes: 1-for-3, RBI, SB
16%
Ronny Hernández: 2-for-3, R, BB, E
(1 vote)
0%
Jorge Corona: 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI
(0 votes)
0%
George Wolkow: 1-for-4, RBI, K
(0 votes)
0%
Arnold Prado: 1-for-4, R, K, OA
(0 votes)
0%
Nate Archer: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K, SB
(0 votes)
83%
Kaleb Sophy: 5 IP, 6 H, R, 5 K, WP
(5 votes)
0%
Jack Young: 1 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K, H
(0 votes)
0%
Ryan Burrowes: 1-for-3, RBI, SB
(0 votes)
6 votes total
Poll
Who was the Cold Cat for the Ballers?
Abraham Núñez: 0-for-2, 2 K
Lyle Miller-Green: 0-for-3, K
Mikey Kane: 0-for-3, BB, K
Gabriel Rodríguez: 0 IP, 2 H, HR, 2 R
Carlton Perkins: ⅓ IP, 0 H, 2 R, 3 BB, H, L
Nick Altermatt: 1 ⅔ IP, 2 H, K, BS
16%
Abraham Núñez: 0-for-2, 2 K
(1 vote)
0%
Lyle Miller-Green: 0-for-3, K
(0 votes)
0%
Mikey Kane: 0-for-3, BB, K
(0 votes)
66%
Gabriel Rodríguez: 0 IP, 2 H, HR, 2 R
(4 votes)
16%
Carlton Perkins: ⅓ IP, 0 H, 2 R, 3 BB, H, L
(1 vote)
0%
Nick Altermatt: 1 ⅔ IP, 2 H, K, BS
(0 votes)
6 votes total