Charlotte Knights 10, Gwinnett Stripers 9
A late rally by the Knights (14-15) allowed them to pull off an exciting victory over Gwinnett (18-11).
Tanner McDougal, 23, started on the mound for the Knights, and he retired all three batters he faced. McDougal now has a 3.00 ERA in 24 innings this season, all in Triple-A. Opposing hitters are also batting only .150 against him. However, we have an unfortunate update regarding one of the South Siders’ top prospects. McDougal, a right-handed pitcher, left this game after one inning of work due to right forearm tightness. This is potentially a very tough development for McDougal, who has already undergone Tommy John surgery and was knocking on the door of a promotion to the majors. Especially considering McDougal’s history and career track, elbow discomfort is a major concern. Best wishes to McDougal, and we hope that the injury is not nearly as serious as many fear.
The teams traded runs in the second, with the Stripers scoring on a ground out off Riley Gowens. The Knights responded with a solo homer by Ryan Galanie in the bottom half.
In the third, the Stripers picked up three runs against Gowens, although two of those were unearned. Once again, however, the Knights had an answer, as Oliver Dunn launched a two-run homer to pull Charlotte back within one.
In the bottom of the fifth, with the score still 4-3, the first three Knights reached base safely. Mario Camilletti doubled, Jason Matthews walked, and Rikuu Nishida singled for one of his four hits of the game. After a strikeout by Dunn, Jacob Gonzalez and Galanie crushed back-to-back doubles to put the Knights in front, 6-4.
The Stripers did not go away quietly, however, and they were ready to swing the bat against Knights reliever Duncan Davitt. After Davitt retired the first two Stripers in the sixth, the Stripers put six consecutive hits together to score five runs and retake the lead.
In the seventh, Nishida set the table with a one-out single. Nishida proceeded to steal second base and then third base. Dunn and Gonzalez drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Galanie struck out, but Michael Turner picked up a timely two-run double to bring the Knights back within one.
In the eighth, still down by one, the Knights went back to work. T.J. McCants drew a one-out walk, and Nishida picked up yet another single. Dunn kept it rolling with a single to load the bases, and with two outs, LaMonte Wade Jr. drove in a run with a walk. From there, Nishida raced home and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Knights reliever Zach Franklin picked up the save by retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth.
Birmingham Barons 5, Chattanooga Lookouts 2
The Barons (10-13) rallied from an early deficit to take down the red-hot Lookouts (17-6) to even the series.
Barons starter Shane Murphy, 25, pitched admirably for the Barons, allowing only two runs in seven frames. Murphy had only a couple of hiccups during his efficient, 89-pitch outing. One of those hiccups happened in the second, when Murphy allowed back-to-back doubles with two outs. Then, in the fourth, the Lookouts put three consecutive singles together to score their second run. However, the Lookouts did not score after that.
Meanwhile, the Barons offense got off to a slow start, but the hitters recovered. Calvin Harris opened the scoring with a solo blast in the top of the fifth. Then, the very next hitter, Adam Fogel, launched a homer of his own to tie the game.
In the eighth, with the score still 2-2, Andy Weber opened the inning with a single. With one out, Samuel Zavala reached on an error, and Braden Montgomery loaded the bases with a clutch single. From there, a wild pitch allowed Weber to score the go-ahead run, and Alec Makarewicz drove in a pair of insurance runs with a single to seal the deal.
Greensboro Grasshoppers 4, Winston-Salem Dash 2 (10 innings)
The Dash (15-8) came up just short against the Grasshoppers (13-10), as they did not deliver in the 10th inning.
Dash starter Drew McDaniel, 25, only allowed one run on two hits in three innings. McDaniel also racked up five strikeouts, and overall, he put the Dash in a good position to win. McDaniel’s only run allowed came on a solo homer with two outs in the third.
The Grasshoppers picked up another run in the fourth. With reliever Liam Paddack on the mound, a triple and a sacrifice fly resulted in Greensboro’s second run.
The score remained 2-0 until the seventh, when Kaleb Freeman put the Dash on the board with his first homer of the season. The power-hitting continued in the eighth, when Caleb Bonemer crushed his 11th home run of the season and his fourth in the past two days. I probably should not be that surprised that Bonemer is doing this, but even by his standards, this is one heck of a hot streak. Bonemer’s season OPS now sits at 1.189.
No one scored in the ninth, so the game headed into extras. In the 10th, a catcher’s interference, a double-steal, a single, and another double-steal resulted in Greensboro scoring a pair. The Dash failed to score in the bottom half, so Greensboro prevailed.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6, Augusta GreenJackets 0
The Cannon Ballers (7-16) took a step in the right direction with an excellent pitching performance against Augusta (13-9).
Cannon Ballers starter Blaine Wynk, 21, was on top of his game, pitching three innings and not allowing any runs. When Wynk left the game, the Cannon Ballers already had a 3-0 lead.
In the first, Matthew Boughton hit a double to open the scoring. From that point, the Cannon Ballers did not look back, and they were not done. In the second, James Taussig doubled, and Marcelo Alcala followed with a two-run blast.
Kannapolis reliever Jackson Nove made sure that Augusta did not get back into the game. Nove also pitched three shutout innings to keep the GreenJackets off the board.
Meanwhile, the Cannon Ballers were not satisfied. In the eighth, Ryan Galvan crushed a two-run homer, and Alcala launched his second homer of the day to add another insurance run.