Charlotte Knights 4, Oklahoma City Comets 3
The Charlotte Knights (38-31) squeaked out a victory, making the most of their three hits. They had just enough offense and got another shutdown appearance from one of the organization’s most overlooked relievers.
Ryan Galanie got things rolling in the first with a solo shot, but that joy was short-lived. David Sandlin, fresh off his big league demotion, gave up the lead in the third as the Comets cashed in two. He did settle in as those were the only two tallies he surrendered to a pretty good Comets offense over six frames.
Charlotte answered in the fifth with the game’s decisive rally. Caden Connor drew a leadoff walk and moved to second when Mario Camilletti reached on a fielder’s choice that turned into a throwing error by the third baseman. Jason Matthews then worked a walk to load them up with nobody out. Andy Weber delivered the big hit, lining a two-run single to center to put the Knights back in front. Rikuu Nishida followed with a sacrifice bunt that brought home Matthews, extending Charlotte’s lead to 4-2.
That slim margin held until the eighth, when things got even tighter. Columbus got a run against Javier Guerra to make things interesting at 4-3. But no worries, as the Knights had the right man waiting in the bullpen.
Ben Peoples continued his dominant June by recording the final three outs for the save. The righthander has yet to allow a run this month, tossing 6 1/3 scoreless innings across five appearances while permitting just one hit and two walks. The 25-year-old has quietly put together an impressive season overall, posting a 0.68 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in April before hitting a few potholes in May.
Acquired from Tampa Bay in last season’s Adrian Houser trade, Peoples is making a strong case for a future look in Chicago. The former 22nd-round pick of the Rays is not on the 40-man roster, but performances like today continue to make him difficult to ignore.
Biloxi Shuckers 6, Birmingham Barons 5
Birmingham’s (24-39) pitching struggles continued, and despite a spirited comeback attempt, they fell short. The numbers? Well, they’re pretty ugly. The Barons’ hurlers are scraping the bottom in ERA, WHIP, runs, and walks. Opponents are hitting .261 and feasting. If the big league club is looking for pitching reinforcements, they’re not going to find it in Birmingham.
Biloxi jumped all over starter Dylan Cummings, tagging him for two in the first, another in the third, and three more in the fourth. By the time he was done, it was 6-0 Shuckers. To Birmingham’s credit, the bullpen gave the offense a chance. Morris Austin, Carson Jacobs, and Jackson Kelley combined for five scoreless innings, keeping the Shuckers off the board the rest of the way.
The Barons finally showed signs of life in the fifth: Dylan Campbell uncorked a solo shot to right, Colby Shelton singled, and Grant Magill followed with a two-run bomb. Just like that, the lead was cut in half, 6-3.
The sixth brought some more hope. Jacob Burke and Alec Briley walked; a flyout and wild pitch moved them up, Samuel Zavala knocked in one, and Shelton grounded out for another. Suddenly, it was a one-run game.
But that was all she wrote. The bats went silent for the final three frames, and the Barons’ rally fizzled out, one run shy.
Winston-Salem Dash 12, Greenville Drive 2
The Winston-Salem Dash (36-27) offense is just insane right now. Twelve hits, a dozen runs, and the whole thing detonated in the eighth when they hung up an eight-spot and turned this one into a cakewalk.
The Dash manufactured their first run with a little chaos. Kyle Lodise worked a one-out walk, took second on a wild pickoff throw, and scampered to third on a foul pop. Ryan Burrowes walked, and then the Dash pulled off a double steal with Burrowes nabbing second, Lodise stealing home, and Winston-Salem was on the board.
While small ball is fun, the bats brought some fireworks in the middle frames. Burrowes unloaded for a two-run shot in the fifth, and Boston Smith got in on the fun in the sixth, hammering a solo homer for a four-run cushion.
With a comfortable lead, the Dash turned the eighth into a full-on demolition job. Fourteen batters, nine hits, eight runs, and a parade of traffic. George Wolkow and Rylan Galvin each racked up two hits in the inning, with Wolkow and James Taussig both lacing doubles. Ely Brown put the exclamation point on the inning with a two-run bomb.
The arms did their part, too. Juan Carela opened with three scoreless, giving up just a hit and a walk, striking out one. Greenville scratched out runs in the sixth and ninth, but by then this thing was already in the books.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 7, Fredericksburg Nationals 2
The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (32-31) backed a strong effort from the pitching staff by bludgeoning the opposition with a hit parade.
Kannapolis wasted no time. Alexander Albertus ripped a triple to start the second, then jogged home on Nathan Archer’s sac fly. The Ballers kept the line moving: Adrian Gil and Jurdrick Profar slapped singles, a wild pitch shoved them up a base, and Efren Teran chipped in a sac fly for a quick 2-0 lead.
The bats kept humming in the third. Matthew Boughton legged out a triple, then trotted home on Derek Cerda’s rope to center. Cerda promptly stole second, Alexander Albertus and Archer worked back-to-back walks, and Adrian Gil lofted a sac fly to pad the lead to 4-1.
Kanny broke it wide open in the fourth. Boughton crushed a two-run shot to left, Cerda chipped in a single, and Nick McLain coaxed a walk. Albertus finished the job with an RBI knock, and just like that, it was 7-2 and all but over.
That was plenty of offense for the arms. Gabriel Rodriguez gave up the only two runs over his four innings, then handed it off to the bullpen. Blaine Wynk shoved for three scoreless, Marco Barrios and Landen Payne each blanked the Nats for a frame, and the Ballers’ staff locked it down the rest of the way as Kannapolis cruised to the finish line.