Norfolk Tides 9, Charlotte Knights 8
In a chaotic, high-scoring game, the Knights (19-22) put up an exciting rally before coming up just short against Norfolk.
Knights pitcher Jonathan Cannon, 25, got off to a good start, only allowing one run in his first three innings. However, the fourth frame was a major struggle for Cannon and the Knights. The first four Tides reached base safely, and all of them came around to score, although one of those runs was unearned. After four innings of work, Cannon’s outing was over, and Norfolk had a 5-2 lead.
One of those early Charlotte runs came on Braden Montgomery’s first homer in Triple-A. Well done to Montgomery, who made his Knights debut on May 5 after a red-hot start with the Barons.
The score remained 5-2 until the top of the sixth, when old friend Ryan Noda launched a two-run homer to increase Norfolk’s lead to five. Sam Huff followed with another home run against Knights reliever Tyler Gilbert.
At that point, with the score 8-2, the game appeared to be over. The Knights got one run back in the bottom of the sixth when Korey Lee tripled, and Jacob Gonzalez drove him in with a single. The Knights were done that inning, but they still had much more in the tank.
Dru Baker led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer, his fifth blast of the year. That cut the deficit to four, and it set the tone for a big inning. With two outs, Kyle Teel singled, and Lee hit his second triple in as many plate appearances (yes, seriously).
Gonzalez crushed his 11th homer of the season, as he has far exceeded expectations. Incredibly, Oliver Dunn, the next batter, hit a solo blast to cap off a five-run inning and tie the game at eight.
However, Noda made sure that the Tides held on, as he blasted his second homer of the game in the ninth. That was the final run of the game for either team, as the Knights went down quietly in the bottom half.
Rocket City Trash Pandas 7, Birmingham Barons 6
The Barons (14-21) were in control early on, but they let this one slip away against the Trash Pandas (18-17).
The Barons got on the board in the bottom of the first. After finishing 2-for-4 with a double in his Double-A debut on Tuesday, Colby Shelton went deep for his first homer with the Barons. In 32 games with the Dash, Shelton slashed an incredible .339/.464/.661 (185 wRC+), and he won three of the first five Dash Player of the Week awards to begin the season. So far, Shelton, 23, has kept the momentum going after the promotion.
Meanwhile, left-handed pitcher Lucas Gordon, 24, had a decent start for the Barons, only allowing two runs on three hits in five innings. With this performance, Gordon lowered opposing hitters’ slash line to .187/.283/.410, but his ERA (5.12) is still higher than Gordon would like it to be.
Gordon had plenty of run support, and when his outing was over, Birmingham had a 6-2 lead. The Barons got one of those runs on a solo homer by Alec Makarewicz in the bottom of the third. Later that inning, Jeral Perez hit an RBI single to drive in Andy Weber, who had doubled.
In the bottom of the fifth, with the score at 3-2, Makarewicz went deep yet again for his seventh blast of the year. The Barons were not done, as Anthony DePino singled, and Weber walked. From there, Jorge Corona doubled to drive in a pair and put the Barons up by four.
Unfortunately, the Barons did not score after that, and the bullpen did not have its best stuff. Rocket City scored two in the sixth and two in the seventh to tie the game at six. As a result, the game was tied entering the ninth. Riley Gowens remained on the mound after pitching a scoreless eighth inning, but an RBI single by J.J. D’Orazio of the Trash Pandas drove in the game’s decisive run. D’Orazio, who went 4-for-4, propelled the Trash Pandas to a close victory.
Wilmington Blue Rocks 10, Winston-Salem Dash 5
The Dash (19-16) bullpen did not have it on Wednesday, as Winston-Salem failed to protect an early lead against Wilmington.
With the game still scoreless, Winston-Salem went to work in the bottom of the third. Alex Ungar walked, Bryce Elbin doubled, and Kyle Lodise walked to load the bases with no outs. Caleb Bonemer drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly, and Ryan Burrowes added an RBI with a single. Boston Smith added a sacrifice fly to cap off a three-run inning, and suddenly, the Dash had a 3-0 lead.
Dash starter Gabe Davis, 22, had a strong start, allowing zero runs on one hit in four innings. However, the bullpen allowed 10 runs (six earned) on 12 hits in five innings, so the Dash let this one get away. The Dash picked up a pair of late runs, as Bonemer and Ely Brown each hit an RBI single. However, at that point, it was too little, too late.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 14, Charleston RiverDogs 7
The Cannon Ballers (15-20) crushed the ball early and often en route to a lopsided, high-scoring victory in Charleston.
This game got off to a chaotic start, with both teams putting up a crooked number on the board. Abraham Núñez led off the game with a double, Billy Carlson was hit by a pitch, and Matthew Boughton singled to load the bases with no outs. After Ryan Galvan struck out, Alexander Albertus hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the first run of the game. With two outs, the Cannon Ballers simply did not go away. James Taussig hit an RBI single, Marcelo Alcala was hit by a pitch, and Adrian Gil cleared the bases with a three-run double. Just like that, Kannapolis had an early 5-0 lead.
Charleston did have an answer in the bottom of the first, so they did not go down easily. Kannapolis starter Riley Eikhoff, 24, allowed four runs on four hits in the first, and that included two homers. After one inning, the score was already 5-4.
The Cannon Ballers went right back to work in the second. Núñez drew a leadoff walk, and after a Carlson fly out, Javier Mogollón singled to put runners on the corners, and Mogollón advanced to second on the throw to third. Galvan drove in a pair with a single, and Albertus added an RBI with a double to make the score 8-4.
The Cannon Ballers added one in the third, two in the fourth, and three in the seventh to pull away. After the big top of the second, this game was not close.
ACL White Sox 4, ACL Royals 2 (7 innings)
Just like the major league squad, the ACL White Sox (4-4) reached .500 with a win over a team associated with the Royals.
Prelander Berroa opened this game for the ACL White Sox as part of a rehab assignment, but he only faced one batter. Berroa walked the first batter of the game and was removed after that. As of now, there are no official updates regarding Berroa’s status, but hopefully, the early removal is precautionary.
The ACL White Sox allowed one in the fourth and one in the sixth, so they had their backs against the wall. However, they came through in the bottom of the sixth with a huge inning. Yordani Soto and Jordan Rich drew back-to-back walks, and after a steal, a passed ball, and another steal, the Complex Sox had two in scoring position with no outs. From there, Efren Teran tied the game with a two-run single. Three batters later, with two outs, Frank Mieses crushed a timely homer to put the Complex Sox ahead. The Complex Sox did not relinquish the 4-2 lead, as reliever Felix Doroteo got the job done down the stretch.