Charlotte 15, Pawtucket 5
The Knights chased Pawtucket starter Keith Couch before he could even complete an inning en route to piling up 15 runs on 15 hits Thursday night. Every starter in the lineup had a hit and catcher George Kottaras drove in a whopping six runs via a three run home run and a bases clearing three run double. Tyler Colvin, who was a first round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs, went 3-4 with a double, a triple, and a walk. Trayce Thompson and Micah Johnson both collected two hits respectively and Johnson stole his 9th bag of the season.
Starter Shawn Haviland was the recipient of all this run support, as he cruised to the win by only allowing two runs over five innings of work. Reliever Blake Smith, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the season, pitched two scoreless innings and struck out four. Lefty Onelki Garcia pitched a scoreless 9th inning to lower his season ERA with the Knights to a minuscule 2.03.
Jackson 10, Birmingham 1
Tyler Danish was roughed up in a start that I am sure he would like to forget. Danish only lasted 2.1 innings, giving up nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits and three walks. Danish has had an up-and-down year at Birmingham, but it is important to remember he is only 20 years old and two years removed from facing high school hitters. Relievers Sean Hagan and Kyle Hansen came on to pitch 5.2 innings of one-run ball to keep the Jackson Generals at bay the rest of the game.
The Barons offense couldn’t muster much, only collecting one run on four hits. Tim Anderson did go 1-3 with a double and a rare walk, which was only his 9th of the season. Courtney Hawkins returned from the DL and went 1-3 with a double.
Salem 8, Winston-Salem 2
Starter Jordan Guerrero continues to be challenged at High A ball, as he gave up eight runs (six earned), seven hits, and five walks over 6.2 innings while striking out five. Keon Barnum, who is fresh off the DL, went 2-4 and Adam Engel went 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Second baseman Jake Peter went 0-3 with two RBI’s, which unfortunately snapped his 20 game hitting streak. Peter’s streak was the 2nd longest in Dash history and was the 2nd longest active minor league hitting streak. Reliever Brad Goldberg pitched 1.1 scoreless innings and Michael Ynoa pitched a perfect 9th to lower his season ERA to 1.93.
Kannapolis 13, Hagerstown 5
The Intimidators jumped all over Hagerstown early and rolled to a easy victory. Luckily for us, Scott Sypien of the blog Chasing MLB Dreams was on hand to provide in-person scouting for the Intimidators!
From Scott on Kannapolis starter Thad Lowry who earned the win:
“Fastball: Lowry showed good life on his fastball hitting 95 on the radar gun on occasion including his 15th and final pitch of his first inning of work. During his 6 innings of work the pitch sat consistently between 88 and 93. He was able to locate the fastball well throughout the game often getting ahead with the fastball before working in other pitches against the Sun batters.
Change-Up: Lowry used his change mostly when he got ahead of hitters with the pitch ranging between 79-81 on the radar gun. The pitch did not produce many outs.
Slider: The third offering of Lowry was not used much in the game but looked to get mixed in on occasion. When thrown it was clocked between 82 and 83 mph but was neither a plus or minus offering during the game.”
The Kannapolis offense was led by two monster performances by DH Nick Delmonico and 2B Ryan Leonards who both went 4-5 on the evening. Delmonico fell a homer short of the cycle and Leonards doubled and made several nice defensive plays.
From Scott on Delmonico and Leonards:
“Delmonico went 4-5 on the day with every at bat a solid one. Delmonico worked counts and made hard contact. He ended up a home run shy of the Cycle on the night. Delmonico drove in four runs and scored two more himself.
Leonards made solid contact including a well struck double. In the field Leonards made a number of plays including some above average work with the glove. He showed good range and was aggressive getting to some weakly hit balls. He made solid throws to first on these occasions.”
Billings 6, Great Falls 5
The Rookie League kicked off last night inauspiciously with the Great Falls Voyagers falling victim to a comeback in the bottom of the 9th. Catcher Zach Fish led the way by going 3-4 with a double and starter Brannon Easterling allowed three runs over his five innings. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on the Voyagers as FutureSox will have a preview article of the Great Falls team up later today.
DSL White Sox 15, DSL Reds 3
The DSL White Sox pounded the DSL Reds via 15 runs on 17 hits.
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