Indianapolis 4, Charlotte 2
The slumping Knights dropped their fourth straight game as even staff ace Erik Johnson couldn’t snap the losing streak. Johnson allowed two runs on four hits and three walks over five innings, which to his standards was basically getting shelled. The two earned runs was the most damage allowed by Johnson in a start since allowing three runs on June 5th. Johnson has a 1.02 ERA over his last ten starts spanning back to May 30th and has a 2.49 ERA on the season. The Knights offense collected 10 hits but could only convert them into two runs. Chris Marrero and Drew Garcia each had three hits on the night while Matt Davidson went 1-4 with a double. Rehabbing reliever Nate Jones allowed his first earned run with the Knights over 1.1 innings, but he did strike out three batters.
Tennessee 5, Birmingham 2
Tyler Danish was roughed up for the second consecutive start as the Barons dropped a game to the rival Cubs affiliate Tennessee Smokies. Danish allowed five runs on eleven hits over five innings while striking out one batter. Danish, who had a 2.86 ERA in in April, has been struggling as his ERA has risen to 4.99 on the season. The Birmingham offense wasn’t much better, as they just managed two runs on four hits. Tim Anderson had a nice day as he went 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Reliever Tony Bucciferro was a bright spot as well, as he tossed four scoreless innings while only allowing two hits.
Lynchburg 8, Winston-Salem 3
The Dash held a 3-2 lead entering the 8th inning when a key error and a couple long balls broke the game wide open in favor of the Lynchburg Hillcats. Reliever Euclides Leyer allowed four unearned runs to score and Michael Ynoa allowed two more before the 8th inning was over. The bullpen meltdown spoiled a quality start from Jordan Guerrero who struck out seven over seven innings while allowing two runs. Eddy Alvarez continues to produce at the top of the lineup for the Dash as he homered, doubled, and walked. Alvarez has been unbelievably good in the 11 games since being promoted to Winston-Salem, hitting .389/.511/.611.
Kannapolis 4, Greensboro 2
Starter Thad Lowry was able to mostly scatter nine hits as he only allowed two runs over his 6.1 innings of work to earn the victory. Reliever Matt Cooper absolutely dominated the remainder of the game, throwing 2.2 perfect innings while striking out six(!). Cooper last allowed a run on July 2nd and since then he has worked 13 scoreless innings with four hits, no walks, and 26 strikeouts. I am going to throw some expert analysis out there and say that is really, really good.
Offensively, shortstop Ryan Leonards and third baseman John Ziznewski led the way as they did in Saturday’s game. Leonards, who homered Saturday, went 3-4 and Ziznewski went 1-1 with a double and a walk.
Helena 7, Great Falls 6
The Great Falls bullpen struggled as the Voyagers dropped a tightly contested ballgame to the Helena Brewers. 2015 4th round draft pick Zack Erwin started the game and only allowed one hit over three scoreless innings. Erwin has been nothing short of masterful in first professional season, he has a 0.84 ERA with 15 strikeouts to only three walks in his 21.1 innings. Lead-off man Landon Lassiter increased his OBP to .449 by reaching base four times, twice via the walk. Catcher Casey Schroeder swatted his first career home run and went 3-4 with a walk.
AZL Royals 8, AZL White Sox 6
The Arizona League Sox carried a 6-5 advantage into the 9th inning but reliever Andres Sanchez allowed three runs to score. Starter Brandon Quintero allowed five runs over 5.2 innings, but the White Sox offense were able to score four unearned runs thanks to three errors by the Royals. First baseman Corey Zangari carried over his strong game Saturday by going 2-4 with two RBI’s. The 18 year-old Zangari is hitting .359 over his last ten games.
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