Charlotte 3, Gwinnett 2
Starter Brad Penny fired seven shutout innings and Jason Coats and Rob Brantly blasted home runs to lead the Knights past the Gwinnett Braves. Penny has been a consistent presence in the Charlotte rotation, he has a 3.93 ERA over 105.1 innings this season and picked up his sixth win Tuesday. Coats’ 3rd inning solo home run was his 14th in 99 games with the Knights, and since the All-Star break he has an impressive .315/.362/.537 batting line. Brantly, who has been splitting catching duty with Kevan Smith, is having his finest season since 2012 when he was a top prospect in all of baseball. Brantly is hitting .333/.357/.520 in 38 games between Birmingham and Charlotte and has a .381 batting average over his last ten contests. Closer Junior Guerra pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his 3rd save.
Pensacola 13, Birmingham 10
The Barons fell behind 11-0 in this game before mounting a furious comeback bid fueled by Jacob May, who hit for the cycle. May, who missed most of June and July with a concussion he suffered on June 3rd, put to rest any lingering doubts about his health with a dominating performance. The speedy center fielder went 4-5 and completed the cycle in dramatic fashion with a 8th inning three-run home run. May’s feat was actually the second time this season a Baron has hit for the cycle as teammate Tim Anderson accomplished it on May 9th.
Starter Myles Jaye was the recipient of some bad defense as he allowed nine runs (four earned) over three innings before departing. Despite the rough outing, Jaye’s season ERA is still below 3.00, as it sits at 2.93.
Potomac 8, Winston-Salem 5 (Game completed from July 13th)
The Dash dropped the completion of a game that was suspended back on July 13th. Pitcher Brian Clark, who has been masterful recently, I guess did not appreciate going back in time and was roughed up for eight runs (seven earned) over 4.1 innings. Despite this, because all the stats will be contributed to July 13th, Clark still technically has a 12.1 inning scoreless streak over his last two outings. First baseman Keon Barnum hit his 5th home run (actually hit in July, just getting credited now) and Eddy Alvarez, who retroactively joined the Dash for this game, went 2-2 with a walk and a stolen base. Alvarez’s stats will be credited to July 13th even though he was a member of the Kannapolis Intimidators at that time. Thankfully the Intimidators had the 13th off so the game stat keepers’ heads would not explode. Got all that? OK, back to August….
Winston-Salem 1, Potomac 0 (7 innings)
Andre Wheeler only allowed two hits and one walk over four scoreless inning as the Dash shutout the Potomac Nationals during the second game on Tuesday. Relievers Jake Cose and Brad Goldberg followed and completed the shutout to earn the win and the save, respectively. The Dash offense could only manage five hits, but Adam Engel came through with an RBI double in the top of the 6th inning to drive in the winning run. In the bottom of the 6th, Engel saved the lead he created by making a diving catch in center field with the bases loaded. Outfielder Nolan Earley went 2-2 and Eddy Alvarez went 1-3.
Hickory 6, Kannapolis 5
The Intimidators made a couple costly errors as they dropped a tight contest to the Hickory Crawdads. Outfielder Michael Suiter dramatically extended his hitting streak to 20 games in the top of the 8th inning but then committed a fielding error in the bottom of the 8th which allowed the winning run to score. Starter Yelmison Peralta was similarly victimized by an error as he allowed five runs (one earned) over 2.2 innings. 2015 4th round draft pick Zack Erwin pitched three innings in relief and took the tough luck loss with the aforementioned unearned run. Erwin has not allowed an earned run thus far with the Intimidators and has a 0.68 ERA over his first 26.1 professional innings.
Great Falls 4, Grand Junction 3
It’s been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of season for pitcher Matt Ball, as he alternates excellent starts with terrible ones. The good Matt Ball showed up Tuesday as he fired five scoreless innings to earn the win. Third baseman Johan Cruz continues his hitting assault as he went 2-4 and is hitting .405 over his last ten games, which raises his season line to .322/.346/.422. Catcher Zach Fish added two hit as well to help the Voyagers score just enough runs to squeak by the Grand Junction Rockies.
AZL White Sox 5, AZL Brewers 4
Second baseman Bradley Strong had a monster game that was capped off with a walk-off single. Strong, a 2015 28th round draft selection, went 4-5 with a double and three stolen bases. Starter Christopher Comito labored through four innings, allowing two runs on six hits and four walks. 2015 5th round pick Jordan Stephens relieved Comito and allowed his first professional earned run over 1.2 innings. Reliever Taylore Cherry pitched a perfect 9th inning to set the stage for Strong’s heroics and earned the win.
DSL White Sox 6, DSL Orioles 1
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