Charlotte 4, Gwinnett 2
After a couple of average starts (by his ridiculous standards), Erik Johnson was back to his usual dominant self Thursday as he struck out eight batters over six shutout innings to defeat the Gwinnett Braves. Johnson has a 0.88 ERA in his past ten starts and at this point is just waiting for another chance with the White Sox since he has nothing left to prove in the minors. Johnson left the game with a 4-0 lead provided mostly by catcher Rob Brantly, who went 2-3 and drove in three runs. Reliever J.B. Wendelken’s Charlotte struggles continued as he allowed two runs over his inning of work. However, Blake Smith and Junior Guerra tossed a perfect 8th and 9th inning respectively to nail down the victory. Ethan Wilson and rehabbing Emilio Bonifacio each collected two hits to pace the Knights offense.
Montgomery 4, Birmingham 1
With Tim Anderson sidelined with a day-to-day injury, the Barons offense struggled as they lost to the Montgomery Biscuits. Starter Tyler Danish pitched six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk to take the loss. First baseman Danny Hayes had a solid day at the plate, going 2-3 with a walk while Jacob May went 1-5 with a double and was caught stealing. Reliever Tyler Barnette pitched two scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to 1.95. The 23 year-old righty has has progressed nicely to be a possible future bullpen option.
Potomac 5, Winston-Salem 1
The Dash dropped the rubber match to the Potomac Nationals on Thursday behind an anemic offensive performance. The Winston-Salem hitters coaxed eight walks, but could only manage five hits and one run as went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Trey Michalczewski went 1-3 with a double and walked twice and Nick Basto went 2-3 with a walk. Starter Matt Heidenreich lost only his third game of the year as he pitched six innings and allowed three runs. Adam Engel walked twice and stole his Carolina League leading 53rd base.
Hickory 9, Kannapolis 6
After jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, the Kannapolis pitchers couldn’t keep Hickory off the board as they dropped the game. Thad Lowry was roughed up to the tune of five runs over four innings and three relievers that followed him could not throw a clean inning. Outfielder Michael Suiter went 1-4 to extend his hitting streak to 22 games, which is the longest in Intimidators’ history and 3rd longest in all of the minor leagues in 2015. Suiter is hitting .308 over the course of his streak and has a .240/.296/.315 line this season between Winston-Salem and Kannapolis. First baseman Cody Daily went 3-4 with a double to lead the Kannapolis offense.
AZL White Sox 5, AZL Reds 2
The AZL White Sox benefited from three errors from the Reds and an excellent start from Brandon Quintero to win on Thursday. Quintero only allowed three hits and one run over five innings while striking out four. Shortstop Amado Nunez went 2-4 with a double and three RBI’s and center fielder Hunter Jones went 3-5. Recently promoted Maiker Feliz went 0-3 with a walk and second baseman Bradley Strong went 2-3 with a walk.
DSL Blue Jays 6, DSL White Sox 2
Ramon Beltre went 3-4 with a double but it wasn’t enough to overcome a bullpen meltdown as the Sox dropped a 6-2 decision down in the Dominican.
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