The Dash clinched the 2nd half crown in their division, but a couple other affiliates saw their playoff chances get a little dimmer…
Charlotte 11, Durham 7
The Knights went homer-happy, hitting five bombs en route to another win. Micah Johnson was the only true prospect to hit one, on a day he went 1-3 with a pair of walks but also committed a pair of errors. Dayan Viciedo (4-5), Matt Tuiasosopo (2-3), Chris Jacobs (2-4) and Chris Curley (2-3) added the other four long balls, on a day the Knights hit only singles and home runs. Starter Scott Carroll was hit around, allowing four runs (though just two earned) in 3.2 innings. Miguel Chalas has had trouble adjusting to AAA and allowed another 3 runs in his 2.1 frames, but Blake Smith and Junior Guerra threw three scoreless to keep the lead intact. Charlotte is technically still in the playoff race, but have an elimination number of 2 with 4 games left to play so they’d need a strong run and some help to sneak in.
Montgomery 4, Birmingham 3
The Barons continue to struggle and find themselves eliminated from postseason contention after leading their division for some time. In this one they fell behind early with starter Tyler Danish, who threw a technical quality start (3 ER in 7 IP) but gave up a fourth run unearned. Jacob May‘s 2-3 day with a double and Ryan Leonards‘ 2-4 showing weren’t enough as their the offense’s three runs fell one short.
Winston-Salem 5, Wilmington 0
The Dash won their third straight and eleventh in thirteen games to officially clinch the Carolina League’s Southern Division crown and first round home field advantage in the playoffs. Carson Fulmer threw three innings without allowing a run or a walk while whiffing four in his last regular season start. That leaves Fulmer with these numbers for his first pro regular season across Rookie and A+: 20 IP, 14 H, 5 ER, 2 HR, 9 BB, 22 K. Not to be out-done, lefty Brian Clark added five scoreless, walk-less innings of his own, striking out six. Clark has been dialed in since mid-July (when he started ramping up to starting innings): 38.1 IP, 25 H, 3 ER, 11 BB, 33 K. The Dash offense was led by Adam Engel (2-5, 3B, SB #65), Nick Basto (3-4, 2B) and Keon Barnum (1-3, HR, BB).
Kannapolis 10, West Virginia 6
The I’s offense had it in this one, led by Mason Robbins‘ 3-hit day including a triple. Toby Thomas added a pair of singles and a walk. Kelvis Valerio allowed six runs but only one earned (he made one of the team’s two errors himself) in his five frames. Connor Walsh and Ryan Riga combined for four scoreless innings. allowing the Kannapolis lineup to roar back from two down in the late innings.
Missoula 6, Great Falls 0
The Voyagers were shut out for the first time in 2015, and it came at an inopportune time as the club fell to a half game back in the wild card race. Starter Brannon Easterling allowed five runs (but only two earned) in five innings. A pair of players who just finished off an AZL championship run made their Pioneer League debuts: RHP Jordan Stephens threw two scoreless innings, and 1B/DH Corey Zangari went 2-4 with a double.
***NOTE: We will have one of our writers (Blake Simon) live in Great Falls for the Saturday and Sunday games this weekend. Keep an eye on the @FutureSox twitter feed for live insight, and the blog later for content.
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