The Knights took a pounding, but the other three contests were very close affairs. The Dash walked off to pull out a win and save the affiliates from a second straight sweeping…
Norfolk 20, Charlotte 4
Let’s just get the ugliness out of the way first. It was essentially a bullpen day in Charlotte, with Erik Johnson called up to Chicago and Terance Marin filling in as the starter. He pitched 4 innings of 3-run ball, which is pretty reasonable considering he wasn’t stretched out, but they tried to push it to the 5th and that’s where things fell apart. After 4 straight hits Marin was lifted for Phillippe Aumont, who gave up three more hits, a walk and wild pitch in that 6th inning. Blake Smith, Will Lamb and Matt Purke fared no better, allowing a combined 11 more runs. Purke’s were unearned though, and the Knights’ 4 errors on the night just threw gas on the fire. Amazingly, they also turned four double plays, and still gave up 20 runs.
On the offensive side, Matt Davidson had a nice game, including a double, single and a walk (and no strikeouts). Carlos Sanchez had the other 2-hit day, including his second home run. Travis Ishikawa also went deep for the first time in 2016.
Chris Beck gets the start in the series finale tonight.
Jackson 5, Birmingham 4
Starter Jordan Guerrero cruised through 4 scoreless innings, before things fell apart in the 5th (much like Marin). After giving up a pair of walks around a hit, Manager Ryan Newman was ejected for arguing the strike zone. Another hit and another walk, Guerrero was pulled. After a Brad Goldberg wild pitch allowed the tying run to score, he stranded the other runners to keep it tied. Brian Clark gave up the difference-maker on an odd play where he deflected a ball off his glove that ended up in left field. It was the first run Clark has allowed this season.
Adam Engel (2-5 with a triple) and Trey Michalczewski (2-4 with a double) both registered multi-hit games. Jake Peter also doubled.
David Holmberg will start in the finale of this series, later this morning.
Winston-Salem 6, Myrtle Beach 5
Late rallies in the 8th and 9th innings from the Dash kept White Sox affiliates from being swept again. Toby Thomas‘ walk-off base hit in the bottom of the 9th was part of his 2-for-5 day. Nick Basto had a double, single and a walk, and he continues to be the biggest offensive thread in the Winston-Salem lineup (.936 OPS thus far). Chris O’Dowd and Gerson Montilla also had 2-hit days. Louie Lechich has struggled mightily at the plate to open 2016 (.118 AVG, 15 K in 53 PA).
Starter Thaddius Lowry made another incremental improvement in his third start, allowing three runs (two earned) in 5.1 innings. He was pulled at 90 pitches, but he’s throwing strikes more often and missing more bats, which is key for him.
The Dash are also wrapping up their current set this evening, with #16 prospect Jordan Stephens getting the start.
West Virginia 10, Kannapolis 9
The Intimidators opened a big lead early, only to see if vaporize late as they lost their second straight tough, one-run contest. There were plenty of highlights for the hitters, including home runs from Corey Zangari (his 3rd of the year), Tyler Sullivan (the first in his pro career), and Casey Schroeder. After scuffling in his first week of Class A at-bats (.182 AVG, 11 K in 25 PA), Zangari has been on fire in his second week (.323/.364/.677, though still 13 K in 34 PA). Landon Lassiter went 2-for-5, causing his average to drop to .421. Micker Adolfo and Antonio Rodriguez had two-hit games, as the outfield continues to be a strength on this squad.
Zachary Thompson booked his best start of the year by any measure. But the usually reliable bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, as Ryan Hinchley, Matt Ball and Taylore Cherry allowed 9 runs (7 earned) over the last three innings. All three of them had been solid or better up to this point in the season, so probably best not to read too much into this one.
This series concludes this morning very early (10:35am ET), with Tanner Banks on the hill for the I’s.
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