Don’t let Gavin Sheets’ easy-going demeanor fool you. He’s passionate about baseball and that fire was on full display tonight in the Knights’ 6-4 loss to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in Charlotte.
The game featured an unusual amount of close calls that proved pivotal to the outcome, and a few of the calls, upon closer inspection of replays in the press box, looked, well, flat-out bad. And it was enough to enrage Sheets, twice, who exploded on the umpires and probably should have been ejected.
On the second of his two outbursts, there were runners on the corners and no outs in the top of the ninth of a one-run game. But pitcher Will Carter induced a grounder to Sheets, who stepped on the bag for one out, looked the runner on third back to the bag, and then threw to Matt Reynolds at second base, who appeared to tag the runner in plenty of time. But the umpire called the runner safe, to Sheets’ disbelief.
“He’s passionate about winning and when you’re passionate about winning, you show your emotions more,” manager Wes Helms said after the game. “That’s Gavin for you. He understands the game, he’s taking up for the position player there and he’s also taking up for his pitcher.”
Helms ran out on the field to protect his player, and to share his concerns with the umpiring crew. He was particularly frustrated about a close play at first base when the umpire appeared out of position to make the call.
“When you have one-run game like that, you want to let them know that they have to be locked in on every call,” he said. “I had to let them know that they have to do a better job of getting in position to see the tag.”
The Offense
The bottom half of the batting order had a terrific game, especially Tim Beckham, who hit two home runs tonight, to go along with the two he hit last week in Durham, and now is tied for the club lead (with six) with Sheets, Jake Burger and Mikie Mahtook, who also homered tonight. Matt Reynolds chipped in two singles and Marco Gonzalez added a double.
But the top of the batting order — Luis Gonzalez, Blake Rutherford, Burger and Sheets — could not keep pace, with just three singles in 16 trips. I asked Helms before the game if his young players have hit a wall, but he contends they are fresh, fundamentally sound and just running into some excellent pitching.
The Pitching
Reynaldo Lopez had an odd night. He threw 96 pitches, 63 of which were strikes, which is about on par with MLB averages, though it sure felt like he was behind a lot of hitters. He scattered eight hits and three walks but also recorded seven strikeouts. He left with two outs in the fifth, down 3-1.
At that point, Jace Fry, Tyler Johnson, Danny Dopico, Zack Burdi and Will Carter pitched the final 4.1 innings, giving up five hits, three earned runs and four walks while striking out four.
It was Johnson’s first appearance in Charlotte after rehabbing from a thigh injury in the lower minors, and he struggled with his control, yielding two hits, a walk and two earned runs. Carter also gave up a run in the ninth.
Photo credit: Sean Williams/FutureSox
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