On paper, the Knights’ offense should have had a good night, with rehabbing major leaguers Eloy Jimenez and Jake Lamb, along with Yermin Mercedes, hitting two-three-four in the batting order, and Gwinnett having a bullpen game.
On paper. Instead, Gwinnett rolled to an 11-3 win. The offense had little punch, with just five hits, with the first one not coming until the sixth. The Knights have now lost seven in a row, including five straight versus Gwinnett this week.
Knights’ starter Mike Wright battled over six innings, but was touched for three runs in the third on two doubles and a homer. A Yermin Mercedes two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth actually cut the lead to 3-2, but Wright was replaced by Tyler Johnson in the top of the seventh, and the roof caved in.
One-third of an inning later, the score was 9-2 and this one was over.
This continues to be a lost season for the once-highly-regarded Johnson, who remains on the White Sox 40-man roster. Pitching coach Matt Zaleski said Johnson has struggled with his mechanics as he searches for the delivery that was so successful in 2018 and 2019. In addition, Zaleski said Johnson was further hampered until recently because of a hip injury.
Jimenez, Lamb Look Rusty
Jimenez’ timing has been off all week, especially on breaking pitches, and tonight was no different as the White Sox star struck out in three straight at bats before hitting his first extra-base hit in Charlotte, a double in the bottom of the eighth. Lamb had a better night at the plate, with a hit and a walk in three plate appearances. But he struggled defensively at third base, with an error on a grounder and a bobble on another grounder that prevented a double play.
Jimmy Lambert’s Status
Is Jimmy Lambert going to start in Chicago next week? Or does Reynaldo Lopez, now on the White Sox roster, get the ball for one of the doubleheader games on Monday? Or someone else? The Knights announced that reliever Tanner Banks will start the finale against Gwinnett on Sunday, on what should have been Lambert’s turn. Lambert started Tuesday’s game but was pulled after one inning and just 39 pitches.
Scanning The Box Score
Wright gave up four hits and three earned runs in six innings of work, along with an uncharacteristic three walks, and four strikeouts.
Wright leads the team in innings pitched, by a huge margin. In fact, he’s first in innings in the 20-team Triple-A East with 73. He has pitched at least five innings in all 12 of his starts, but has been slightly less effective in his last three outings.
Zaleski doesn’t think Wright is wearing down, and attributes any recent problems to a glitch in his mechanics. The excessive heat and humidity in Wright’s two starts in Jacksonville last week also were likely a factor. Unlike the rest of the Knights’ staff, Wright pitched in 2020, in Japan. As a result, Zaleski thinks Wright has the stamina for the heavy workload he’s maintained thusfar.
On the offensive stat sheet, Luis Gonzalez had three walks and Blake Rutherford had an RBI single in four trips. Laz Rivera made his first appearance as a Knight, replacing Lamb late in the game and going 0-2 with a strikeout.
Photo credit: Sean Williams/FutureSox
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Great recap, you should be writing professionally.