Jake Burger hit two homers and Romy Gonzalez doubled in his first at bat, making it four doubles in his last six at bats and seven hits in his first 10 at bats in Triple-A. But the Knights otherwise came up short again against their nemesis up the road, the Durham Bulls, who won 12-6 in Charlotte tonight. The Knights are now 4-15 versus the Bulls this season.
Gonzalez came down to earth after his sweet line-drive, opposite-field double in the third, with two groundouts and a strikeout. Meanwhile, Burger’s first blast, in the fourth, was hit too high for TrackMan to record. But his two-out, bottom-of-the-ninth shot was walloped an estimated 422 feet with a 105-mph exit velocity.
Kade McClure started and was tagged for six hits and six earned runs before being lifted in the fifth with no outs. But he had his moments when he looked much better than his stats suggest, with nice command of his breaking pitches.
The Knights came into this week playing improved baseball, having won four of six in their last series, albeit against the struggling Norfolk Tides. Manager Wes Helms said pre-game that the Bulls would present a good yardstick for just how well the team is playing now.
And they could well bounce back as the series unfolds, but they’ll need better starting pitching. Though McClure was also a bit unlucky in the first, having retired the first hitter and getting two strikes on the next, Taylor Walls. But a breaking pitch nicked Walls and the floodgates opened, with a walk, single and homerun in the blink of an eye.
The Knights also will need to tighten up a bit defensively after committing two errors tonight.
Scanning The Box Score
One of the other few bright spots for the Knights was the debut of reliever Anderson Severino, just up from Birmingham.
The 5’10, 190-pound lefty packs a punch, with a fastball that ranged from 99-101, and a 77-mph curve that left hitters frozen. Severino needed only 10 pitches to retire the side in the ninth, though that included a ringing double that he was able to pitch around. It is too soon to annoint him the next great relief prospect but he’ll be a fun one to watch navigate the comfy confines of Truist Field.
Tanner Banks, one of the Knights’ few multi-inning relievers, did what he has done all season, stepping up to keep the bullpen fresh with three innings of three-hit, two-run ball.
At the plate, Blake Rutherford had yet another opposite-field double in three trips, giving him 24 two-baggers on the season, which ties him for the lead in the 20-team Triple-A East.
Gavin Sheets and Zach Remillard added two singles each. Mikie Mahtook had a single in four trips. Mahtook’s hit tonight “drops” his average to .538 for his last seven games and .349 for the past 30 days.
But the Knights were just 2-9 with runners in scoring position, versus an obscene 6-13 for the Bulls.
It was also a tough night for the White Sox’ two rehabbing players, Billy Hamilton and Yasmani Grandal. The duo was hitless in eight trips, with six strikeouts (with a couple of questionable calls, however).
But Helms loves having his younger players see the preparation and focus of the veterans that have spent time in Charlotte, from pitchers like Mike Wright and Jace Fry to hitters like Eloy Jimenez and Jake Lamb. But he was as effusive about Grandal as any of them.
“Grandal is just baseball through and through,” Helms said. “He’s the guy who texted me yesterday on an off day, wanting to know who is starting for Durham. You just don’t get that from everybody.”
“And then to watch him sit in the clubhouse and play cards with the guys, and be in the cage working with Nate Nolan on his framing,” Helms continued, “that to me is the best thing about having them. Yeah, having him hit second and behind the plate is a plus. But just to see him in there working with the guys, talking baseball, hey, let’s do this, let’s do that, think about this with a runner on second, that’s what these young guys need. For a big leaguer to be here and give his time like that, that’s special.”
Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox
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