Fresh off his first major-league win, Jimmy Lambert took the mound tonight, hoping to help the Charlotte Knights finally get into the victory column against the Durham Bulls in game four of this home stand.
Ten days ago, Lambert looked terrific beating the Oakland As with five innings of three-hit ball. It was more of a struggle tonight, but Lambert ended up surrendering just one earned run, scattering five hits and three walks over 4.2 innings in a 5-4 win. It is no doubt a sign of progress that Lambert was able to succeed without his best stuff.
After Lambert departed, Lane Ramsey, Anderson Severino and Nik Turley followed with 3.1 innings of shutout ball. That set the stage for Carl Edwards Jr. and a crazy ninth inning that saw the recently-added veteran reliever yield three hits and two runs before getting a big strikeout with the tying run on second base to preserve the victory.
Despite allowing multiple baserunners, Lambert had good command of his fastball, slider and curve, firing 88 pitches in all, one of his longer outings of the year.
The 26-year-old righty has now tossed 64.1 innings for the Knights and another 13 for the White Sox. Perhaps he has another start left or two in Chicago or Charlotte but his season could easily be winding down — successfully — sooner than later in his first year back after Tommy John surgery.
“Jimmy’s fastball command has gotten a lot better throughout the year,” pitching coach Matt Zaleski observed. “His feel for the off-speed stuff, he’s just done a really nice job.”
Zaleski said Lambert actually has two variations on his slider that he uses to keep hitters even more off-balance.
At The Plate
There were several hitting stars for the Knights, including a solo homer by Seby Zavala; a triple, double and single for Ti’Quan Forbes; and doubles for Mikie Mahtook and Marco Hernandez.
But Danny Mendick had one of the grittiest at bats, coming up in the bottom of the second with a runner on third and two outs. Mendick hammered a 2-2 pitch to right to drive in the run, his second opposite-field hit of the night.
Right fielder Micker Adolfo also showed off his cannon of an arm, with two beautiful strikes to second base. Though neither were in time to get the runner, both efforts were impressive.
Ironically, he did get an outfield assist in the 9th when second baseman Hernandez backed off a pop-fly just beyond the infield dirt, thinking Adolfo was positioned to make the play. But the ball fell in for a “hit” though Adolfo had more than enough time to get the runner who was holding at first base.
Tonight’s win follows three tough losses to the division-leading Bulls, including Thursday night’s 8-6 loss after the Knights jumped to a 6-0 lead. The win on Thursday clinched the Southeast Division title for the Rays’ affiliate.
Photo credit: Sean Williams/FutureSox
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