Only the top two affiliates were in action for Monday’s slate of games and both games included some big performances…
Charlotte 4, Toledo 1
Erik Johnson returned from his short promotion in Chicago and earned the win by tossing six strong innings for the Knights. Johnson struck out three, didn’t issue a walk, and his only blemish was a solo home run in the 2nd inning. Johnson was matched by Daniel Norris through six innings, but fortunately the Charlotte bats feasted on the Toledo bullpen, scoring three runs in the 8th. Tim Anderson and Matt Davidson, who both entered the game with batting averages below .200, broke out to combine for seven hits, including four doubles. Recently promoted Brad Goldberg earned his first AAA save, striking out one batter and pitched around a hit and an error to throw a scoreless 9th.
The Knights road trip continues in Ohio as they will face the Columbus Clippers on Tuesday with Chris Beck toeing the rubber.
Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 6
A furious rally by the Barons was countered by a 9th inning walk-off win for the Chattanooga Lookouts in a tightly contested ballgame. Starter David Holmberg had a rough night and wasn’t done any favors by his defense, as they committed two errors behind him. Holmberg allowed six runs (three earned) over six innings while striking out three and walking two. Nicky Delmonico supplied the power for the Barons by blasting two home runs in a three-hit assault on Lookout pitching. The home runs are very encouraging for Delmonico as he now has 3 HR’s over his last two games, as compared to last year when hit 4 HR’s during the entire 2015 campaign. Adam Engel and Keenyn Walker also added two hits apiece but Trey Michalczewski went 0-4 to snap his 10 game hitting streak. Robinson Leyer pitched 2.2 innings in relief of Holmberg but unfortunately allowed the winning run to score in the 9th.
The Barons face off against Chattanooga again Tuesday night with Brandon Brennan getting the start.
The Dash and Intimidators are back in action on Tuesday and are starting Jordan Stephens and Tanner Banks, respectively.
Want to know right away when we publish a new article? Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.