A reshuffling of the batting order paid big dividends for the Knights in an 11-2 home win over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp tonight. We’ll find out over the next few games whether it was dumb luck, weak opposing pitchers or a brilliant tactical move, but a rejuvenated top of the lineup was a welcome change.
The game also saw a resurgence in power for the Knights, with scorching-hot Tim Beckham clubbing two more home runs, after two last night and two in last week’s series in Durham. Jake Burger added a three-run shot in a terrific nine-pitch at bat. In addition to the three home runs, the Knights had five doubles in their 11-hit attack.
The new lineup featured hot-hitting Matt Reynolds (.304) batting in the second spot, while Gavin Sheets moved up one spot to third and Burger slid back to fourth. Along with Luis Gonzalez in his familiar lead-off position, the top four hitters were a combined 7-17, with six runs scored and eight RBI.
Manager Wes Helms said he hoped the new look would provide the team with a lift, while at the same time alternating left- and right-handed hitters. “They have a lot of lefties in the pen,” he said, “so we didn’t want lefties hitting back to back. We also wanted to shake it up a little bit. I was hoping the players would look at the lineup last night when I sent it out and that it would spark them a little bit.”
Helms couldn’t say exactly what the impact of the new lineup was, but he noted that the team looked a lot better at the plate. “We had some really good at bats, we strung some hits together,” he said. “It is one of those things you don’t know (immediately) but we’re going to roll with it a little bit with this series.”
He also had high praise for Burger’s epic at bat, in which he took two balls and two strikes, and fouled off another four pitches before hitting his three-run homer.
“Jake’s so good at staying the other way,” Helms said. “He doesn’t pull off the ball. He stays on the ball so well. He got behind, he fouled balls off, he fouled balls off and he battled. He never gives in. He never spins off balls. He is never out in front too early. He has a great two-strike approach and it paid off tonight. He’s strong enough to hit it out of the ballpark even though he was out in front of that pitch a little bit.”
In the at bat, Burger said he focused on shortening up his stroke with two strikes and fighting off pitches. He said he also had a good swing at a back-foot slider on the eighth pitch and knew the pitcher wouldn’t try to go back to the same spot. “He ended up hanging one a little higher and I was able to get the bat out and connect pretty well,” he explained.
Burger also credited a Sheets walk in front of him. Sheets was ahead 3-0 in the count, but he chose to take the walk instead of being more aggressive because the lefty on the mound represented a better match-up for Burger.
Helms has said repeatedly that he wants his younger ballplayers to learn from the many veterans on the squad, and Burger said he has done just that. “(Beckham and I) are very similar hitters and we have a lot of discussions about approach,” Burger said. “It has been awesome learning from him. You’ve got guys like Mikie Mahtook and Matt Reynolds, a lot of vets on this team that you can learn a lot from.”
Lost in the offensive blizzard was a nice evening from the pitching staff. Starter Alex McRae gave the team five solid innings, and four relievers — Jace Fry, Ofreidy Gomez, Hunter Schryver and Tayron Guerrero — finished it up, surrendering one run and, importantly, just two walks.
The Knights will continue their series in Charlotte with the Jumbo Shrimp on Thursday evening.
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