Lost somewhat in all the excitement of Jake Burger’s promotion and the return of Yermin Mercedes to Charlotte was Jimmy Lambert’s best outing of the season in the Knights’ 4-0 win over the Norfolk Tides in Charlotte tonight.
The possibility also arose tonight that yet another Knight could be headed to Chicago shortly. Catcher Seby Zavala was pulled from the Knights’ game tonight on instructions from Chicago after White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal left his game with calf tightness. Update: Zavala is in Detroit with the White Sox but hasn’t been activated.
Meanwhile, in tonight’s game, Lambert tossed 5.2 innings of two-hit, shutout ball, with three walks, a hit batsman and eight strikeouts. He demonstrated excellent command on both his fastball and breaking pitches.
But one of the most positive signs that Lambert is progressing as a potential major league starter occurred in the fourth inning. After sailing through three innings, Lambert suddenly lost the plate, surrendering a single to the first hitter, striking out the second, hitting the third and walking the fourth. But after a mound visit from pitching coach Matt Zaleski, Lambert induced a tailor-made doubleplay ground ball to escape trouble.
Equally important, Lambert regained form, getting a strikeout and two groundouts in the fifth and two more groundouts in the sixth before being pulled because of his pitch count.
“I thought his stuff was the best tonight,” manager Wes Helms said. “He had an electric fastball, he was able to command his breaking ball, he sequenced his pitches right and he attacked the hitters the way Zaleski and he planned. He had sharp break on his curve ball tonight and he really commanded it. Tonight was his best effort this year by far.”
Lambert attributed his success the last few starts to better fastball command and a curveball that has improved throughout the season. “Every game, I’ve just been able to command the fastball and one or two off-speed pitches,” he said. “There hasn’t been a game yet when I’ve had everything going but I’ve been able to have some success the last three or four starts because I’ve had two or three pitches every game where I’ve felt pretty good with them.”
Burger Departs, Mercedes Returns
In what was baseball’s worst-kept secret Thursday night, Burger was added to the White Sox roster today. But few expected two other roster changes: Mercedes and Zack Burdi were returned to the Charlotte to make room for Burger and Adam Eaton.
Helms said Mercedes would play multiple positions in Charlotte, including DH, catcher, first base and outfield. “He didn’t get to play a lot of positions in Chicago,” Helms said. “So it is time for us to get him back to the Yermin we know. He’s a good catcher. I had in Birmingham and at the alternate site and he’s one of our best catch-and-throw guys in the organization.”
A Different Offensive Approach May Be On The Horizon
It is a different attack, to be sure, without Sheets and Burger. The Knights managed just five singles, a Luis Gonzalez RBI double and a Tim Beckham home run, though they also faced one of the Tides’ better starting pitchers. Beckham, Nick Williams and Luis Gonzalez had two hits apiece.
Mercedes’ bat will help, but others will need to step up. Helms said the team also may need to play more small-ball at times to manufacture runs. “There might be games,” he said, “depending on the arms we’re facing, where we might not drive the ball out of the park. The power is definitely down with those two guys gone, so we may have to play small-ball, hit and run, put guys in motion to put pressure on the defense.”
The Bullpen Steps Up
With Lambert leaving in the sixth with just a 2-0 lead, it was a big challenge for the Knights’ pen. Early in the season, the bullpen never would have brought this win home. But it has shown important growth in the past few weeks, and tonight’s win underscores that progress.
Hunter Schryver, Keyvius Sampson, Connor Sadzeck and Nik Turley combined for the final 3.1 innings, allowing one hit and three walks while fanning five Tides.
Tonight saw Helms play more match-ups with his relievers. Up to this point in the season, he had been content to let his relievers pitch an inning at a time, based in part on a pre-game plan to ensure that pitchers got enough work. “Tonight we did it a little different and it paid off,” Helms said. “We went more match-ups. We are that point where guys are getting enough innings so now is time to maybe manage a little different and try to get a win late in a ballgame.”
An Eye On The White Sox
I asked Helms in a post-game interview if he had had a chance yet to look at the White Sox box score to see how Burger and Sheets did. He just laughed. “I didn’t have to,” he said. “Everybody was screaming in my ear during the game. There’s always somebody in the clubhouse watching the White Sox game. He told us about Jake’s two hits and then we were just coming in off the field when Gavin hit a three-run homer. We’re tickled to death.”
Accolades for Mike Wright
Knights ace Mike Wright was named Triple-A East Pitcher of the Month for June. Wright was 4-0 last month, with a 2.78 ERA in five starts. On the season, Wright is 5-1, leads the league in ERA and tied for second in batting average against (.190), strikeouts (58) and WHIP (0.90).
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