Charlotte Knights 7, Rochester Red Wings 6 (11 innings)
Jonathan Cannon had a rough four-inning start that included three unearned runs of the six scored, but the Knights (44-34) were able to claw back and walk-off the Red Wings (46-30) in extras, 7-6. Cannon made his 10th start and ended up allowing eight hits, and the unearned runs were attributed to a fielding error from Andy Weber. The righty also struggled with control by hitting a batter, tossing a wild pitch, walking three, and striking out four in comparison, but it didn’t outweigh the damage.
Dominance out of the Knights bullpen helped pave the way for Charlotte batters to stage the comeback. Caden Connor was the sole Knight with more than one RBI, driving in the two tying runs with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. Korey Lee accounted for the the other two extra-base hits with a double and a homer, but Andy Weber ended up (mostly) redeeming himself from his previous error to walk it off and end the game … on an error from the second baseman, 7-6. Really, the second baseman probably should have made the play, but Lee was hoofing it the whole way and beat was still able to beat the throw.
Righthander Ben Peoples managed both of the extra frames, and was perfect while striking out two and earning his fifth win. Peoples has been excellent and has posted a 2.45 ERA in 28 appearances and 36 2/3 innings, but his walk rate could use a lot of work, hanging over 10% for this season which isn’t sustainable even with his increased 28.4% strikeout rate. Peoples could be another pitching prospect that we see rise to the bigs this season, but it’s unclear if that will be anytime soon.
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Knoxville Smokies 5, Birmingham Barons 1
Lefthander Lucas Gordon tossed for six solid innings and allowed two runs on four hits, a home run, and struck out eight in the process, ultimately receiving his fourth loss of the season as the Barons (26-46) dropped their sixth straight today with the 5-1 loss to the Smokies (41-31). The Birmingham bats only had two fewer hits that Knoxville, 7-5, but they fumbled all of their chances to score runs by going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and leaving six on base.
Overall, the defense as a whole was having a bad day. Caleb Bonemer committed three errors at short, and the two relievers out of the Barons bullpen – Jackson Kelley and Morris Austin – each gave up at least one run. To be fiar, the Barons weren’t capable of scoring runs anyways, it didn’t end up making a difference. For the sole Birmingham run, third baseman Alec Briley mashed a solo shot to avoid the shutout, but the offense was otherwise flat. On to the next one.
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Winston-Salem Dash 14, Hub City Spartanburgers 9
Winston-Salem had actually blown a five-run lead after giving up four runs to the Spartanburgers (36-36) in the third and fourth innings, but a six-run offensive explosion in the ninth led the Dash (41-31) to victory, 14-9. Not only did Winston-Salem put up 10 hits as a team, six of them were for extra bases and they also walked 13 times. Somehow even with scoring 14, they went just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and ended up leaving 11 on base; not a great day for Hub City pitchers, but I’m not complaining.
Alex Ungar and George Wolkow combined to go 3-for-9, scoring three times and driving in nine: five from Ungar that included a grand slam in the ninth, and four from Wolkow, who mashed two homers on the night. Aside from these standouts, James Taussig and Ryan Burrowes also rounded up two hits with the latter scoring three times.
Righthander Max Banks gave up two earned (four total) in his 2 2/3 inning start, allowing the Spartanburgers to catch up and then take the lead in the fourth as Drew Conover ended up with a blown save before he was bailed out by the hot bats and the final three pitchers out of the Dash bullpen. Winston-Salem pushed through Jake Bockenstedt’s five walks, and righthander Madison Jeffrey wound up with his first win of the season.
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Columbia Fireflies 7, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3
The Cannon Ballers (35-37) are now riding a three-game losing streak after losing to the Fireflies (37-35), 7-3. Offensively, Kannapolis got rocked and were outhit, 11-3, but a pair of errors from Columbia helped the Ballers avoid the shutout. With ample chances, they went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position while leaving six on base. Jaden Fauske posted two of the three Kanny hits, and Matthew Boughton ripped a double for the third, both players scoring once.
Truman Pauley made his 14th start of the season, ultimately giving three (two earned) on six hits, two walks, and six strikeouts, but it’s been a rough year for him as this wound up being his seventh loss. The remainder of the bullpen wasn’t much to write home about, either. Anthony Patterson III acted as the long reliever, but immediately got into trouble in the sixth and gave up three, but was otherwise solid for his final two innings despite the lack of offense.
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ACL White Sox 12, ACL D-backs 1 (7 innings)
It was great to see the ACL Sox (12-27) offense explode against the D-backs (21-19) Thursday, with a nine-run third frame as the main difference in the win for the Sox, 12-1. Jose Mendoza mashed a two-run shot in the second, and the bats popped off the next inning to give more than enough run support for the pitching staff to hang on and win the game. The third frame consisted of: four base hits, a double, four walks, two errors, a hit batter, and a wild pitch. Ouch, but thank you to the ACL D-backs for the morale booster. The Good Guys needed just two pitchers to get through the game, with righthander Justin Fuson earning his first win of the season while allowing just three hits and striking out five.
DSL Arizona Red 10, DSL White Sox 8 (7 innings)
Unfortunately the DSL White Sox (5-13) took another one on the chin, getting outhit, 8-4, by the DSL Arizona Red team (12-7) and losing, 10-8, despite going 3-for-5 with runners in scoring in scoring position. The Sox manufactured as many runs as the did by walking eight times, which was two more than they struck out (six), but the AZ Red squad went 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Both teams’ starters allowed six runs, but the Alexander De Los Santos surrendered four in his 2 2/3 frames and ended up with his second loss of the season.
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