Rochester Red Wings 3, Charlotte Knights 1
The Knights (44-36) scored one early in the bottom of the first but weren’t able to scratch another across, losing to the Red Wings (48-30), 3-1. Dru Baker led off the first with a double (his first of three hits on the day) and scored just a couple of batters later when Michael Turner drove him in on a base hit to right. After that, however, the offense fell completely flat, going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position while leaving seven on base.
Rochester only had one more hit than Charlotte, 6-5, but they were able to tag Knights starter Shane Murphy for three runs on four hits, three walks, and six strikeouts. Overall the bullpen was fairly strong, as Zach Franklin and Garrett Schoenle adding another three scoreless innings, with Franklin ringing up three batters in his two innings. Murphy still ended up with the loss, as there was no comeback to be happening in Charlotte tonight.
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Knoxville Smokies 7, Birmingham Barons 3
Birmingham was ahead of the Smokies (43-31) through seven innings, but the Barons (26-48) blew the lead in the eighth with a seven-run defensive implosion, dropping their eighth game in a row, 7-3. Tossing six scoreless frames with six strikeouts, righthander Dylan Cumming allowed just three hits and one walk, and was set up nicely to get the win, but unfortunately a few errors and six unearned runs were the difference there. The Barons scored one in the second on an RBI single from T.J. McCants, and the final two runs in the seventh off a sac fly from Alec Briley and another base hit from Anthony DePino to make it 3-0.
That’s when everything went haywire in the eighth, and it took three relievers just to get through it. A pair of singles set everything in motion, but a fielding error from Colby Shelton and a throwing error from Jackson Kelley, six of the seven runs that inning ended up being unearned. Kelley wound up with the loss and the blown save, his first of each this season, and the Barons will roll into Sunday in hopes to avoid the sweep and end the losing streak.
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Winston-Salem Dash 13, Hub City Spartanburgers 1
The Dash (42-32) got off to a hot start to redeem themselves from Friday’s extra-inning loss, scoring seven in the first four frames before piling on six more later in the game to complete the beatdown over the Spartanburgers (37-37), 13-1. Wikelman González was the opener for lefthander Grant Umberger, making his third rehab start since coming back from the IL to eventually make his way back to the Triple-A Knights. González was spotless for 1 1/3 innings, striking out one before handing the game over to Umberger. He was just as solid, tossing for 5 2/3 innings while allowing one on three hits and a walk while striking out three – thankfully the only run scored for Hub City.
Winston-Salem’s bats started to get going as well, mashing 16 hits as a team while going 6-for-19 (.316) with runners in scoring position, still leaving 14 on base even with all those runs scored. Three of the 16 hits were for extra bases, but the Dash also walked 12 times against 11 strikeouts. James Taussig has adjusted perfectly fine to the next level, already mashing six homers in 15 games; including two more tonight with a grand slam and five RBIs. All while holding a .655 slugging percentage and a 1.049 OPS. It’s a smaller sample size (58 at-bats), but he’s also driven in 14 and has walked 11 times, helping to keep his on-base percentage closer to .400.
Nearly everyone got at least one hit for the Dash, but Ryan Burrowes, Boston Smith, and George Wolkow also drove in two runs apiece, and six of the nine batters in the lineup had two or more hits. It was a well-rounded win for Winston-Salem, as the rest of the pitching staff was excellent, only giving up one more hit, walking one, and striking out three in the final two stanzas.
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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4, Columbia Fireflies 1
Snapping a four-game losing streak, the Cannon Ballers (36-38) pitching was elite and allowed just one run while the bats prevailed to defeat the Fireflies (38-36), 4-1. The only blemish from the pitchers was a solo home run off of Caedmon Parker in the second, but the righty otherwise gave up only two other hits and struck out three in his five innings. It took a few innings for the Kannapolis offense to really get rolling, but they continuously failed on their opportunities with runners in scoring position: 0-for-9 with nine left on base. Thankfully, the Fireflies assisted with the first run for the Ballers, as a throwing error conceded a run in the third to tie the game at one.
The three Kanny bullpen arms yielded one hit each and combined for two walks and seven strikeouts in the final four frames. Righthander Ryan Schiefer wound up with the win after a strong two-inning outing, thanks to a two-run Matthrew Boughton home run in the seventh that gave the Ballers a 3-1 lead. An RBI groundout from Leandro Alsinois added one more insurance run in the eighth, and Marco Barrios was able to record his fifth save of the season.
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Rookie Leagues
ACL Rangers 12, ACL White Sox 4
The ACL Sox (12-29) put up eight hits but couldn’t capitalize with runners and scoring position (1-for-7) while striking out 13 times as a team in their loss to the ACL Rangers (18-23), 12-4. Lefthander Christian Oppor has had a rough year thus far, holding a 9.87 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) with a steep 2.39 WHIP, and ended up with his sixth loss of the season Saturday. Oppor gave up two runs on two hits, but his command was all over the place with two wild pitches and four walks, only striking out two in comparison. The bullpen wasn’t much better, surrendering six in the fourth and another four in the sixth, but we can give the hat tip to righthander Marcelo Valladares, who was the only reliever not to allow any runs or walks with a clean, hitless frame. Jordan Rich and Yordani Soto each posted multi-hit days, with Soto mashing a two-bagger and a home run, though D’Angelo Tejada led the team with two runs batted in.
DSL Cubs Red 11, DSL White Sox 6
Despite holding a one-run lead after three, a defensive implosion in the bottom of the fourth allowed the DSL Cubs Red squad (12-8) to put up a seven-spot, ultimately leading to beating the DSL White Sox (5-15), 11-6. The Sox had tallied one more hit than the Cubs, 7-6, but righthander Erlyn Lauriano floundered with four walks, a balk, wild pitch, a hit batter, and just one single, leading to seven runs though just four were earned. The Good Guys attempted the comeback while scoring four in the fifth, but the bats stopped there and the bullpen let up another three anyways. Orlando Patino was the offensive standout for the Sox, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, and three batted in.
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