Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6, Charlotte Knights 1
(Statcast box)
Things started with a bang as the Shrimp launched a leadoff homer to grab a 1-0 edge. Charlotte (59-73) answered back in their half with a bomb by Corey Julks, but after that, the Knights’ bats went into hibernation, managing just three singles over the final eight frames with 14 strikeouts.
Starter Duncan Davitt, acquired in the Adrian Houser deal with Tampa Bay,
put together a strong August, going 1-1 with a 3.62 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. Unfortunately, tonight was a different story. Jacksonville jumped all over him, tagging him for five runs in the first three innings and tacking on another in the sixth. The Knights’ bullpen managed to steady the ship for the remaining 3 1/2 innings, but it was all for naught as Charlotte’s offense was MIA.
Chattanooga Lookouts 4, Birmingham Barons 3
The Barons (75-52) jumped on the scoreboard in the top of the second. After Braden Montgomery worked a one-out walk, Ryan Galanie knocked a base hit, pushing Montgomery to third. Moments later, hurler Kevin Abel gift-wrapped a tally on a wild pitch that plated Montgomery for the first run of the contest. The Barons held that tight 1-0 lead until the bottom of the sixth when the Lookouts scored two. Birmingham trailed 2-1, and their offense was dormant until the top of the seventh when DJ Gladney hit a two-run four-bagger, flipping the script 3-2.
Sadly, the bullpen coughed it up late, surrendering the tying run in the bottom of the eighth and the dagger in the ninth as the Lookouts walked off the Barons 4-3. Righthander Riley Gowens had a nice start for Birmingham. After a rocky beginning of the season, the Libertyville-native has been solid during July and August, allowing only 13 earned runs in 50 innings over 10 starts. He was terrific tonight, tossing five shutout innings. No complaints there.
Winston-Salem Dash 1, Greenville Drive 0
This was a beautifully pitched contest on both sides of the diamond. The Dash (54-71) got their lone tally early, courtesy of a Jeral Perez blast in the first, and that was the sum total of their offense. Both lineups went quietly from there, sprinkling only seven total hits throughout the game.
The WS arms spun a three-hitter, with Gage Ziehl setting the tone out of the gate. Ziehl came to Chicago from the Yankees in the Austin Slater trade in July. Ziehl was a Round 4 pick (No. 119) for the Bronx Bombers in 2024. The 22-year-old was nails: five shutout innings with one lonely hit, two walks, and four Ks. The relief corps was equally impressive, with Morris Austin, Carson Jacobs, and Phil Fox letting just two guys reach in the final four frames.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 10, Augusta GreenJackets 6 (Monday)
Kannapolis (61-66) came out swinging, racking up six runs in the first two innings, swiping six bags, and drawing nine walks for good measure. The Ballers wasted no time in the first as Jordan Sprinkle bunted his way on, stole second without blinking, and Ely Brown cashed him in. Small ball, big results.
The Ballers put up a five-spot in a wild second inning that included three doubles by Kaleb Freeman, Brown, and George Wolkow as well as two walks, a single, three more stolen bases, a sac fly, and a wild pitch. Phew. Nine Ballers batted, six runs crossed, and Kannapolis was off to the races. By the fifth, they’d piled on four more, stretching the lead to 10-1 and leaving the other guys gasping for air.
Starter Jake Curtis did his job, hurling five innings, and allowing one run on six hits, no free passes, and six punchouts. Reliever Pierce George kept the lights on with two clean frames. Then came Blake Shepardson in the eighth, and the wheels nearly came off by allowing four runs, and he couldn’t finish the inning. But the Ballers had already built a fortress, and not even a bullpen meltdown could spoil this one.
