Nashville Sounds 5, Charlotte Knights 2 (Statcast box) Despite putting 11 runners on base via six hits and five walks, the Knights (59-69) couldn’t capitalize. Corey Julks and Dominic Fletcher started the game with back-to-back singles in the top of the first, and then, with two outs, Charlotte loaded the bases when Blake Sabol worked a free pass. Sadly, the Knights’ momentum stalled as the inning ended with zero tallies. Nashville quickly took control, however, scoring a run in the bottom of the first and piling
on three more in the second to take a 4-0 lead off recently demoted starter Sean Burke. The righthander lasted only 1 2/3 frames, clearly still struggling from whatever ails him.
The Knights finally got on the board in the third inning when Andre Lipcius doubled, driving in Dominic Fletcher, but the offense just couldn’t get it going. The rest of the game was a defensive battle, with both teams’ hurlers shutting down any major scoring threats.
Shockingly, the Knights’ bullpen mostly held strong after the second inning, limiting the Sounds’ offense to only one more run, but the Knights’ bats couldn’t figure out the Nashville pitchers, with the team striking out a total of 14 times. A glimmer of hope appeared in the seventh when Julks singled home Jacob Amaya, narrowing the deficit to 5-2. However, that was the last of the Knights’ scoring, as the final three innings were a series of strikeouts and ground outs. The team’s struggles with runners in scoring position, going only 1-for-7, and an inability to string together meaningful hits ultimately sealed their fate.
Knoxville Smokies 7, Birmingham Barons 3 (10 innings)
There was plenty of early promise for the Barons (74-49), who scratched across a pair of runs in the third inning thanks to some heads-up baserunning and clutch hitting. Jason Matthews set the table with a bunt single and later came around to score when a grounder was booted at short. William Bergolla wasted no time swiping second, and Wilfred Veras delivered with an RBI double to the gap, giving Birmingham a 2-0 lead.
On the mound, Shane Murphy kept the Smokies quiet through four, flashing impressive command and getting big outs with ground balls before handing things over to the pen. The 24-year-old has had an outstanding season, going 10-4 with a 1.57 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. My only question is, “Can we please see this guy as a September call-up?”
But as us White Sox fans know all too well, baseball games are not decided in the third, and the Barons found that out the hard way. Tennessee clawed back to even the score in the seventh, and once the game spilled into extras, the visitors’ bats erupted. A string of base knocks in the 10th cracked things wide open before Pablo Aliendo’s three-run blast put the game well out of reach. Birmingham managed to plate a lone run in their half, but it wasn’t enough, as the Barons fell in a game that started with small-ball precision and ended in long-ball heartbreak.
Winston-Salem Dash 4, Rome Emperors 3
Drake Logan got things moving along for the Dash (52-69) in the second inning with a leadoff triple. Then, with two outs, Lyle-Miller Green ripped a double to bring him home for the Dash’s first run. The Emperors answered in the third, but W-S surged back ahead in the fourth thanks to a Ryan Burrowes solo blast.
Rome briefly reclaimed the lead in the fifth, only for the Dash to knot it up 3-3 in the seventh on a Samuel Zavala single and a Jeral Perez double. The Dash seized the lead in the ninth when Jackson Appel worked a walk, Perez singled to put runners on the corners after a Zavala ground out, and Alec Makarewicz delivered a sacrifice fly to score the winning run.
For the majority of the game, the pitching staff delivered. Frankeli Arias set the tone with four strong innings, giving up just one run on four hits, walking none, and fanning three. The southpaw’s only blemish was a solo homer in the third. Reliever Jack Young was unfortunately not as sharp as Arias and was tagged for three runs in just 1/3 of an inning. Phil Fox took the mound in the ninth, allowed a two-out single, but slammed the door by inducing a pop out to secure his ninth save of the season.
Salem Red Sox 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4
The Ballers’ (57-66) bats started things off early, plating four in the first four frames, including clutch RBI doubles from George Wolkow and James Taussig. Anthony DePino also joined the party, launching his first home run of the season.
With the early tallies, Kanny held a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the sixth, but Salem chipped away with two runs in the frame to cut the margin in half. The Red Sox rallied again, scoring once in the seventh and twice in the ninth to snatch a 5-4 lead. The Ballers’ offense had one last shot in the bottom of the ninth to tie or walk it off, but could only muster a two-out single, watching their early momentum slip away.
Starter Justin Sinibaldi was terrific, tossing five frames of scoreless ball. He allowed only six baserunners with three walks and three hits while striking out four. The Sox selected the 24-year-old in Round 14 of last year’s draft. He had a rough start to the 2025 campaign, but has demonstrated improvement throughout the season. Pierce George struggled out of the pen, surrendering two runs in just 1/3 of an inning. Jake Peppers, who came on in the ninth to close things out, took the loss while also earning a blown save for allowing the tying and go-ahead tallies to come home.
