Charlotte Knights 7, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 2
Knights put up a two-spot in the first, as back-to-back leadoff walks to Rikuu Nishida and Dru Baker, a single by Ryan Galanie and a ground out by Junior Perez got the job done. The RailRiders tied it up though in the bottom of the second, plating two off the rehabbing Drew Thorpe. Charlotte struck back in the third with a two-run shot from Galanie (his 19th) to take a 4-2 lead, in what would become the GWRBI:
Riley Unroe launched another two-run
shot, in the top of the fourth, making it 6-2 Knights and salting the game away.
Thorpe was strong once more in his rehab start, going five innings with just those two runs, along with six Ks against two walks. He threw 83 pitches, and theoretically would be ready for a call-up back to the South Side as soon as next week. For the season, Thorpe is 1-0 with a 2.86 ERA over 22 innings, with a 1.000 WHIP.
Special Tylers note: Not sure how often it’s happened for Charlotte this season, but Tyler Davis relieved Tyler Gilbert in the game, and both hurlers were terrific, combining for 2 IP, BB, 2 Ks.
MVP
Ryan Galanie (DH): 3-for-5, R, HR, 4 RBI, 29.0% WPA
Runners-Up
Drew Thorpe (RHSP): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB, WIN (1-0)
Riley Unroe (3B): 1-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K, 2 hard hits, 9.5% WPA
Rikuu Nishida (2B): 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, SB
Dru Baker (RF): 0-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Tim Elko (1B): 1-for-3, R, BB
Jason Matthews (SS): 1-f0r-3, 2B, BB, K, PO/CS
Tyler Davis (RHRP): IP, 2 K
Nick Altermatt (RHRP): 2 IP, 13-of-18 strikes
Cold Cat
Korey Lee (C): 1-for-5, 2B, 3 K
Runners-Up
Joey Wiemer (LF): 0-for-4, K
Birmingham Barons 9, Chattanooga Lookouts 1
Don’t look now, but the Barons (22-25 second half, two games out of a playoff spot) are on the prowl for a third straight Southern League title. Yeah, their season record is 48-68, but in an eight-team league, odds are pretty sweet you can see some postseason play no matter how much you’ve struggled.
Bham jumped out on top right away in the first, 4-0, on a pair of two-run blasts by Alec Briley and Ryan Burrowes. Burrowes in fact would tap out three hits on the night, so here’s his longest clout:
Birmingham added a tally in the second on a leadoff single by Samuel Zavala, who then swiped second, was knocked over to third on a base hit by Dylan Campbell and came home on a sac fly from Caleb Bonemer.
Barons pitching was plenty stingy, if a bit wild (seven walks). Juan Carela, rehabbing from TJS, trimmed his ERA down to 4.20 with four-inning start that yielded Chatty’s only run of the game.
MVP
Alec Briley (DH): 2-for-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB, 15.9% WPA
Runners-Up
Ryan Burrowes (SS): 3-f0r-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB, 14.9% WPA
Juan Carela (RHSP): 4 IP, 2 H, ER, 5 K, 4 BB, 10.1% WPA
Dylan Campbell (RF): 2-for-5, 2B
Anthony DePino (1B): 2-for-5, R
Samuel Zavala (CF): 2-for-2, R, 2 BB, SB
Mathias LaCombe (RHRP): 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Liam Paddack (LHRP): 2 IP, H, 5 K, WIN (3-0)
Cold Cat
Jorge Corona (C): 0-for-5, 3 K
Runners-Up
Caleb Bonemer (3B): 1-for-4, R, RBI, K
Jordan Sprinkle (LF): 0-for-4, 2 K, CS
Greenville Drive 5, Winston-Salem Dash 1
In spite of the loss, the Dash (25-24 in the second half) remained a half-game up in the second-half playoff race. However, the boys didn’t play like a postseason club tonight, with half as many errors (two) as hits (four). And those four hits consisted of three singles and a double, so let’s eat some Wheaties tomorrow, fellas.
The top of the first seemed to foreshadow how this game would go for W-D, as Ely Brown and Javier Mogollón walked, and a Kyle Lodise K later the pair executed a double-steal. But with ducks on the pond, George Wolkow swung through an outside pitch and Jeral Perez tried to golf one off of his toes, both striking out and leaving the scoreboard Dash-parched.
MVP
Carlton Perkins (RHRP): IP, 3 K, 10-0f-13 strikes
Runners-Up
Javier Mogollón (2B): 2-f0r-3, 2B, R, BB, K, SB
George Wolkow (RF): 1-for-3, RBI, BB, 2 K
Nick McLain (DH): 0-for-2, 2 BB, K, CS
Drew Conover (RHRP): IP, K, 11-of-15 strikes
Cold Cat
Wes Kath (1B): 0-for-4, 4 K
Runners-Up
Jackson Appel (C): 0-for-4, 4 K, 1-for-1 CS
Derek Cerda (LF): 0-for-3, 2 K
Ely Brown (CF): o-for-3, BB, K, SB
Kyle Lodise (SS): 1-for-4, 3 K, SB
Jeral Perez (3B): 0-for-4, 2 K
Drew McDaniel (RHSP): 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K, LOSS (2-7)
Max Banks (RHRP): IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K
Fredricksburg Nationals 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 0
It was absolute stinker of a game for Kanny, (61-55), who mustered just four singles and managed to get caught stealing three times without a single swipe.
The FredNats got on the board first with a solo shot in the third, and then another jack in the fourth off Ballers starter Truman Pauley gave them a 2-0 edge. The Nasty Nats added an insurance run in the sixth to take a 3-0 advantage. Plus side for Pauley: He gave up just two hits over 4 1/3 innings. Minus side: Both were home runs, helping drop him to 2-11 on the season.
MVP
Daniel Wright (RHRP): 1 ⅔ IP, H, 2 K
Runners-Up
Jaden Fauske (LF): 1-for-3, BB
Alexander Albertus (3B): 1-for-3, BB, 2 K, CS
Efren Teran (2B): 1-for-2, BB
Cold Cat
Stiven Flores (C): 0-for-4, 0-for-5 CS
Runners-Up
Truman Pauley (RHSP): 4 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, HB, LOSS (2-11)
Rylan Galvan (DH): 0-for-4, 3 K
Christian Gonzalez (RF): 1-for-3, BB, 2 K, PO/2 CS
Marco Barrios (RHRP): IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K, HR
