Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5, Charlotte Knights 3
The Knights (7-10) took a 2-0 lead into the fifth and posted the same number of hits (seven) as the Jumbo Shrimp (10-8), but the Charlotte bullpen allowed five earned runs while the offense went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position to seal their third loss in a row, 5-3.
Hagen Smith was dealing in his fourth start of the season, and went nine up, nine down in his first three innings to finish with just one hit allowed, two walks and five strikeouts.
Things got a little hairy in the bottom of the fourth when Smith loaded the bases for the Jumbo Shrimp, but a strikeout to end the inning bailed him out without any harm done.
That quickly changed, however, as Adisyn Coffey struggled in the fifth, giving up three runs on two hits and three walks, lasting just 2/3 of the inning. This gave Jacksonville just a one-run lead, but Riley Gowens allowed two more in his 1 1/3 innings, digging the hole just a bit deeper.
Drew Romo was the star of the show for Charlotte’s hitting performance, blasting a solo shot in the top of the second and driving in Korey Lee on an RBI single just a couple innings later. The other run came from a Jared Kelenic RBI base hit in the seventh, who also walked in the top of the ninth to get on base in a last-ditch effort to win the game. Naturally, after Kelenic made it to first, Mario Camilletti and Jason Matthews struck out, but LaMonte Wade Jr. walked to load the bases and give the Knights one last chance. I wish I had a better ending to the game, but Jacob Gonzalez also struck out, sealing Coffey’s second loss of the year.
Birmingham Barons 7, Rocket City Trash Pandas 4
The Barons (5-7) outhit the Trash Pandas (5-7), 9-5, and the pitching was solid enough to snag the win om Rocket City, 7-4.
Braden Montgomery continued his phenomenal start to the season, going 3-for-4 with another two-bagger and two RBIs. It’s borderline frightening that the best outfielder in the White Sox system currently resides two levels below the majors, which only makes it more likely that Braden will be called up sometime this season.
Calvin Harris and Wilfred Veras also posted two-RBI days, with each following in Montgomery’s footsteps with doubles of their own. Birmingham jumped to an early 5-1 lead after two, with Connor McCullough tossing three decent innings allowing just one run and one hit while walking two and striking out five of his nine outs.
The rest of the bullpen was solid, though Chase Watkins struggled a bit, allowing three runs off of four hits, including a home run, in his three frames. Luckily the Good Guys were still set up with a lead, and Rikuu Nishida added one more insurance run in the top of the eighth. The win was eventually awarded to Jairo Iriarte, who tossed a shutout inning with two strikeouts his second win of the season; it was his fifth appearance this season and he’s now thrown 7 2/3 innings without giving up a run.
Winston-Salem Dash 11, Asheville Tourists 8
Both the Dash (7-5) and Tourists (4-8) pitching was subpar Thursday with 21 total hits in the game, though Winston-Salem was slightly more efficient at preventing runs. Despite seven runs allowed by the Dash, their pitchers only walked one batter and struck out 11, whereas the Tourists walked the same amount of batters as they struck out (seven). The Dash had one monstrous inning in the fifth where they dropped seven runs on their opponents, and even though the scored 11 times, they went just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left another eight on base as a team.
Righthander Dylan Cumming made his third start of the season for Winston-Salem and cruised through 5 2/3 scoreless frames until a pinch-hit, three-run homer slightly dampered his otherwise great start. He gave up four hits and struck out eight while walking no one, though he still did earn his first win of the year.
Out of the bullpen, Aric McAtee was the sole pitcher to not surrender a run, but thankfully the two from Jack Young and three (two earned) from Jonathan Clark didn’t impact the game too much considering the bats provided enough run support. Both Colby Shelton and Alec Makarewicz accounted for four RBIs each, with both players mashing a home run and a double.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 9, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4
The Cannon Ballers (3-9) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before it was spoiled with a double, though the Cannon Ballers still outhit the Pelicans (7-5) 12-4 to snap a six-game losing streak, 9-4. Overall, the pitching was serviceable enough considering they only allowed four hits for the entire game, but they also walked nine batters compared to 10 strikeouts. Truman Pauley had initially carried the first four frames without any hits, but walked five. The win would ultimately go to Anthony Patterson III, who earned his first of the year despite walking more batters (two) than he struck out (one) — I’m sensing a theme here with this pitching staff.
At least the offense was able to provide plenty of run support to cover the extreme amount of walks, with all but two batters getting a hit. Five Cannon Ballers put up multi-hit games, and three were able to drive in two runs: Jaden Fauske, Javier Mogollón and Rylan Galvan. Six of the 12 Kannapolis hits were for extra bases, and they went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
