Buffalo Bisons 5, Charlotte Knights 4 (Statcast Box)
The Knights (26-30) went with a bullpen game on Saturday, and of the five pitchers, only James Karinchak and Peyton Pallette were able to get through their two innings without giving up a run. Yoendrys Gómez had the first two, and gave up one run to the Bisons (22-32) on a base hit, which provided the scoring situation after walking two batters. The Knights did answer back in the top of the second with a Nick Maton solo bomb to tie the game at one — which remained tied for the next 3 ½ innings.

Wikelman González did not fare well for his two innings of work, and gave up three runs in the bottom of the sixth on three hits and two walks. So the Bisons had a three-run lead on Charlotte, but the Knights didn’t just roll over and take the L: The offense exploded for four hits and a walk in the top of the eighth to tie the game at four. Our old pal began the scoring rally, as Andrew Vaughn smoked his second double of the day for an RBI, and Tristan Gray singled to bring in the third and fourth runs.

Breathing new life into the team and actually pulling off the comeback, the vibes felt high heading into the ninth, but Charlotte wasn’t able to score a run to break the tie. Rather than forcing extras, Adisyn Coffey came out for the last inning, and struck out two batters before giving up the walk-off home run that sealed his third loss of the season.

Knoxville Smokies 2, Birmingham Barons 0 (Opener, 7 innings)
The Barons (26-22) had five hits compared to seven from the Smokies (24-24), but Birmingham went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base as a team, ultimately dropping the first game of the doubleheader. The offense had plenty of opportunities, also walking three times, but they couldn’t string more than one hit together at a time. For example, Jason Matthews kicked off the fifth inning with a double while down two, but the Barons couldn’t capitalize on the situation and three weak outs followed.

Without the run support, Noah Schultz received his third loss of the season, but he first threw for five solid innings where he gave up two runs (just one earned) on six hits. Can’t really even blame the loss on the error that caused the unearned run, because the bats didn’t do anything. Schultz probably threw more balls than he would have liked (25 of 71 pitches) and walked two batters, but he also struck out four and was efficient for Birmingham and kept them in the game.

Grant Taylor came in for the final inning and was excellent once again — striking out two and giving up one hit in his scoreless outing. Taylor is now sitting nicely at a 1.16 ERA and a WHIP below 1.00 (0.90 after today). Fewer walks would be nice (11.6 BB%), but he has been doing well so far, and much more promising than the guys currently throwing in the majors.

Birmingham Barons 2, Knoxville Smokies 1 (Nightcap, 8 innings)
It was another pitchers’ duel in the nightcap, but the Barons went with a bullpen game rather than a starter, and for the most part it worked. Though Birmingham (27-22) needed an extra inning to do it, they were able to snag the 2-1 win over the Smokies (24-25) to split the doubleheader. Jordan Mikel handled the first three innings, and gave up two doubles that allowed Knoxville to take an early one-run lead int he first. Jacob Gonzalez matched this energy the following inning, and led off the second with a double before scoring thanks to a passed ball and fielder’s choice.

Those were the only two runs to score in regulation, however, as both pitching staffs shut each other down and forced an extra inning. William Bergolla doubled to score the go-ahead run in the eighth, and Garrett Schoenle recorded the save in the bottom of the inning with the win going to Zach Franklin.

Winston-Salem Dash 4, Hub City Spartanburgers 1
Yet another pitcher’s duel in the White Sox organization, especially through the first eight innings. That was primarily due to a phenomenal seven-inning, three-hit start from Tanner McDougal, who also racked up eight strikeouts to keep the Dash (18-32) in position to take the lead. The offense was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but finally came alive in the top of the ninth to score four runs and provide a cushion for Phil Fox to close out the game and earn the win over the Spartanburgers (26-24).

Shout-out to our friends at Future Sox for the recap of Tanner’s glorious start:

Fox did give up a home run prior to ending the game, proving that the run support was much-needed and very timely. In the top of the ninth, Jackson Appel sent Hub City into chaos by reaching base on a throwing error that happened to bring in the first two runs of the game. Following in his footsteps, Alex Makarewicz doubled on the next at-bat to drive in two more to rack up all of the RBIs for Winston-Salem.

Charleston RiverDogs 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 1 (Opener, 7 innings)
Game 1 of the doubleheader did not go as planned for the Cannon Ballers (27-22), who allowed five unearned runs in their loss to the RiverDogs (22-27). Luis Reyes made his ninth start of the season, and had a rough day both on the mound and on defense with two throwing errors that led to runs scoring. He gave up four hits in his 3 ⅔ innings of work, loading the bases in the bottom of the fourth for Hale Sims to come in and give up a double to clear them.

Offensively, Kannapolis were the ones who scored first on an RBI single from Caleb Bonemer, but they only put together four hits as a team and left six on base. If the defense wasn’t as bad during this game, they might have even won the game with a 1-0 lead, but four errors sunk the ship and confirmed the loss.

Charleston RiverDogs 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3 (Nightcap, 7 innings)
The nightcap served as another tough pitching start from Kannapolis. Lefthander Justin Sinibaldi gave up five runs in the first three innings, setting up the Ballers (27-23) with a hefty deficit before getting swept in the doubleheader. Sinibaldi allowed a homer and four walks, which really set him up for failure, and the offense wasn’t able to recover and make a full comeback.

The Kanny bullpen was on point, and didn’t allow a single hit after Sinibaldi exited the game in the third inning, and they also combined for two more walks and eight strikeouts — but enough damage was already done.

On the other side of the ball, Javier Mogollón was the lone Ballers batter with more than one hit (2-for-3), blasting a double and a homer while scoring twice and driving one in (himself). Lyle Miller-Green and Geroge Wolkow accounted for the other two Kanny RBIs, but the team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and went flat for the final inning.

ACL White Sox 8, ACL Mariners 6 (10 innings)
The Sox (10-10) offense provided a four-run lead heading into the ninth inning thanks to back-to-back three-run innings in the fifth and sixth, but a blown save in the bottom of the ninth allowed the Mariners (13-8) to tie the game and force extras. Sam Antonacci drove in the two go-ahead runs in the 10th, allowing Jake Curtis to redeem himself and close out the game for the win.

Fabian Ysalla threw for four solid innings to start the win, giving up just three hits while walking two and striking out three. This was Fabian’s fourth start of the year, and he has been effective with a 1.50 ERA across 18 innings. Overall, the pitching staff did what they needed to until the ninth, but they had the same amount of walks (eight) as they did strikeouts, which definitely contributed to the blown lead.

T.J. McCants, Adrian Gil, and Antonacci all produced two RBIs, and the rehabbing Antonacci was on fire Saturday with four hits and a walk. The offense also drew five walks, but struck out 14 times, and left 11 on base as a team.