CMemphis Redbirds 14, Charlotte Knights 5 (Statcast box)
It was not a good night for Charlotte’s pitching staff, which allowed 14 runs on 16 hits. As a result, the Knights (55-60) came up way short against Memphis (60-54).
Bryse Wilson, 27, started for the Knights, and he was effective for a bit. In the first three innings, Wilson only allowed one run on two hits. In addition, the Knights had a great third inning, as Andre Lipcius walks, Bryan Ramos doubled, and Dominic Fletcher launched a three-run blast. As a result, after three innings, Charlotte had a 3-1 lead.
However, Wilson and the Knights were unable to protect that early lead, as the Redbirds were relentless in the latter portion of this game. Memphis scored five in the fourth, four in the sixth, and four in the ninth to completely run away with this one.
The Knights did manage to score two runs after Fletcher’s homer. Tim Elko picked up an RBI with a double in the fourth, and Bryan Ramos went deep with a solo homer in the ninth.
Birmingham Barons 7, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 5
Th Barons (67-43) collected 16 hits en route to yet another victory, as they improved to 29-12 in the second half.
Barons starter Hagen Smith, 21, had a decent performance, allowing two runs on four hits in four innings. Smith was very effective during his first three innings, but his fourth and final frame was a different story. With one out, Pensacola (56-53) hit a single and an RBI triple, and with two outs, an RBI double brought Pensacola’s second run home.
The bullpen did not exactly have its finest game, either, but it did not have to. Even though the bullpen allowed three runs in five innings, Birmingham’s offense was a force to be reckoned with. The Barons scored seven runs on 16 hits, and they finished 5-for-16 (.313) with runners in scoring position.
DJ Gladney opened the scoring with a sole homer in the second. Although that was Birmingham’s only homer, the Barons found plenty of other ways to score. In the third, Sam Antonacci picked up an RBI with a single to drive in Jacob Burke in the third. Later in the inning, Wilfred Veras hit a timely single of his own to drive in Antonacci.
In the sixth, Caden Connor led off with a double, and with one out, Braden Montgomery drew a walk. From there, Gladney continued crushing the ball, as he drive Connor and Montgomery in with a double.
In the ninth, the Barons picked up two more. Impressively, the first five Barons of the inning reached base safely. William Bergolla singled, Antonacci got hit by a pitch, Connor singled, Veras walked, and Montgomery singled.
Winston-Salem Dash 4, Asheville Tourists 2
The Dash (43-65) pitching staff had a nice evening, and the offense woke up in time to pull through with a solid victory over Asheville (45-63).
Dash starter Dylan Cumming, 26, had a solid performance for Winston-Salem. Cumming allowed two runs on three hits in five innings, striking out five without issuing any walks. Cumming’s only rough inning was the fourth. During that inning, the Tourists managed to hit a single, and RBI double, and a sacrifice fly after a stolen base to put two on the board.
Winston-Salem scored its first run of the game in the fifth, when Kyle Lodise drew a leadoff walk. After a productive out, Lodise found himself on second, and Ryan Burrowes drove him in with a single.
The Dash took control of this game in the bottom of the seventh. With the score still 2-1, Jackson Appel led off with a walk. Lyle Miller-Green hit a productive grounder that advanced Appel to second, and after a wild pitch, Appel was 90 feet away from scoring the tying run. Burrowes drew a walk to set the stage for Samuel Zavala, who singled to even the score at two apiece. Jeral Perez put the Dash in front with a clutch single, and Winston-Salem led from that point forward.
Cole McConnell led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo blast to give the Dash an insurance run.
As it turned out, the Dash did not need any insurance, as the bullpen was terrific. Max Roberts, Jonathan Clark, Carson Jacobs, and Phil Fox combined for the following stats: four innings, no runs, one hit, no walks, eight strikeouts. The final six Tourists to bat in this game all struck out. Incredibly, Phil Fox, who took over to begin the ninth, pitched an immaculate inning to finish this one off.
Augusta GreenJackets 13, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 1
The first inning was ugly, and it did not get much better for the Cannon Ballers (52-58), who got blown out by the GreenJackets (57-49).
Augusta went right to work in the top of the first against Cannon Ballers starter Luis Reyes. Augusta put four singles and a triple together in the first. Reyes, 19, did not get much help from his defense, which committed two errors that frame. By the end of that disastrous inning, Augusta had a 6-0 lead, and Reyes did not come back out for the second frame.
After a scoreless inning by Marco Barrios, Kannapolis reliever Mathias LaCombe had a rough outing in the third, as he allowed the GreenJackets to pad its lead. LaCombe allowed four runs on four hits, and he issued two walks in his only inning of work. By the time the third inning was over, the score was 10-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Cannon Ballers offense showed signs of life. Bryce Eblin got hit by a pitch, and Adrian Gil doubled. However, even on the double, something bad happened for Kannapolis, has Eblin was thrown out at home. Despite that, Ely Brown drove in Gil with a two-out single to put Kannapolis on the board. That was the first and last run for the Cannon Ballers.
