Charlotte Knights 8, Rochester Red Wings 6
The Knights (63-52) took the first game of the series in Rochester against the Red Wings (67-46), who have an overall record that leads the International League.
After a streak of three consecutive quality starts by Jonathan Cannon (only three runs on nine hits in 18 innings), the right-handed pitcher returned to earth against Rochester. This time, Cannon allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits in five frames. Despite that, the Knights only trailed by three when Cannon’s outing was over. Charlotte scored its three early runs on a single by Michael Turner in the first, a single by Ryan Galanie in the second, and a productive ground out by Turner in the fifth. In the sixth, the Knights trimmed the deficit on a single by Andy Weber to drive in Joey Wiemer, who singled and stole second to open the inning.
The game’s biggest hit took place in the seventh. Turner led off the seventh with a single, and Junior Pérez walked to put two on with no outs. Up to the plate stepped Tim Elko, who got a pitch to his liking that he did not miss. Elko blasted a three-run homer to put the Knights ahead, and they did not look back. That was the Knights’ only extra-base hit of the game, but it was enough. The bullpen combined to pitch four shutout innings to secure the victory.
MVP
Tim Elko (1B): 1-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI
Runners-Up
Tyler Davis (RHRP): 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Michael Turner (C): 2-for-4, BB, 2 RBI
Ryan Galanie (DH): 2-for-5, RBI
Cold Cat
Jonathan Cannon (RHSP): 5 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, 7 K
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Rikuu Nishida (2B): 1-for-5, BB, 3 K, 1-for-1 stolen bases
Joey Wiemer (LF): 1-for-5, K, 1-for-1 stolen bases
Andy Weber (SS): 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
Birmingham Barons 3, Columbus Clingstones 2 (10 innings)
The Barons (44-65) put a clutch rally together with their backs against the wall, and they walked it off against the Clingstones (50-54).
Barons starter Connor McCullough, 26, had a terrific outing, allowing no earned runs on two hits in five innings. However, in the top of the first, a leadoff walk turned into an unearned run after a stolen base, a throwing error, and a productive ground out.
The score remained 1-0 until the top of the sixth, shortly after McCullough was removed from the game. During that inning, an RBI double by Jordan Groshans against Barons reliever Mathias LaCombe made the score 2-0.
The Barons got that run back in the bottom of the sixth, when Alec Briley was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by Colby Shelton. That was only one good moment for Shelton during an excellent game, during which he reached base safely four times.
With the score still 2-1, Samuel Zavala led off the bottom of the ninth. Zavala hit a grounder to short that John Gil did not handle cleanly, so he reached on an error. From there, Jordan Sprinkle also reached on an error, and suddenly, the Barons had two on despite collecting zero hits and drawing zero walks that inning. Dylan Campbell laid down a sacrifice bunt that put two in scoring position with one out. After that, Zavala raced home on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Barons reliever Jonathan Clark entered the game in the top of the 10th. Clark performed admirably, retiring all three batters he faced and striking out two of them. As a result, the stage was set for a walk-off in the bottom half. With the bases loaded and one out, Ryan Burrowes lined a single to center to put the game away and send the fans home happy.
MVP
Colby Shelton (2B): 1-for-2, 3 BB, RBI
Runners-Up
Connor McCullough (RHSP): 5 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Ryan Burrowes (SS): 1-for-4, BB, walk-off RBI
Pierce George (RHRP): 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Caleb Bonemer (3B): 1-for-4, 2B, BB
Jonathan Clark (RHRP): 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Cold Cat
Jordan Sprinkle (LF): 0-for-4, 2 K
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Mathias LaCombe (RHRP): 1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K
Alec Briley (1B): 0-for-4, HBP, K, 1-for-1 stolen bases
Samuel Zavala (CF): 0-for-4, K
Winston-Salem Dash 8, Greensboro Grasshoppers 6
The Dash (59-49) got off to a great start this week by defeating the mighty Grasshoppers (66-43) in a high-scoring game in Greensboro.
This game started out as an intense duel between starters Grant Umberger and Draven Zeigler. Dash starter Grant Umberger, 24, had one of his better outings, only allowing one run in five innings and picking up eight strikeouts. Unfortunately, when Umberger’s outing was over, the Dash trailed by a score of 1-0, as Zeigler pitched four shutout innings.
In the top of the sixth, Javier Mogollón launched a solo homer to tie the game at one. Mogollón, 20, got promoted from Kannapolis to Winston-Salem on July 28, and he has hit four homers in 12 games since the promotion.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Grasshoppers retook the lead on an RBI single by Jared Jones. However, the Dash came back with a vengeance, scoring two in the seventh and five in the eighth to take firm control. In the seventh, Kaleb Freeman crushed a two-run homer to give the Dash a lead that they would not relinquish. Then, in the eighth, the five-run frame was a strong all-around effort, with Winston-Salem collecting four hits and four walks. Once again, the biggest hit that inning came from Freeman, whose double drove in two.
As a result, despite a poor bullpen performance (five earned runs in four innings), the Dash pulled through with the victory.
MVP
Kaleb Freeman (1B): 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI
Runners-Up
Grant Umberger (LHSP): 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K
Javier Mogollón (3B): 1-for-4, HR, BB
Jeral Perez (DH): 1-for-2, 3 BB
Cold Cat
Frankeli Arias (LHRP): 1 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Roch Cholowsky (SS): 0-for-4, BB
Jackson Appel (C): 0-for-3, BB
Landen Payne (RHRP): 1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K
Hickory Crawdads 3, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 1
Despite only allowing two hits, the Cannon Ballers (56-53) came up short against the Crawdads (65-41) in Kannapolis.
Cannon Ballers starter Gabriel Rodríguez, 22, had control issues, issuing four walks in two innings. Two of those walks came back to bite Rodríguez on a three-run homer by Marco Argudin. As it turned out, that was the only offense Hickory needed in this low-scoring matchup.
The Cannon Ballers scored their only run in the bottom of the first, when Jaden Fauske led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Matthew Boughton reached on an error, and Braden Holcomb hit a productive ground out to drive in the only run for the Cannon Ballers.
MVP
Clay Burdette (RF): 2-for-4, 1-for-1 stolen bases
Runners-Up
Jaden Fauske (CF): 1-for-3, 2 BB, R
Braden Holcomb (LF): 1-for-3, BB, RBI
Blaine Wynk (RHRP): 3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 4 K
Nick Weyrich (RHRP): 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Cold Cat
Gabriel Rodríguez (RHSP): 2 IP, 3 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 4 K
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Grayson Fitzwater (1B): 0-for-4, 3 K
Matthew Boughton (SS): 0-for-5, K
Rylan Galvan (DH): 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
DSL Tigers 2 8, DSL White Sox 3
The DSL White Sox (17-32) came up short again, and they have dropped four in a row and eight of their last 10.
The DSL Tigers 2 (30-21) got off to a fast start and did not look back. DSL White Sox starter José Taveras, 18, allowed three earned runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings. Even after Taveras was removed from the game, the DSL Tigers 2 did not stop hitting. The DSL White Sox did not get on the board until the top of the sixth, but by that point, the game was well out of reach as the Tigers 2 had built a 7-0 lead. The DSL White Sox scored their first run on an RBI double by Diego Natera. Finally, in the top of the seventh, Samuel Luis launched a two-run homer to pull the team within five, but it was too little, too late.
DSL Diamondbacks Black 6, DSL White Sox 3 (August 10)
The pitching staff did not get the job done, so the DSL White Sox (17-31) came up short on Monday.
The DSL White Sox got on the board first, as they did not waste any time in the bottom of the first. With one out, Fernando Graterol walked, and Sebastian Romero singled. A two-base error by the right fielder allowed Graterol to score, and Romero advanced to third. From there, Ronald Cardozo drove in Romero with a sacrifice fly.
Although the DSL White Sox had an early 2-0 lead, the rest of the game was not so easy. The DSL Diamondbacks Black (28-21) scored three in the second, one in the fourth, and two in the sixth to pull away. Hector Hernández drove in the last run of the game with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, but it was not enough.
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