Norfolk Tides @ Charlotte Knights — Postponed due to weather
The Knights and Tides will make up Thursday’s game as a part of a doubleheader on Friday, July 24.
Montgomery Biscuits 6, Birmingham Barons 4
A three-run eighth inning for the Biscuits (46-46) was the difference in this one, as the Barons (35-58) fumbled the lead to drop their second of the series, 6-4. Even though he gave up a home run, lefthander Lucas Gordon put together a decent enough start for Birmingham to win the game, but the bullpen couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Gordon surrendered three runs on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts, but Pierce George gave up a game-tying double followed by a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth that immediately sent their chances of winning off a cliff.
Advertisement
The Barons outhit Montgomery, 10-6, with 60% of those mashed for extra bases: four doubles and two home runs. B-ham went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left five on base, and the Biscuits were nearly identical on that front except they left four on instead. Anthony DePino (one) and Colby Shelton (two) accounted for three of the four two-baggers and posted two hits apiece. The long balls, however, were both solo shots, one by Jorge Corona and the other by Adam Fogel.
MVP
Colby Shelton (2B): 2-for-4, RBI, 2 2B
Runners-Up
Caleb Bonemer (SS): 1-for-4, R, 2B, K
Anthony DePino (DH): 2-for-4, RBI, K, 2B
Jorge Corona (1B): 1-for-4, R, RBI, HR
Liam Paddack (LHRP): 1 IP, H, BB, K, PO, Hold
Morris Austin (RHRP): 1 IP, 0 H, BB, K, Hold
Cold Cat
Pierce George (RHRP): 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, BB, HR, Blown Save, LOSS (1-1)
Lucas Gordon (LHSP): 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K, HR, 2 Balk
Boston Smith (C): 0-for-4, K, E
Winston-Salem Dash 1, Greensboro Grasshoppers 0 — Opener
The opener to Thursday’s doubleheader was a pitching duel from start to finish, with the Dash (51-41) persevering to defeat the Grasshoppers (57-35), 1-0. Righthander Jake Curtis made his third start of the year with Winston-Salem despite working out of the bullpen for the majority of the season, and held Greensboro to just two hits while striking out three in his five innings, earning his fourth win of the season. The bullpen was just as elite, not allowing another hit for the rest of the game as Max Banks recorded a hold and Garrett Wright snagged his third save of the season.
Advertisement
Offensively, the Dash posted five hits but went just 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, as Arxy Hernández’s RBI double in the bottom of the fourth was just enough. Hernández was 2-for-3, and James Taussig scored the lone run of the game and also roped his 11th double of the season for the other extra-base hit.
MVP
Jake Curtis (RHSP): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 K, WIN (4-4)
Runners-Up
Arxy Hernández (3B): 2-for-3, RBI, 2B
Max Banks (RHRP): 1 IP, 0 H, K, Hold
Garrett Wright (RHRP): 1 IP, 0 H, K, Save
James Taussig (LF): 1-for-3, R, 2B
Cold Cat
Ryan Burrowes (SS): 0-for-3
Ben Hartl (C): 0-for-2, K
Alex Ungar (RF): 0-for-2
Bryce Eblin (2B): 0-for-2, K
Greensboro Grasshoppers 7, Winston-Salem Dash 6 — Nightcap
A bullpen implosion for the Dash (51-42) gave the Grasshoppers (58-35) the edge in game two, splitting the doubleheader after the loss, 7-6. Justin Sinibaldi turned in a solid five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, but once the game was handed over to the bullpen with a two-run lead, 4-2, things snowballed out of control fairly quickly.
Advertisement
Lefthander Christian Oppor made his first appearance with Winston-Salem, but didn’t even manage to get an out before giving up four runs and getting yanked. A pair of walks and a double loaded the bases up, and he walked a run in before Seth Keener replaced him and four more runs scored: four to Oppor and one to Keener, with Oppor receiving the L while the latter rightly was given a blown save.
Four Winston-Salem batters put up at least two hits, but it was Calvin Harris who led the day with three RBIs from a two-run tank and an RBI ground out. A whopping eight of the Dash’s 10 hits were for extra bases, with seven doubles. George Wolkow and Bryce Eblin each doubled twice, accounting for four of Winston-Salem’s seven doubles, while James Taussig added his second double of the day.
MVP
Calvin Harris (C): 1-for-4, R, 3 RBI, HR
Advertisement
Runners-Up
George Wolkow (RF): 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, K, 2 2B, OA
James Taussig (DH): 2-for-4, 2 K, 2B
Bryce Eblin (2B): 2-for-3, R, 2 2B
Cold Cat
Christian Oppor (LHRP): 0 IP, H, 4 R, 3 BB, LOSS (0-1)
Seth Keener (RHSP): 1 IP, H, R, 2 K, BS
Jeral Perez (3B): 0-for-4
Kaleb Freeman (1B): 0-for-4, 2 K
Columbia Fireflies 2, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 1
Both teams scored in the first inning and then never again, leaving the Fireflies (48-45) to outlast the Cannon Ballers (47-46), 2-1. Columbia outhit Kannapolis by one, 7-6, but the Ballers went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base, unable to string anything together.
Despite a solid outing from righthander Gabe Tanner, he ended up with the loss, allowing just two runs on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts over six frames, but the bats couldn’t support him on the other end. Jaden Fauske and Javier Mogollón held up the offense. Fauske recorded three of Kannapolis’ six hits, going 3-for-3 with a walk and a double while scoring the Ballers’ lone run. Mogollón drove him home with a double of his own. Fauske has been on a heater, posting eight hits in his last 13 at-bats with a .464 OBP in July (51 ABs), continuing to strengthen his case for a promotion to Winston-Salem.
MVP
Jaden Fauske (LF): 3-for-3, R, BB, 2B
Advertisement
Runners-Up
Javier Mogollón (2B): 1-for-4, RBI, K, 2B
Gabe Tanner (RHSP): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, BB, 2 K, Loss (3-3)
Daniel Wright (RHRP): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K
Alexander Albertus (1B): 1-for-3, BB, K, CS
Cold Cat
Matthew Boughton (SS): 0-for-4, K
Nick McLain (CF): 0-for-4
Christian Gonzalez (RF): 0-for-4, 2 K
Efren Teran (3B): 0-for-4, K
ACL White Sox 4, ACL Dodgers 1
The ACL Dodgers (25-35) scored one run early in the first, but the ACL White Sox (19-41) fought back for a run in the third and three more in the fourth to pull away with a 4-1 win. Pitching from the Sox rookies was spot on, as Justin Fuson paved the way with six excellent frames, allowing one run on five hits while striking out six. Earning his second save of the season, Reinder Gomez shut the Dodgers down in the final inning to seal the W.
All but three starters logged a hit on the day, though only two of their four runs were earned with the help of the Dodgers’ defense. Yordani Soto was the only batter to put up more than one hit, including an RBI double, though Jackson Appel kicked off the fourth-inning rally with a solo homer that gave the White Sox the lead. The ACL Sox otherwise went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving four on base.
DSL Cardinals 13, DSL White Sox 8
It was quite a chaotic game in the DSL, with the Cardinals (17-18) getting the win, 13-8, by putting up 12 runs in the first three frames. The White Sox (12-23) attempted to claw back in the top seventh with eight runs before they ultimately fell short. Roderic Ramírez had a rough outing, allowing nine runs on six hits and two walks, while also racking up four wild pitches in his 1 1/3 innings.
Advertisement
Five runs were given up in the first — the first run being the only one that was earned — all with two outs, and Ramírez was actually pulled out of the game as he was floundering, unable to get the third out. Christopher Romero struck out the only batter he faced to finally get out of the first, just for Ramírez to re-enter in the second and give up four more. The only thing that “saved” Ramírez’s outing on paper was the fact that the defense committed three errors, leading to eight of the nine runs being unearned.
The DSL Sox pitching was all over the place, not just Ramírez, as Sox pitchers accounted for eight of the 12 wild pitches in the game and hit two batters along the way. On the other side of the ball, the bats were dormant for the majority of the game, but the Sox nearly erased a 13-run deficit in the top of the seventh, going on an eight-run rally with no outs before falling short with three strikeouts to end the game with the bases loaded. Both Sebastian Romero and Fernando Graterol posted multi-hit days, driving in three and two runs, with Romero’s coming from a three-run bomb in the seventh.
