Offense was nowhere to be found for all affiliates during a winless day
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 5, Charlotte Knights 0 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
The Knights (8-15) could not get anything going offensively, failing to score and only collecting three hits. As a result, they lost to the RailRiders (12-10), and the series is tied at one.
Starting pitcher Tyler Schweitzer, 24, made his Triple-A debut after being promoted on Sunday. Schweitzer’s first three innings went very well, as he did not allow any hits during those frames. However, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre put a big rally together in the fourth. After a leadoff walk, a single, a fly out, and an RBI single, the RailRiders had a 1-0 lead. Then, Jake Gatewood stepped up to the plate and delivered the biggest hit of the game. Gatewood launched a three-run homer to make the score 4-0, and the game never felt close from that point forward.
Kyle Teel went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, and Tim Elko went 1-for-4 with a double. Other than those sparks, though, the Knights offense was lifeless, and Charlotte finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Rocket City Trash Pandas 5, Birmingham Barons 1 (Gameday box)
The Barons (8-8) bullpen and offense struggled during this loss to Rocket City (5-11), and the series is tied.
Barons starter Hagen, 21, Smith had some control issues, only throwing 46 of his 79 pitches for strikes. However, when Smith was getting the ball over the plate, he was completely dominant. Smith pitched four shutout innings and only allowed one measly single, and even that was on a bunt. Smith racked up eight strikeouts, and even though he issued four walks, his performance was terrific. Smith’s stuff was simply too good for the Trash Pandas, who had no answers for him. Bravo to Smith, whose ERA is down to 2.63.
Surely, when Smith left the game, Birmingham was ahead, right? Wrong. The Barons failed to score while Smith was pitching, and even in the final five innings, they only scored once. With two outs and nobody on in the seventh, Jacob Burke kept the inning alive with a single, and Jason Matthews walked. That brought up Rikuu Nishida, who drove in a run with a clutch single to left.
Due to the offense’s rough day, the Barons bullpen only had a paper-thin margin for error. It was not meant to be, as the bullpen allowed five runs (all earned) in four innings. Most of that damage was done against Gil Luna, who only retired one batter and issued five walks.
Rome Emperors 2, Winston-Salem Dash 1 (10 innings) (Gameday box)
In a low-scoring battle that was highlighted by excellent pitching, the Emperors (10-7) came out on top of the Dash (5-12) after 10 innings. Winston-Salem has now lost five in a row, although four of those games were decided by only one run.
Dash starter Lucas Gordon, 23, built on his strong start to the season with five shutout innings, only allowing three hits. Gordon’s ERA is down to 2.89, and he has now pitched 11 consecutive scoreless innings. Relievers Clete Hartzog and Luke Bell combined to pitch three scoreless innings to keep the Emperors off the scoreboard.
Stop me if you have heard this before, but the White Sox affiliate struggled immensely to score. As a result, heading into the ninth, the game was still scoreless. Dash reliever Carson Jacobs took over on the mound in the ninth, but he was unable to preserve the tie. After striking out the first batter he faced, Jacobs allowed a single and a ground-rule double to put two in scoring position. Then, on a grounder to third, third baseman Sam Antonacci tried to nail the lead runner at home. Antonacci’s throw was late, and the Emperors scored the first run of the game.
Caden Connor singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and he proceeded to swipe his third base of the young season. Jackson Appel struck out, but Jeral Perez reached on an error to put runners on second and third with one away. From there, Arxy Hernández hit a slow grounder to shortstop, and Connor was out at home. Down to their last out, Wes Kath came through in the clutch with an infield single to tie the game and send it into extras.
The Emperors took a 2-1 lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th, but Jacobs did not allow any further damage. The speedy Samuel Zavala started on second base as the free runner in the bottom of the 10th, but he did not score. Terrell Tatum popped out, and Antonacci flew out to center, which allowed Zavala to advance to third. However, with the tying run 90 feet away from scoring, Ryan Galanie popped out to end the game.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers vs. Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Postponed
The Cannon Ballers (8-8) were unable to face the Pelicans (6-10) tonight due to the weather in Myrtle Beach. This game is scheduled to be played on Thursday as part of a doubleheader.