After a week full
of come-from-behind victories the Charlotte Knights’ luck rank out on Friday
night in a 5-4 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders to even their
current four-game series at one game apiece in front of 10,422 at BB&T
Ballpark.
Once again the
Knights, who already had two walk-off wins this week, looked primed for some
late-game heroics.
With
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre leading 5-3, Carlos Sanchez (5-for-5) led off the ninth
inning with a double. Matt Davidson (who hit a walk-off home run on Thursday
night) then made it a one-run game with a single up the middle and Trayce
Thompson followed with a hit of his own.
For a moment, it
looked as though Dan Black had won the game with a walk-off three-run home run,
but the ball hooked just foul down the right field line. Black would strikeout on
the next pitch and Engle Beltre would eventually do the same at the hands of
RailRiders’ right-hander Nick Rumbelow, who earned his second save of the
season.
After being no-hit
for the game’s first three innings, the RailRiders (11-12) got to Knights’
right-hander Shawn Haviland (0-2) for four runs in the fourth inning thanks to
two two-out hits from Ben Gamel and Austin Romine.
The Knights (13-8)
rallied for two runs in the bottom half of the fourth after Black drew a one
out walk, advanced to third on a double by Beltre, and then scored on a Kevan
Smith fielder’s choice. Beltre would trot home a batter later on a Jason Coats’
single.
Coats came through
again in the eighth with his second run-scoring single to make it a 4-3 game.
The RailRiders added
what turned out to be an important insurance run off Maikel Cleto in the top
of the ninth inning. The run was the first allowed by the right-hander this season,
bringing his scoreless-innings streak to an end at 20 1/3 innings.
Quote
“It was another
good ninth inning for us, regardless of whether we won or lost. We battled
back, scored a run and, you know, just came up short.” – Knights’ manager Joel
Skinner.
Worth mentioning
With two walks on Friday,
Charlotte Knights’ designated hitter Dan Black (0 for 3) has now reached base
in 20-straight games (dating back to last season). Despite seeing his 11-game
hitting streak come to an end, Black finished the night hitting (.354). He
entered Friday leading the International League in on-base percentage (.473)
and slugging percentage (.733). … With his five-hit performance on Friday
night, Charlotte second baseman Carlos Sanchez (273) jumped from 11th
to eighth all-time on the Knights’ hits list, passing Lou Lucca (269) and Tim
Hummel (271). ... Friday’s game was the first of the season where pitchers
(with a called ball) and batters (with a called strike) were penalized for
pitch timer violations. Shawn Haviland was called for a violation with one out
in the top of the fourth inning with Tyler Austin at the plate. The RailRiders
went on to score four runs in the inning. … Since his call up to Chicago on
April 20, Carlos Rodon has made two appearances with the White Sox and thrown a
total of 65 pitches over 3.1 innings. The left-hander has allowed two runs on
three hits and two walks, while striking out two.
What's next?
The Knights will
play the third game of their four-game series with the RailRiders at BB&T
Ballpark on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. RHP Chris Beck (0-1, 5.31) will take the mound
for the Knights across from RHP Jaron Long (0-1, 6.10).
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