Game 69 lineups: Knights seek seven-game win streak in final game of homestand

Here are the lineups:

Indians (42-27)
Keon Broxton LF
Jaff Decker RF
Willy Garcia DH
Brent Morel 3B
John Bowker 1B
Tony Sanchez C
Gorkys Hernandez CF
Pedro Florimon SS
Gustavo Nunez
Pitching: RHP Casey Sadler (6-4, 3.29)

Knights (39-29)
Micah Johnson 2B
Jason Coats LF
Matt Tuiasosopo DH
Matt Davidson 3B
Trayce Thompson CF
George Kottaras C
Chris Marrero 1B
Tyler Colvin RF
Drew Garcia SS
Pitching: RHP Erik Johnson (5-5, 3.34)

Game time: 2:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.TV/ ESPN 730

Game 68 lineups: Indianapolis Indians at Charlotte Knights

Here are the lineups:

Indians (42-26)
Keon Broxton LF
Gustavo Nunez SS
Jaff Decker DH
Brent Morel 3B
John Bowker 1B
Steve Lombardozzi 2B
Elias Diaz C
Willy Garcia RF
Gorkys Hernandez CF
Pitching: Angel Sanchez (NR)

Knights (38-29)
Micah Johnson 2B
Tyler Saladino SS
Jason Coats LF
Matt Davidson 3B
Matt Tuiasosopo RF
Trayce Thompson CF
Tyler Colvin DH
Kevan Smith C
Chris Marrero 1B
Pitching: Kyle Drabek (4-2, 2.60)

Game time: 7:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: WMYT/ MiLB. TV/ ESPN 730

Notes: The Knights enter tonight's game on a five-game winning streak. ... With a win tonight, Joel Skinner will reach 250 career wins as manager of the Knights. Skinner's 249 career wins with Charlotte are the most in the franchise's history. He and Nick Leyva, who finished with 202 wins, are the only two managers in the team's history to win more than 200 games.

Game 67 lineups: Charlotte Knights open three-game series against Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Indians (42-25)
Gorkys Hernandez CF
Gustavo Nunez 2B
Jaff Decker LF
Brent Morel 3B
John Bowker 1B
Steve Lomardozzi DH
Tony Sanchez C
Willy Garcia RF
Pedro Florimon SS
Pitching: Adrian Sampson (6-4, 3.58)

Knights (37-29)
Micah Johnson 2B
Tyler Saladino SS
Jason Coats LF
Matt Davidson 3B
Matt Tuiasosopo RF
Trayce Thompson CF
Tyler Colvin DH
Kevan Smith C
Chris Marrero 1B
Pitching: Terance Marin (1-0, 0.00)

Roster move: The Chicago White Sox organization acquired right-handed pitcher Tim Crabbe, 27, from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization on Friday via a trade. After going 1-0 with a 5.50 ERA in 19 games with Triple-A Reno, he was demoted to Double-A Mobile. His one appearance with Mobile was on June 13, when he surrendered one run on three hits while striking out five batters in three innings of work. He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 14th round of the 2009 First-Year Players Draft and has yet to pitch in the major leagues. It hasn't been announced who the White Sox traded in exchange for Crabbe.    

Four-hit day for Carlos Sanchez not enough as Knights fall to Indians 10-6

There’s a difference between getting hits and timely hitting and Sunday’s game between Charlotte and Indianapolis illustrated it perfectly.

The Knights posted more hits (13-12), more home runs (4-1) and more doubles (3-2) than the Indians, yet lost, 10-6, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,213 at BB&T Ballpark.   

Charlotte got its hits, but finished 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Indianapolis, on the other hand, finished the afternoon 6-for-13.

Three of Charlotte’s four long balls were solo shots, which Indy was able to cancel out with it’s only home run because it came with two aboard.

  

Carlos Sanchez was the star at the plate for the Knights for the second game in as many days.

After scoring two of Charlotte’s three runs in a 3-1 win over the Tribe on Saturday, Sanchez went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double and two runs batted in to raise his average to a Knights-leading .286 on the season.

The long ball, which put Charlotte up 2-0 in the first inning, was Sanchez’ first in 751 days and extended the middle infielder’s hitting streak to nine games.

    

Sanchez’ home run came after Knights southpaw Eric Surkamp had struck out the side in the top half of the inning and set a positive tone that the Indians slowly devoured as the game progressed.

Surkamp (2-3) lasted 4 and 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs on nine hits. He walked a batter and fanned five, but the beginning of the end came in the form of a three-run home run off the bat of Brent Moril in the second.

  

An RBI double by Josh Phegley (2-for-4) in the third evened the game at three, but a two-out RBI single by Indy’s Adalberto Santo, who entered the game hitting .107 on the season, gave the Indians a lead they would never relinquish.

Matt Davidson (1-for-4) hit his sixth of the season off Indy starter Casey Sadler (6-1) in the sixth and both Tyler Saladino (2-for-4) and Jared Mitchell (2-for-4) went yard in the ninth.

The Knights (16-33), who now head out on an eight-game road trip, will look to right the ship in Columbus beginning on Monday.  

Game 49: Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Knights (16-32)

Gorkys Hernandez RF

Carlos Sanchez 2B

Josh Phegley C

Jordan Danks CF

Matt Davidson 3B

Blake Tekotte DH

Andy Wilkins 1B

Tyler Saladino SS

Jared Mitchell LF

Pitching: LHP Eric Surkamp (2-2, 4.40 ERA)

Indians (28-20)

Chase d’Arnaud LF

Robert Andino SS

Gregory Polanco RF

Matt Hague 1B

Chris Dickerson CF

Brent Morel 3B

Nevin Ashley C

Michael Martinez 2B

Adalberto Santos DH

Pitching: RHP Casey Sadler (5-1, 2.22 ERA)

Game time: 2:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.tv / ESPN 730

Notes: Knights second baseman Micah Johnson was placed on the disabled list today with a “general leg injury.” Johnson appeared to come up lame two days ago as he cruised into second base with a double. … Charlotte made the Hector Gimenez trade to the Toronto organization official this morning. Word is that he’ll be reporting to the Double-A Fisher Cats. … Winston-Salem (A+) infielder Michael Johnson and Birmingham (AA) catcher Miguel Gonzalez have been promoted to the Knights.  

Tommy Hanson goes seven strong; Knights do little things well in 3-1 win over Indianapolis

The White Sox organization preaches the importance of situational baseball from the day they draft a player.  

On Saturday, in front of a sold out crowd of 10,359 at BB&T BallPark, the Knights showed that they’ve been listening on their way to a 3-1 win over the Indianapolis Indians.

With the second most home runs (37 in 49 games) in the International League entering the day, it could have easy to sit back and wait for the long ball.

Instead, the Knights scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings on two seperate two-out RBI singles and a sacrifice fly.

The three runs were more than Tommy Hanson (3-4), making his seventh start of the season, would need. The 6-foot-6-inch right-hander lasted a season-high seven innings while surrendering four hits, fanning three and walking one.  

His only blemish came on a first-pitch fastball in the fourth inning that Chris McGuiness ambushed for a solo home run that might still be rolling down Mint Street.

From that point, Hanson would allow just two more Indians to reach base, before giving way to Taylor Thompson and later Maikel Cleto.

“I’ve been working on keeping the ball down and as I went I stopped just trying to throw strikes and focused on working in the bottom of the zone,” said Hanson, who threw 98 pitches (61 strikes). “As the game went on, I got more and more ground balls and better results.

“I felt like I had more in the tank. I threw 100 pitches and still felt like I could go out there and that’s what you’re striving for.”

Thompson walked off the mound following the eight having not allowed a hit in his last 6 and 2/3 innings. Cleto exited the ninth after striking out the side with his first save as a Knight in tow.

With two down in the third, Gorkys Hernadez doubled of Indians starter Jake Brigham (1-3) and then scored on a single by Carlos Sanchez to give Charlotte a 1-0 lead.

Jordan Danks doubled to lead off the following inning before Matt Davidson – who possess the most power of anyone on Charlotte’s roster – flied to right in an effort to advance Danks to third.

The ball wasn’t deep enough to accomplish Davidson's goal, but it was a clear sign that he's learning what it takes to play at the next level. 

“Even when it didn’t work out, you saw Davidson try to move the runner over right there and he wound up flying out the right field,” said Knights hitting coach Andy Tomberlin. “He’s trying to hit the ball hard to the right side. That’s the job that we’re all trying to execute.”

Blake Tekotte remedied Davidson's shallow fly with a deep one to right that sent Danks to third and set the table for another two-out RBI situation for Charlotte.

This time, it was Andy Wilkins that came through with the single to right.

“Two-out base hits win a lot of ball games,” said Knights manager Joel Skinner. “You try to put yourself in position to be in those kinds of situations. The Wilkins’ hit was a big one for us. ”

The Knights entered the game hitting .202 with two-out hits with runners is scoring position. By the end of the fourth, they were 2-for-3.

An error and a long single to right off the bat of Hernandez to begin the fifth left runners at the corners for Sanchez, who delivered his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to left.

“It was a pretty clean situational approach tonight,” Tomberlin said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve been able to say that, but I can say that was one tonight and tomorrow we’re looking to repeat it.”

The Knights will look to salvage a split in their four-game series with the Indians at 2:05 p.m. tomorrow when Eric Surkamp (2-2) takes the mound against Casey Sadler (5-1).    

Game 48: Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Knights (15-32)

Gorkys Hernandez RF

Carlos Sanchez 2B

Josh Phegley C

Jordan Danks CF

Matt Davidson 3B

Blake Tekotte DH

Andy Wilkins 1B

Tyler Saladino SS

Jared Mitchell LF

Pitching: RHP Tommy Hanson (2-4, 4.60 ERA)

Indians (28-19)

Chris Dickerson CF

Robert Andino SS

Gregory Polanco RF

Matt Hague DH

Chris McGuiness 1B

Brent Morel 3B

Jaff Decker LF

Ralph Henriquez C

Blake Davis 2B

Pitching: RHP Jake Brigham (1-2, 3.35 ERA)

Game time: 7:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.tv / ESPN 730

Game 47: Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Knights (15-31)

Micah Johnson 2B

Carlos Sanchez SS

Josh Phegley C

Matt Davidson 3B

Andy Wilkins 1B

Gorkys Hernandez CF

Dan Black DH

Blake Tekotte RF

Tyler Saladino LF

Pitching: RHP Felipe Paulino (0-3, 9.00 ERA)

Indians (27-19)

Chris Dickerson CF

Robert Andino SS

Gregory Polanco RF

Matt Hague DH

Chris McGuiness 1B

Brent Morel 3B

Jaff Decker LF

Nevin Ashley C

Michael Martinez 2B

Pitching: RHP Vance Worley (1-1, 2.84 ERA)

Game time: 7:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.tv / ESPN 730

Tyler Saladino learns to play left the hard way in Knights loss

Here's tonight's extended gamer...

When the White Sox promoted Micah Johnson from Double-A Birmingham to the Knights last week, it created a logjam of quality middle infielders in Charlotte.

The addition bumped Carlos Sanchez from everyday duties at second over to short and Tyler Saladino from short to unfamiliar territory.

Since the move, Saladino has made starts at third, short, left, and as a designated hitter, while also sitting out three games.

In Thursday’s 7-5 loss to the Indianapolis Indians in front of 10,289 at BB&T BallPark, he found himself back in left, and for the first time, had trouble.

After getting a late break on a line drive directly over his head, Saladino failed to hold on to a catchable ball and was charged with an error that led to a late insurance run for the Indians.

“Today wasn't my best day,” said Saladino, who had never played an inning in the outfield before Johnson's arrival. “It’s just different. Being in the infield, you don’t need to go too far, or run too hard for many pop flies. It’s more just trying to figure out how to camp under the ball, as opposed to turning and running,”

In his first appearance in left, Saladino had to borrow an outfielder's glove from Blake Tekotte.

Thursday, he was trying to break in a new one of his own.

“Tonight he made an error, but that’s how you learn,” said Knights manager Joel Skinner. “You can’t emulate that, you have to go out there and just play the position and learn from everything as you gain experience, but it’s something that he’ll get good at.

“It’s a way for us to get Saladino in the lineup. It’s just a matter of trying to fit him in and there’s nothing wrong with building that foundation as a utility guy.”

With both Sanchez and Johnson considered top-10 prospects in the White Sox system, the decision to move Saladino -- who is third on the team in average (.268) and second in RBIs (22) -- around is understandable from an organizational development standpoint. 

Skinner also acknowledged that the decision to add playing the outfield to Saladino's resume came from upper management. 

It’s the same tactic the Knights used with Steve Tolleson last season. Although Tolleson's a fair bit older than Saladino and never found a spot with Chicago, his ability to play all over the diamond has allowed him a greater number of opportunities throughout his career.

After hitting .288 in 116 games with Charlotte, Tolleson caught on with the Toronto Blue Jays this season and has appeared in games at second, all three outfield positions, and even once on the mound.

"I’ll play anywhere,” said Saladino. "If I’m in the lineup, I’ll take it. If you need me to catch, I’ll catch. That’s just the way it is." 

For a moment in the the ninth, it looked as though Saladino’s error might hurt a bit more when Josh Phegley launched a fly ball to left with a runner on.  

Indians leftfielder Jaff (pronounced Jeff) Decker turned his head and raced back to the wall, nearly disappearing in the shadows of the leftfield porch right where it suddenly juts back from 345 feet away from home plate to 350 before reemerging with the ball in his glove. 

"The odds of that ball landing in there weren’t very high," said Saladino, who is slowly growing familiar with the territory Decker had to cover. "We haven’t had a ball land there all season, but sometimes that’s the way it goes. If it's a few feet left, it's gone. He made a nice play to get back there and find it."

Erik Johnson (0-1) was hit with his first loss of the season after allowing six runs on six hits in six innings of work. He struck out five, but was hurt by home runs in the first and second inning.

The Knights will play the second of their four-game set with the Indians on Friday. Felipe Paulino will take the mound across Vance Worley. 

Game 46: Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Knights (15-30)

Micah Johnson 2B

Carlos Sanchez SS

Josh Phegley C

Jordan Danks DH

Matt Davidson 3B

Gorkys Hernandez CF

Dan Black 1B

Blake Tekotte RF

Tyler Saladino LF

Pitching: RHP Erik Johnson (0-0, 3.38 ERA)

Indians (26-19)

Chris Dickerson CF

Robert Andino SS

Gregory Polanco RF

Matt Hague DH

Chris McGuiness 1B

Brent Morel 3B

Jaff Decker LF

Nevin Ashley C

Michael Martinez 2B

Pitching: LHP Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.82 ERA)

Game time: 7:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.tv / ESPN 730

International League’s elite prospects coming to Charlotte

By Seth Lakso, Charlotte Observer Correspondent 

Each season the International League produces some of the best young players in baseball. Last year’s crop of prospects to break into the majors includes Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, Tampa Bay outfielder Will Myers, Pirates flamethrower Gerrit Cole, White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia and Cincinnati speedster Billy Hamilton to name just a few.

Here’s a look at this year’s top International League prospects scheduled to play the Knights in Uptown Charlotte this season 

*Prospects are listed based on the order they’re scheduled to appear in Charlotte.

Norfolk Tides (April 11-13, May 20-21, July 4-5): Kevin Gausman, RHP – ESPN’s Keith Law ranks the 6-foot-3-inch Gausman as the No. 23 prospect in all of baseball (Baseball America has him at No. 20). The 23-year-old righthander, who was the first pitcher off the board in the 2012 draft, struggled in his promotion to the majors in 2013, going 3-5 with a 5.66 ERA in 47.2 innings with the Orioles, but still managed to punch out 9.25 batters per nine innings pitched. Gausman’s fastball can touch 100 in shorter stints, but it’s his changeup that makes him special.

Durham Bulls (April 14-15, 22-25): Hak-Ju Lee, SS – It’s weird to look at the Tampa Bay system and not find a guy ranked in Baseball America’s current top 100 prospects (No. 67 Jake Odorizzi broke camp with the Rays). However, had Lee not suffered a knee injury that prematurely ended his 2013 season, he could easily have cracked the list. The 6-foot-2-inch 23-year-old South Korea native hit .422 in 15 games in Durham last season, while showing a glove more than ready for the majors. He was  the key piece the Rays got back from the Cubs in the Matt Garza trade. *He might not be ready to play in the first series at BB&T Ballpark, but should be good to go by the end of the month.

Gwinnett Braves (April 16-18, June 30-July 1): Christian Bethancourt, C: Keith Law calls Bethancourt’s defense “possibly the best in the minors right now…and good enough to challenge Yadier Molina’s for best in the MLB when the time comes.” That alone should be worth the price of admission when the Braves come to town. The 21-year-old’s Achilles heel is his free-swinging ways at the plate (he has just 78 walks in 1,824 career plate appearances). Second baseman Tommy La Stella is also a guy to watch. He's Dan Uggla's heir apparent in Atlanta.  

Lehigh Iron Pigs (May 5-8): Maikel Franco, 3B/1B – As a 20-year-old, Franco hit .320 with 31 home runs in 134 games split between Single-A and Double-A last season. He entered this year No. 63 on Keith Law’s Top 100 prospects list. With just 70 Ks in 600 professional plate appearances, Franco’s plus hand-eye coordination makes up for his pour pitch recognition skills.

*LHP Jesse Biddle, who has begun the season at the Double-A level is a pretty good comp for what a young Andy Pettitte looked like when he was first starting out. MLB.com's No. 53 prospect is a solid candidate to make the jump to Lehigh at some point this season.

Buffalo Bisons (May 9-12): Marcus Stroman, RHP – Stroman was drafted as a position player out of high school by the Nationals, but instead chose to attend Duke. After three successful collegiate seasons Stroman was drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft as a pitcher by the Blue Jays. According to Law, who ranks the 22-year-old as the No. 58 prospect in baseball, Stroman’s “either a top-tier reliever, up in the Craig Kimbrel / Aroldis Chapman stratosphere, or a midrotation starter” if he can keep his home run numbers down.

*Aaron Sanchez, MLB.com's No. 9 pitching prospect entering 2014, will begin the season in Double-A, but could be a guy who sees significant time in Buffalo. His fastball sits comfortably in the mid- to upper 90's and in complimented by a plus curveball.

Indianapolis Indians (May 22-25): Gregory Polanco, CF – Somehow the Pirates have a third outfielder in the mold of Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen on the way in the 22-year-old, 6-foot-4-inch Polanco. Baseball America ranks Polanco, who is a true five-tool guy, as the No. 10 prospect in the game. Polanco is a guy you’ll want to catch early this season because there’s every chance he could claim a starting job in Pittsburg’s outfield by the All-Star break.

Rochester Red Wings (June 3-6): Alex Meyer, RHP – The Twins have three players in Law’s Top 50, including Baseball’s current No. 1prospect Byron Buxton. However, as of right now they’re all at least a call-up away from Rochester. That said, Meyer – who stands an intimidating 6-foot-9-inches tall, is a solid prospect in his own right. He touches 97 seemingly with ease and posted a 2.99 ERA with 100Ks in 78.1 innings in Double-A last season.

Columbus Clippers (June 7-10): Trevor Bauer, RHP – Bauer was the Opening Day starter for Columbus this season, an honor for your average prospect, but a disappointment for one with his stuff. Bauer, 23, was the Indian’s top pitching prospect heading into 2013, but mechanical issues led to lost velocity and control issues for much of the season. According to the prospect, all that’s behind him this season. “My stuff is back to where I’m used to having it,” he told the Columbus Dispatch. “My fastball velocity is back to where I’m used to having it (94-96 mph, topping out near 100 mph). So it should be a good year.”

* Francisco Lindor is a 20-year-old shortstop to keep an eye on. He's starting the season in Double-A, but has been on the fast track to the majors since being drafted No. 8 overall in 2011. 

Toledo Mud Hens (June 20-23): Robbie Ray, LHP – When Miguel Cabrera moved back to first base (because of the Prince Fielder trade) it opened the door for 21-year-old third baseman Nick Castellanos to make the big league club and cut into Detroit’s depth in the minors. Ray – who was “the key to the deal” that saw the Tigers ship Doug Fister to the Nationals, according to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski -- is a 6-foot-2-inch southpaw who went 11-5 with a 3.36 ERA and had 160 strikeouts in 142 innings for high-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg last season.

Louisville Bats (June 24-27): Chien-Ming Wang, RHP – When Louisville’s Billy Hamilton made the Reds opening day roster this spring, the International League lost a potential 100-base stealer. Right now, the higher ceiling talent in the Reds organization is all too young to have advanced to Triple-A. The guys worth coming out to see are Wang (a two-time 19-game winner in the Majors with the New York Yankees) and Jeff Francis, who won at least 13 games a season from 2005-07 with the Rockies). Both are trying to get their once-promising careers back on track.

*Robert Stephenson, who the Reds took in the first round of the 2011 draft is a guy who may be in Louisville by the time the Bats come to town. Ranked as the No. 19 prospect in baseball by MLB.com, Stephenson, 21, has lit up the radar guns in his brief pro career, touching 100 mph on several occasions.

Syracuse Chiefs (July 10-13): Brian Goodwin, OF – Goodwin is an outfielder with all five tools. Last season he hit .252 with a .355 OBP, 10 home runs and 19 stolen bases in Double-A, which actually led to Law dropping him from the No. 44 prospect in baseball entering 2013 to No. 83 entering this season. At 23-year-old, Goodwin could be in for a breakout season.