Knights Knotes — April 14, 2014
LAST KNIGHTS GAME: RHP Scott Carroll (3–0, 0.00) tossed seven scoreless innings, Tyler Saladino ripped three hits, and the Charlotte Knights shut out the Norfolk Tides 4–0 on Sunday in the finale of their three-game series from BB&T Ballpark. The win was Charlotte’s sixth of the season and second in three games on the homestand.
IL’s TOP PITCHER OF THE WEEK IS: Charlotte RHP Scott Carroll, who won both of his starts last week and did not allow an earned run over 13.0 innings pitched, was named the International League’s Pitcher of the Week for the period of April 7–13. Carroll (3–0, 0.00) started the week with a solid performance at Durham on Tuesday, April 8. The Kansas City, MO native pitched six innings and allowed two unearned runs over four hits en route to his second win of the year. The Knights beat the Bulls 8–2 that day and Carroll improved to 2–0 on the season at that time. On Sunday, Carroll started for the Knights in front of 10,200 fans at BB&T Ballpark in the team’s three-game series finale with the Norfolk Tides. The 29-year-old was sharp again and tossed a season-high seven shutout innings. He needed just 76 pitches to get through seven innings and allowed just three hits and one walk over that span. Overall this season, Carroll has not allowed an earned run in 19.0 innings pitched. He made his season debut on April 3 in Norfolk and allowed five hits over six scoreless innings for his first victory of the year. Carroll appeared in nine games with the Knights in 2012 — making eight starts for the team that season. He compiled a 2–3 record with a 3.78 ERA. During the offseason, Carroll had Tommy John surgery and spent the majority of 2013 recovering. He pitched in just 41.0 innings between Advanced Rookie Bristol and Double-A Birmingham last year.
LET’S BE FRANK: The Charlotte Knights added RHP Frank Francisco to their roster today after the righty was signed by the White Sox today and assigned to the Queen City. The 34-year-old spent the past two seasons in the Mets organization. Francisco spent the majority of the 2013 season on the DL with elbow issues stemming from offseason surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. He appeared in just eight games for the Mets and went 1–0 with a 4.26 ERA and one save. Francisco had 23 saves and a 5.53 ERA for the Mets in 48 appearances in 2012 — the first year of his two-year contract with the Mets.
HIP, HIP, HERNANDEZ: Knights new OF Gorkys Hernandez put on a clinic in his first start in Charlotte. Hernandez went 2-for-5 with a run, RBI, and a stolen-base. The 26-year-old Venezuelan native split the 2013 season between New Orleans (AAA) and Omaha (AAA). Hernandez appeared in four games with the Omaha Storm Chasers and was hitting .231 (3-for-13) with one RBI and two stolen bases.
TEKOTTE DOUBLE DIPS: After his second game with two doubles OF Blake Tekotte is now tied with teammate Matt Davidson and Bulls OF Jerry Sands for an IL leading six doubles in 2014. Tekotte hit two doubles at Durham on April 8th. With multiple doubles yesterday Tekotte makes it six times that a Knight has had multiple doubles in a game. Knights also lead the IL in doubles as a team with 27.
KNIGHTS ON-BASE MACHINES: SS Tyler Saladino extended his on-base streak to 10 games, which started on April 3. Saladino ripped three hits and is now batting a team-high .417 on the season. He has a hit in eight of 10 games this season. Blake Tekotte has proven he is at home on the bases as well, totaling 18 home games in a row that he has found his way on base. Tekotte added two more doubles to his season total and now has six on the season. C Josh Phegley currently has an on-base streak of 13 game in a row, dating back to last season and started June 28th, 2013. Phegley has a 10 game on-base streak at home games alone, which dates back to June 3rd, 2013.
