KNIGHTS KNOTES — August 11, 2019
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights will conclude their road trip through Pennsylvania this afternoon with the finale of their three-game series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs from Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA. Today’s game is now the sixth straight game in PA for the Knights (5–0). The Knights swept the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in a three-game series from Moosic, PA from Tuesday through Thursday. The Knights are undefeated in PA this season.
ABOUT LAST KNIGHT: The smoking-hot Charlotte Knights continued their winning ways on Saturday night and climbed even closer to the top of the International League Wild Card standings. Shortstop Ramón Torres launched a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to propel the Knights to a thrilling 1–0 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in game two of their three-game series from Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA.
GONE STREAKIN’: The red-hot Knights have now won six-straight games for the first time this season. The last time the Knights won six games in-a-row was in 2017 (5/11–5/16). The team has also now won 10 of their last 12 games. The red-hot Knights have scored 83 runs in those 10 wins. For the season, the Knights have scored 672 runs, which is third in the IL behind Gwinnett (673), and five behind IL leader, Rochester (677).
NO RUNS FOR YOU!: The Knights shut out the Lehigh Valley IronPigs last night by a score of 1–0, the team’s sixth shutout victory of the season and first since July 18 at Buffalo (6–0). The Knights had eight shutout victories last season.
ROAD WARRIORS: With their 1–0 win last night, the Knights are now 6–1 on this road trip with one game left to be played. The Knights took one of two games against the Gwinnett Stripers in Lawrenceville, GA at the start of this road trip, which was scheduled to feature nine games in 10 days. Sunday’s finale was cancelled due to rain, making that series a rain-shortened two-game series. The road trip shifted to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the Knights earned the three-game series sweep. The Knights have won each of their two games played so far in Allentown.
TORRID PACE: INF Ramón Torres went 2-for-3 last night with his third home run of the season, which was all the Knights needed to beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 1–0. Torres, 26, was promoted to Charlotte from Double-A Birmingham on August 1. In four games with the Knights, he is hitting .688 (11-for-16) with eight runs scored, three doubles, three home runs, and seven RBIs. He was signed as a free agent by the Chicago White Sox on February 19, 2019.
HOME RUN KNIGHTS:. As a team, the Knights have now combined to hit 172 home runs this season, which is good for fourth-best in the International League in 2019–69 more than they hit all of last year (103). The most home runs in a season combined for the Knights in their history is 185, which was set back in 1993 — their first as a Triple-A franchise. They are just 13 homers away from tying that 26-year-old record.
TO-KNIGHTS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Dylan Covey (0–0, 1.85) will get the ball in today’s finale. Covey, who was optioned to Charlotte Knights from the Chicago White Sox after their game on August 6, was added to Charlotte’s active roster on August 8. Covey, 27, has appeared in eight games (six starts) over 24.1 innings pitched with the Knights this season and is 0–0 with a 1.85 ERA. He is 1–7 with a 6.88 ERA in 16 appearances (10 starts) with the White Sox this season (52.1 innings pitched).
LOOKING AHEAD: The Knights will return home next week to BB&T Ballpark for a three-game series against the SWB RailRiders (Tuesday, August 13 through Thursday, August 15) and then face the Columbus Clippers for four games (Friday, August 16 to Sunday, August 18).
