KNIGHTS KNOTES — August 14, 2019
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights returned home last night to BB&T Ballpark to open a six-day, seven-game homestand in Uptown Charlotte. The Knights will continue their three-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders tonight with game two of the series. The homestand will continue on Friday with four games in three days (Saturday’s straight doubleheader will feature one home game and one road game as the makeup from the May 9th rainout in Columbus, OH).
ABOUT LAST KNIGHT: In game one of their three-game series last night, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders earned a commanding 15–1 victory. All nine Charlotte starters recorded at least one hit, with eight producing a multi-hit game. 1B Seby Zavala launched his 18th home run of the season, while 2B Nick Madrigal and CF Luis Robert had four hits apiece. Robert was a home run short of the cycle. LHP Kyle Kubat (4–1, 4.81) earned the win after six shutout innings.
SEASON-HIGHS: Last night’s 15-run outburst tied a season-high, which was set on July 11 against Gwinnett (15–12 win). The Knights have scored 15 runs in a game three times this season (also on July 30 at Norfolk). The team’s 23-hit performance set a new season record in 2019, surpassing their 20-hit performance from earlier this season (on two occasions).
WINNING WAYS: With a win last night, the red-hot Knights have won seven of their last eight games and 11 of their last 14 games. They had a season-high six-game winning streak snapped on Sunday in their 6–3 loss to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. For the season, the Knights lead the IL in runs scored with a total of 690 runs… The Knights are also tied for first in the IL in RBIs (652) with Rochester.
HOME RUN KNIGHTS:. As a team, the Knights have now combined to hit 174 home runs this season, which is good for fourth-best in the International League in 2019–71 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 11 homers away from tying that 26-year-old record. This year, 26 players have hit a home run, which is a franchise record.
GONE STREAKIN’: 2B Nick Madrigal extended his hit-streak to six games last night with his first four-hit performance at the Triple-A level (hitting .393 over that span)… INF Ramon Torres, the reigning IL Batter of the Week, also has a six-game hitting streak (hitting .560 over that span)… C/1B Yermín Mercedes currently has a four-game hitting streak (hitting .533 over that span).
TO-KNIGHTS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Donny Roach (3–6, 7.98) will get the start today, his 16th of 2019 with the Knights. Last season with the Knights, Roach went 9–2 with a 2.65 ERA in 16 games (15 starts). He went 5–0 with a 0.98 ERA in the month of June and was named as the International League’s Player of the Month and the Chicago White Sox Pitcher of the Month for June. Roach asked for and was granted his release by the White Sox on July 5th to pursue an opportunity to pitch in Japan. He re-signed with the White Sox this offseason.
REIGNING BATTER OF THE WEEK: Infielder Ramón Torres, who hit .688 (11-for-16) with seven runs scored, two doubles, four home runs, and nine RBIs over four games with the Charlotte Knights last week, was named as the International League’s Batter of the Week for the period of August 5–11. Torres, 26, was promoted to the Charlotte Knights from Double-A Birmingham on Thursday, August 1. Two days later, Torres made his debut with the Knights and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double at Gwinnett. On Wednesday, August 7, he made his first of four appearances of the week and went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. From there, the Dominican native went on to homer in his next three games, compiling a home run in four consecutive games. Torres is Charlotte’s second player this season to earn IL Batter of the Week honors. Outfielder Daniel Palka was named IL Batter of the Week earlier this season (May 13–20).
ROAD WARRIORS: The Knights posted a 6–2 record on their most recent road trip. The Knights took one of two games against the Gwinnett Stripers in Lawrenceville, GA at the start of the 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 then went on to win two of three games from Allentown, PA against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
