KNIGHTS KNOTES — August 7, 2021
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights (29–52, 7th) are in the midst of playing 12 games over 13 days on the road. The road trip started on Tuesday with this six-game series against the Gwinnett Stripers (44–38, 4th) from Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, GA. After an off day scheduled for Monday, August 9, the Knights will play six games against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in Jacksonville, FL. Since July 10, the Knights are 4–21.
KNIGHTS VS. STRIPERS: Head-to-head this season, the Knights are 2–14 against the Stripers. This is the first and only series this season between the two teams at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, GA. The first 12 of the head-to-head series this season all came from Truist Field in Uptown Charlotte. Charlotte’s lone win at Truist Field this season against Gwinnett came on May 5 at Truist Field in a 9–6 victory.
ABOUT LAST KNIGHT: The Charlotte Knights dropped game four of a six-game series against the Gwinnett Stripers by a score of 4–3 in 11 innings on Friday night from Coolray Field. A two-out single in the bottom of the 11th inning by catcher Jonathan Morales led to Gwinnett’s walk-off win. So far in this series, the Knights are 1–3.
THE YERMÍNATOR: C/DH Yermín Mercedes launched his eighth homer of the season with the Knights last night, a two-run shot in the fourth inning. Mercedes has hit safely in 20 of 27 games with the Knights since being optioned to Charlotte from the Chicago White Sox on July 2. He appeared in 68 games this season with the White Sox and batted .271 (65-for-240) with 26 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 37 RBIs. He was the American League’s Rookie of the Month in April.
PARKE PLACE: LHP John Parke (1–0, 0.90) was sharp in his second career Triple-A outing on Friday night. Parke, who was promoted back to the Knights from Double-A Birmingham on Thursday, allowed just one run on three hits over five innings. He did not factor in the decision. He allowed just two unearned runs over five innings for the Knights to earn the win on July 29, his first at the Triple-A level.
HOME RUN KNIGHTS: With another homer last night, the Knights now have 112 homers on the season, which is tied for fourth-best total this season in the Triple-A East. OF Mikie Mahtook is Charlotte’s leader in home runs with 15 and is tied for tenth in the Triple-A East in that category. The Knights had three players tied for the team lead in home runs in July — all with seven homers apiece. INF Zach Remillard, OF Mikie Mahtook and C/DH Yermín Mercedes all hit seven home runs last month.
REHABBING ROBERT: Chicago White Sox OF Luis Robert joined the Charlotte Knights on MLB Rehab on Tuesday, July 27 and has now appeared in eight games with the Knights. He is hitting .276 (80-for-29) with the Knights on his current rehab appearance. He began his rehab stint with High-A Winston-Salem on Wednesday, July 21 and appeared in four games with the Dash. The Cuban native hit .250 (3-for-12) with one run scored, one double and three RBIs. The 23-year-old is currently on the Chicago White Sox 60-day Injured List with a right hip flexor strain. He won an American League Gold Glove Award during his rookie campaign in 2020.
ALL WRIGHT: RHP Mike Wright (6–5, 3.43) is among the Top 10 Triple-A East leaders in a number of categories. His 3.43 ERA is first in the Triple-A East. He is also tied for fourth strikeouts (84), tied for fifth in wins (6), first in batting average against (.199), first in WHIP (1.04), first in IP (89.1) and tied for seventh in win percentage (.545).
TOKNIGHTS STARTER: RHP Jimmy Lambert (3–2, 4.89) will make his 14th start of the season tonight. Most recently, Lambert was recalled by the Chicago White Sox on August 1 and got the start that day against the Cleveland Indians. He allowed just one run on two hits over three innings and was optioned back to the Knights after the game. In 13 starts this season with the Knights, Lambert is 3–2 with a 4.89 ERA (42.1 IP/56 SO). He entered the 2021 season ranked as the number 13 prospect in Chicago’s system by Baseball America.
