Knights Knotes — July 19, 2017
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights hit the road on Monday and opened a series in Rochester, NY. The two teams were forced to play a doubleheader on Monday due to a postponement of a game in Charlotte from April 23. The Knights dropped both games of that doubleheader and dropped their 11:05 a.m. morning game yesterday. Tonight, the Knights will look to take a game in the series before once again hitting the road to open a four-game set against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (July 20–23) from Moosic, PA. The Knights have yet to face the RailRiders this season. The two teams will later play a three-game series at BB&T Ballpark from July 28–30.
KNIGHTS VS. RED WINGS: The Knights and Red Wings faced off earlier this season at BB&T Ballpark from April 21 to April 23. Over the first two games of the series, each team won a game. On April 23, rain postponed the finale and with it being the final time the two teams would face off in Charlotte in 2017, the game was moved to July 17 as part of a doubleheader. The Red Wings won both games of the twin bill on Monday, as well as yesterday’s game. Rochester is now 4–1 this season against the Knights.
THE LAST KNIGHTS GAME: The Charlotte Knights brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning, but fell just short in Tuesday’s 11:05 a.m. game from Rochester, NY by a score of 3–1. With two outs in the top of the ninth and Rymer Liriano on first base, outfielder Tyler Ladendorf flied out to end the game. RHP Tyler Danish (2–9, 4.52) did not allow a run over the first five innings of the game, but ran into trouble in the sixth. Danish, who was saddled with the loss, allowed an RBI groundout to Matt Hague and an RBI triple to Niko Goodrum in the sixth inning — the only runs of the game he allowed. The ‘Wings took a 2–1 lead at that point and never looked back. In all, Danish gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings.
ROSTER MOVES: Second baseman Yoan Moncada and right-handed pitcher Brad Goldberg have both been officially recalled by the Chicago White Sox today. Additionally, infielder Jake Peter has been promoted to Charlotte from Double-A Birmingham. Charlotte’s active roster is now set at 25 players.
MORE ON MONCADA: Ranked as the number one prospect in Major League Baseball by MLB.com and Baseball America, 2B Yoan Moncada hit .282 (87-for-309) with 57 runs scored, nine doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 36 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, and a .377 on-base percentage in 80 games with the Knights this season. A native of Abreus, Cuba, he currently ranks fourth in the IL in runs scored (57), and fifth in stolen bases (17). He was elected as an International League All-Star this season and participated in the 2017 SiriusXM Futures Game on Sunday, July 9th in Miami, FL. Earlier this season (May 1), the Chicago White Sox named Moncada as their Minor League Player of the Month for the month of April. During the first month of the season, the 22-year-old hit .314 (27-for-86) with 16 runs scored, four home runs, seven RBIs, and six stolen bases in 21 games for the Knights. He earned International League Batter of the Week honors on May 8 after hitting .500 (11-for-22) with eight runs scored, two home runs, and four RBIs from May 1–7. The 22-year-old has earned a number of accolades over his short professional career. Last season, Moncada was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America and was a Carolina League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the 2016 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on July 10, 2016 in San Diego, CA. In 2015, the slugger earned South Atlantic League Post-Season All-Star honors.
FROM THE SOUTH TO THE SOUTH SIDE: With the promotions of 2B Yoan Moncada and RHP Brad Goldberg today, the Knights have now promoted 12 different players to Chicago. RHP Tommy Kahnle (April 6), catcher Kevan Smith (April 13 & May 10), outfielder Willy Garcia (April 14 & May 2), RHP Mike Pelfrey (April 22), RHP Chris Beck (April 25), LHP David Holmberg (May 4), RHP Gregory Infante (May 15), RHP Tyler Danish (May 26), RHP Juan Minaya (May 26 & June 26), outfielder Adam Engel (May 27 & June 20), are the 10 others who have all received promotions this year.
RYSE & SHINE: Outfielder Rymer Liriano reached base four times in yesterday’s game and was a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Liriano finished the game 3-for-4 with a single, double, and a home run — his eighth of the season. Liriano has now hit three of his eight home runs in July (16 games). He also hit three in June (24). The 26-year-old had a solid month of July, totaling a .302 (26-for-86) batting average with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
LEAGUE LEADERS: RHPs Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez are in the top five in the International League in strikeouts. Giolito is currently fourth with 103, while Lopez ranks fifth with 101. Giolito is also second this season in shutouts with two. He threw a seven-inning no-hitter at BB&T Ballpark on May 25 earlier this season. LHP Matt Purke is tied for second in the IL in holds with eight.
REY OF LIGHT: RHP Reynaldo Lopez (6–5, 3.78) allowed just one run on two hits in seven innings on Sunday for the Knights. He struck-out a season-high 12 batters and left with a 3–1 lead. Although he didn’t factor in the decision, Lopez once again put together a solid day on the hill. Over his last four games, he has fanned 33 batters (25.2 IP). For the season, Lopez now has 101 strikeouts in 100.0 innings pitched, which is fourth in the IL and second on the Knights behind Lucas Giolito (103). Over his last three starts in July, he owns a 1.89 ERA (19.0 IP).
CHARLOTTE STARTING PITCHER: RHP Carson Fulmer (6–6, 5.58) will get the nod in tonight’s finale — his 19th start of the season. Tonight’s start will be his first against the Red Wings in his career. He made four Triple-A starts last season with the Knights and did not face the Red Wings. He entered this season ranked by Baseball America as the seventh-best prospect in Chicago’s system. He was drafted in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft.
ROCHESTER STARTNG PITCHER: RHP Justin Haley (1–0, 2.08) will get the start in tonight’s finale — his fifth start of the season. A native of Sacramento, CA, Haley is coming off a solid start in his last outing. On July 14, Haley threw five shutout innings at Lehigh Valley en route to his first win with the Red Wings this season. Haley entered the 2017 season ranked by Baseball America as the 20th best prospect in Minnesota’s organization.
NEARING 400: OF Jason Bourgeois, who was placed on the DL on Monday (retroactive to July 15), ranks among the all-time franchise leaders in a number of categories. Bourgeois now has a total of 395 in his Knights career — just five away from that elusive Knights 400 club. Bourgeois is also among the leaders in a number of other categories, including: third all-time in at-bats (1,368), fourth in games played (354), fourth in runs scored (188), second in stolen bases (70), and tied for second all-time in triples with Ken Ramos (11). He’s now just one way from tying the all-time leader, Jordan Danks (12). A native of Houston, TX, Bourgeois rejoined the Knights last season after playing for the team in 2007 and 2008. In 2013, he was named to the All Knights Stadium Team. He is just one of five players in franchise history with 300 or more hits (Jordan Danks, 449, Joe Borchard, 439, Bourgeois, Sanchez, 347, and Josh Phegley, 312).
TRIPLE-A DEBUT: LHP Aaron Bummer (0–0, 3.00), who was promoted to Charlotte before the game on Monday from Double-A Birmingham, made his Triple-A debut that night. Bummer, 23, gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits over three innings in game two. He was promoted to Charlotte last season on September 1, but never appeared in a game. This season, he went a combined 1–5 with five saves and a 3.48 ERA in 44.0 innings pitched over two levels. He went 0–2 with a 4.91 ERA and two saves in eight games (11.0 innings pitched) with Winston-Salem(High-A) before he was promoted to Birmingham on May 5th. He was 1–3 with three saves and a 3.00 ERA in 17 games with the Barons this year. He entered the 2017 season ranked by Baseball America as the 21st prospect in the Chicago White Sox system. The Valencia, CA native was originally drafted by the White Sox in the 19th round of the June 2014 First-Year Player Draft.
THROUGH THE GATES: The Knights welcomed their16th sell-out crowd of the season on Saturday — a total of 10,222 fans. It was their second-consecutive sell-out on the homestand. For the season, the Knights have an average attendance of 9,031 and have an overall attendance of 406,403 in 45 openings. A total of 10,743 fans — the second largest crowd in BB&T Ballpark history — were on-hand on July 3rd at BB&T Ballpark. The highest attended Knights game in the history of BB&T Ballpark was on July 4, 2016 with a total of 10,752 fans. The Knights welcomed their 100th regular season Knights sell-out crowd in BB&T Ballpark history (opened April 11, 2014) on Friday, June 30 .
