KNIGHTS KNOTES — June 12, 2021
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights opened a six-game road series on Tuesday night against the Durham Bulls, Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, from Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC. The Bulls (23–10) are second in the Triple-A East Southeast Division behind the first place Nashville Sounds (24–9). The Knights (12–21) are seventh in the Triple-A East Southeast Division.
AGAINST THE BULLS: The Knights and Bulls met last month in a six-game series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Bulls won five of the six games. Charlotte’s lone win came on May 20 in a 6–4 win. After winning their first game of this six-game series last night, the Knights are now 2–8 this season against the Bulls.
ABOUT LAST KNIGHT: RHP Mike Wright (3–1, 2.21) pitched into the seventh inning and helped lead the Charlotte Knights to a thrilling 5–4 win over the Durham Bulls on Friday night in game four of the six-game series from Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The win was Wright’s third over his last three starts. LHP Hunter Schryver entered in the ninth and walked one batter but was sharp to earn his first save of the season.
ROSTER MOVE: Catcher Seby Zavala was activated off the Injured List today. He was placed on Charlotte’s Injured List on June 1 (retroactive to May 31). In 18 games this season with the Knights, Zavala has a .229 batting average with 10 runs scored, three doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs. His four home runs are tied for second on the team.
ALL WRIGHT NOW: RHP Mike Wright has been one of the top pitchers in Triple-A this season and after a win last night, he has now won three-straight starts. Over his last four starts, Wright is 3–0 with a 1.69 ERA (26.2 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 27 SO).
LEAGUE LEADER: RHP Mike Wright is currently among the Triple-A East leaders in a number of categories. His 2.21 ERA on the season is the fourth-best in the league. He is also tied for third in strikeouts (42), tied for third in batting average against (.178), second in WHIP (0.90), tied for sixth in IP (36.2) and tied for ninth in wins (3).
JUNE BOOM: INF Matt Reynolds now has a six-game hitting streak (6/4-present) and has enjoyed an impressive month of June at the plate. In nine games during the month of June, Reynolds is hitting .345 (10-for-29) with four runs scored, one double, one triple, and four RBIs.
AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM: INF Tim Beckham, who homered in back-to-back games to begin this series, had two doubles and three RBIs last night. Beckham, who was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays as the first overall pick in the June 2008 First-Year Player Draft, has enjoyed hitting against his former organization this series. In four games this series, Beckham has three multi-hit games and a total of seven hits. He is hitting .438 in the series with two home runs and eight RBIs in four games.
FROM THE SOUTH TO THE SOUTH SIDE: With the recent promotion of OF Brian Goodwin , the Knights have now sent seven players to the Chicago White Sox this season. Those players in order are: INF Danny Mendick (May 4), RHP Alex McRae (May 14), RHP Ryan Burr (May 27), RHP Zack Burdi (May 29), RHP Jimmy Lambert (May 31), 1B/OF Gavin Sheets (June 3) and OF Brian Goodwin (June 10).
TO-KNIGHTS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Jonathan Stiever (2–1, 4.29) will get the start tonight in game five. In his last outing back on June 5, Stiever gave up just three hits over six shutout innings en route to his second win of the season. Originally selected in the fifth round of the June 2018 First-Year Player Draft, Stiever entered the 2021 season ranked seventh in the White Sox system as rated by Baseball America. The same publication rated him as possessing the Best Curveball in the White Sox system.
