Knights Knotes — June 19, 2018
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights (Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox) recently wrapped up a six-game road trip through Durham, NC and Norfolk, VA on Sunday with the finale of their four-game series against the Norfolk Tides (Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) from Harbor Park. The Knights, who started the road trip with a two-game sweep against the Bulls from Durham, NC, went on to win just one of the four games in Norfolk. Charlotte finished 3–3 on the road trip.
KNIGHTS TONIGHT: Tonight, the Knights will open a six-game homestand from BB&T Ballpark and open a three-game series against the Columbus Clippers (Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians). The Knights have won 13 of their last 22 games. Since May 25th, the Knights are 13–9. The first 2,000 fans through the gates will receive a USB Retractable Charger courtesy of BB&T.
CHARLOTTE VS. COLUMBUS: The Knights and Clippers will begin a three-game series tonight from BB&T Ballpark with first pitch on tap for 7:04 p.m. The two teams have already faced off seven times this season — all from Columbus, OH at Huntington Park. The Knights are 2–5 this season against the Clippers. Infielder Eddy Alvarez is hitting .353 (6-for-17) in six games against the Clippers. Tonight’s starter, Donny Roach, has faced the Clippers twice this season and is 0–0 with a 2.08 ERA. For more on Roach against the Clippers, turn to his pitcher page.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Knights announced three roster moves earlier today. Catcher Brett Austin, who is hitting .400 (6-for-15) in five games this season, has been activated off the DL. Catcher Dustin Garneau and infielder Jake Elmore were both placed on the Temporary Inactive List. Charlotte’s active roster is now set at 24 players. Elmore is hitting .269 (43-for-160) in 49 games with the Knights this season. Garneau is hitting .175 (7-for-40) in 12 games with the Knights this year.
THE LAST KNIGHTS GAME: The Charlotte Knights dropped the finale of their four-game series to the Norfolk Tides by a score of 11–4 on Sunday afternoon from Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA. Despite the loss, the Knights finished the six-game road trip with a .500 record (3–3). The Knights held a 4–3 lead after seven full innings, but things quickly changed in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Tides scored eight runs to pull away for the game four victory. In the bottom of the eighth, the Tides used eight hits and two walks to put up the eight-run outburst against the Charlotte bullpen. LHP Aaron Bummer (0–1, 5.40) was charged with the loss after he allowed three runs on two hits. RHP Rob Scahill was charged with the other five runs in the eighth inning.
A FOR ADAMS: RHP Spencer Adams, who entered the 2018 season ranked as the number 12 prospect in the Chicago White Sox organization by Baseball America, made his Triple-A debut on Saturday night for the Charlotte Knights and was sharp. Adams, who was promoted to the Knights from Double-A Birmingham on Tuesday, June 12th, allowed just two runs on three hits over seven innings of work, but did not factor in the decision. Adams gave up two solo home runs in the game and threw 91 total pitches (56 for strikes) in an impressive debut. He was also in line for the win as he exited the game with the Knights ahead by a score of 3–2. Adams, 22, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the second round of the June 2014 First-Year Player Draft. In 13 games (all starts) with the Barons this season, Adams compiled a 3–6 record with a 4.59 ERA (68.2 IP, 80 H, 36 R, 35 ER, 20 BB, 53 SO).
GARCIA: Chicago White Sox OF Avisaíl García (ah-vee-cy-EEL) began a major league rehab assignment with the Knights on Tuesday in game one of their series at Durham. He went 1-for-2 with a walk as the team’s DH in game one. He has since appeared in a total of five rehab games with the Knights and is hitting .353 (6-for-17) with a home run and six RBIs. García, who was an American League All-Star last season, has appeared in 18 games with the White Sox and is hitting .233 (17-for-73) with five runs scored, three doubles, one home run, and four RBIs with the team this season.
GARCIA PART DEUX: Chicago White Sox INF/OF Leury García (lay-OH-ree) began a major league rehab assignment on Saturday night with the Knights and went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. He returned on Sunday and has now appeared in two games with the Knights and is hitting .429 (3-for-7) with a double and three runs scored. García was placed on Chicago’s 10-day disabled list on May 24th with a sprained left knee. In 39 games this season with the White Sox, Garcia has compiled a .262 batting average with 10 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, two home runs, 14 RBIs, and nine stolen bases.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP Donny Roach(7–2, 2.96) will get the start for the Charlotte Knights tonight in the opening game of a three-game series with the Clippers. Roach was remarkable in his 13th start of the season on Wednesday The 28-year-old right-hander, who spent the 2017 season pitching in Korea, struck-out a season-best nine batters over seven scoreless frames. He allowed just five hits and one walk on the night en route to his team-high seventh win of the season. He is tied for second in the IL in games started, second in IP, tied for second in wins, and sixth in ERA. He has now won each of his last four starts and is 3–0 with a 0.87 ERA in three June starts. He has now tossed 11 quality starts this season in his 13 overall starts. Roach was signed by the Chicago White Sox as a free agent this offseason. Last season, he spent the entire campaign in Korea with the KT Wiz and posted a 4–15 record with a 4.69 ERA in 28 games (all starts).
DONNY ROACH VS. COLUMBUS (2018): RHP Donny Roach has faced the Columbus Clippers twice already this season, both in Columbus. This season, he is 0–0 with a 2.08 ERA against the Clippers (13.0 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO). He last faced the club back on May 19th and was solid in a no decision (ND, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO).
DONNY ROACH (CAREER VS. COLUMBUS): In his career, RHP Donny Roach has made five career starts against the Clippers. He is 1–2 with a 3.70 ERA (24.1 IP, 28 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 5 BB, 10 SO). He last beat the Clippers on 9/2/16 as a member of the Toledo Mud Hens (W, 6.1 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO). He lost twice to the Clippers in 2015 as a member of the Louisville Bats going 0–2 with a 5.56 ERA (11.1 IP, 17 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO).
ROLL TIDES: RHP Carson Fulmer (3–2, 3.62) earned the win in game two of the four-game series after he allowed two runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings pitched. For his career against the Tides, he improved to 5–0 with a 1.63 ERA (27.2 IP) in five career games. Fulmer made nine appearances this season with the White Sox (eight starts) and compiled a 2–4 record with an 8.07 ERA (32.1 IP). Fulmer, a native of Lakeland, FL, compiled a 7–9 record with a 5.79 ERA in 25 starts (126.0 innings pitched) with the Knights last season.
LEADING THE WAY: RHP Michael Kopech has a whopping 82 strikeouts in just 62.1 innings pitched. He is second in the IL this season in strikeouts and is second in K/9 IP with an 11.84 ratio. For his Minor League Baseball career, he now has 426 strikeouts over 331.2 innings pitched (2014 to present)… OF Jacob May is tied for third in the IL in stolen bases with 13 — leading the Charlotte Knights. For his Knights career, May now has 63 stolen bases, which is good for third all-time in Knights franchise history. He passed Rafael Skeete for third place earlier this year. He is only behind all-time Knights leader Jerry Owens (93), and Jason Bourgeois, who is second with 71. Last season, May finished second in the International League with 31 stolen bases, which tied Justin Baughman (2002) for the eighth-best single season mark in Knights franchise history.
ATTENDANCE LEADERS: The Knights have welcomed 264,402 fans through the gates at BB&T Ballpark. Their average attendance per game — 8,813 in 30 openings — is tops in the IL this season. The Knights have welcomed 11 sell-out crowds this season and have now welcomed 121 sell-out crowds at Knights games in BB&T Ballpark history (not counting college or Team USA games). In 4+ seasons for Charlotte Knights home games, BB&T Ballpark has now welcomed 2,878,214. The team is just 121,786 fans away from welcoming the 3-millionth Knights fan to BB&T Ballpark.
