KNIGHTS KNOTES — June 20, 2019
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights returned home to BB&T Ballpark on Tuesday to open a six-game, five-day homestand. Tonight, the Knights will play game the finale of their three-game series against the Syracuse Mets. The two teams faced off last week in Syracuse, NY at NBT Bank Stadium (June 11–13). The Knights went 1–2 against the Mets in that series and with Tuesday’s loss and last night’s win, the Knights are now 2–3 this season against the Mets.
KNIGHTS VS. METS: Before last week, the last time the Knights faced a Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets was in 2012 (July 23) when the Buffalo Bisons were the top Mets affiliate. After that time, the club’s Triple-A affiliate was in Las Vegas, NV in the Pacific Coast League from 2013–2018. Last season, the Knights went 3–3 against the Syracuse Chiefs (Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals).
ABOUT LAST KNIGHT: C Seby Zavala, 1B Matt Skole, and 3B Danny Mendick all homered as the Charlotte Knights earned a 9–7 win over the Syracuse Mets last night in the middle game of their three-game series from BB&T Ballpark in Uptown Charlotte. RHP Zach Thompson earned the win out of Charlotte’s bullpen and RHP Matt Foster earned the save with two shutout innings. The Knights scored five runs over their final two innings for the come-from-behind victory.
ROLL WITH SKOLE: 1B Matt Skole launched his team-high 18th home run of the season last night. Skole is tied for third in home runs (18) and tied for fifth in walks (38). He has one more home run yet to be added from the suspended game on May 5. That game will be resumed and completed on June 28.
ROSTER MOVES: The Knights announced two moves before today’s game. LHP Kyle Kubat and C Yermín Mercedes were both promoted to Charlotte from Double-A Birmingham today. Kubat began the 2019 season with High-A Winston-Salem and posted a 2–0 record with a 1.23 ERA in four starts (22.0 IP). He was promoted to Double-A Birmingham on April 30 and went 4–2 with a 2.42 ERA and one complete game in eight starts with the Barons this season. Last year, Kubat posted a 6–3 record with one save and a 3.55 ERA in 32 games (nine starts) with High-A Winston-Salem. He also made one appearance with the Knights last season on April 30 allowing three runs in two innings of work. He was acquired by the Chicago White Sox from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for cash considerations on March 29, 2017. Mercedes has appeared in 42 games this season with Double-A Birmingham and has compiled a .327 batting average with 19 runs scored, seven doubles, six home runs and 18 RBIs. Mercedes, 26, hit .289 (104-for-360) with 14 home runs and 64 RBIs last season with High-A Winston-Salem. He was selected by the Chicago White Sox from the Baltimore Orioles in the Triple-A phase of the Rule-5 Draft on December 14, 2017. He was originally signed by the Washington Nationals as a free agent in 2011.
TO-KNIGHTS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Donny Roach (0–3, 11.03) will get the start today, his eighth of 2019 and second since coming off the Injured List. He was placed on the IL on May 2 and activated off on June 10. 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.
IL LEADERBOARD: INF Ryan Goins is tied for sixth in the IL in batting average (.314)… INF Danny Mendick is tied for second in games played (66) and is tied for third in stolen bases (14)… RHP Dylan Cease is eighth in ERA (4.37) and tied for third in wins (5).
