KNIGHTS KNOTES — May 11, 2021
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights will open a six-game series against the Norfolk Tides (Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) today at 7:04 p.m. from Truist Field.
FIRST SERIES IN THE BOOKS: The Knights dropped five of their first six games of the season — all against the Gwinnett Stripers in their first six-game series of the 2021 season. Charlotte’s long win came on Wednesday in a 9–6 victory.
AT HOME: Dating back to August 24, 2019 (their last homestand of the 2019 season), the Knights have dropped nine of their last 11 home games at Truist Field.
LAST KNIGHTS GAME: Catcher Seby Zavala launched a game-tying, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Charlotte Knights dropped the finale of their six-game series to the Gwinnett Stripers by a score of 12–9 in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon from Truist Field. Down by a score of 8–5, the Knights scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to push the game into extra innings. The comeback effort stalled, however, when the Stripers battled back to score four runs in the top of 10th inning. The Knights added one more run in the bottom of the 10th but came up just short in the final game of the opening series.
HOME RUN KNIGHTS: Through six games this season, the Knights have tallied eight home runs on the year. Catcher Seby Zavala leads the way with two, while Tim Beckham, Matt Reynolds, Blake Rutherford, Gavin Sheets, Mikie Mahtook and Jake Burger have one each. The home runs by Rutherford, Sheets and Burger were their first at the Triple-A level. For Beckham, it was his first home run as a member of the White Sox organization and the 99th of his professional career (36 in the minors and 63 in the majors).
HIT STREAK: Catcher Seby Zavala has recorded a hit in all five games he’s played in this season. He’s hitting .318 (7-for-22) with a team-high two home runs and seven RBIs. The current longest of the season in the Triple-A East is six (eight players tied).
TEAM LEADERS: C/INF Joe DeCarlo is leading the team in hitting with a .429 batting average… catcher Seby Zavala is the team leader in home runs (2)… INF Matt Reynolds has a team-high two stolen bases… Zavala also has a team-best three doubles.
TO-KNIGHTS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Jonathan Stiever (0–0, 0.00 ERA in 1 GS, 3.0 IP) will make his second start of the season with the Knights tonight. He went 0–1 with a 9.95 ERA in two games out of the Chicago White Sox bullpen last 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.
