Knights Knotes — May 4, 2018
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights (Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox) hit the road yesterday to open up an eight-game road trip beginning with a four-game series against the Columbus Clippers (Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians). The Knights (11–15) will continue the series and face the Clippers tonight at 7:15 p.m. in game two of the four-game series. This trip is their first of two road trips to Huntington Park this season (other trip is May 18–20). The Knights recently wrapped up a six-game homestand at BB&T Ballpark on Wednesday, going 3–3 on the homestand (2–1 against Norfolk and 1–2 against Gwinnett).
ABOUT THE LAST KNIGHTS GAME: RHP Donny Roach was solid over seven strong innings, but the Charlotte Knights dropped the opening game of their three-game series against the Columbus Clippers by a score of 4–2 on Thursday from Huntington Park in Columbus, OH. Columbus shortstop Yu Chang launched a game-winning, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Charlotte reliever Gregory Infante (0–2, 10.13) to win the game
THE DONN: RHP Donny Roach (3–1, 3.16) was sharp once again for the Knights, but did not factor in the decision last night. The 28-year-old right-hander tossed his fifth quality start of the 2018 season, allowing just two runs on six hits over seven innings of work. He walked two batters and struck-out four. He currently leads the IL in innings pitched (37.0) and is tied for first in games started (6).
KNIGHTS VS. CLIPPERS: Last season, the Charlotte Knights went 7–4 against the Clippers overall. In Columbus, OH, the Knights posted a 2–1 mark, while they went 5–3 at BB&T Ballpark. In their all-time series (since 1993), the Knights are 135–156 against the Clippers. The Knights are 12–22 all-time at Huntington Park.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Chicago White Sox have recalled Charlotte Knights LHP Jace Fry today, who takes the roster spot of RHP Juan Minaya, who was optioned back to the Knights. Minaya will join the Knights for tonight’s game. Fry posted a 0–0 mark with a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings pitched (five games) this season with the Knights. Opponents were hitting just .125 (3-for-24) against him and he struck-out a total of 11 batters during his time with the Knights. He was promoted to Charlotte on April 20 from the Double-A Birmingham Barons, where he was on the team’s disabled list. He made his major league debut last season with the White Sox on September 5 (2017) vs. Cleveland (2 ER/0.1 IP). Minaya, 27, went 0–0 with a 10.80 ERA (4 ER/3.1 IP) in five appearances over two stints with the Sox this season.
FROM THE SOUTH TO THE SOUTH SIDE: Last season, the Knights promoted a total of 22 players to the Chicago White Sox. So far already this season, the Knights have now promoted eight players to the White Sox. The eight players who have been promoted this season are: RHP Bruce Rondόn, RHP Chris Volstad, RHP Gregory Infante, RHP Chris Beck, OF Daniel Palka, RHP Juan Minaya, RHP Dylan Covey, and LHP Jace Fry.
JOSE, JOSE, JOSE, JOSE: INF José Rondόn extended his hit streak to eight-straight games last night. In 23 games this season, he is hitting .290 (27-for-93). Over his last 10 games, he is hitting .317 (13-for-41) with five runs scored and three RBIs. For the season, he is tied for second in the league in triples (2) and tied for fifth in total bases (44). When leading off an inning, he is hitting .471 (8-for-17) with a double and a triple. He is hitting .321 (9-for-28) with three RBIs against left-handed pitchers this season. He was acquired by the Chicago White Sox from the LA Angels of Anaheim on January 10, 2018 in exchange for cash considerations.
JUAN ON BASE: Although his hit streak came to an end last night at six games, infielder Juan Perez reached base for the ninth-straight game. Perez has also reached base in 10-straight home games from 4/13 to present. Over his last seven games, Perez is hitting .308 (8-for-26) with two runs scored, one home run, and two RBIs. Perez was signed by the Chicago White Sox as a free agent on February 2, 2018.
ATTENDANCE KNIGHTS: Wednesday’s 11:05 a.m. game attracted a sell-out crowd of 10,702 fans — the sixth sell-out crowd of the 2018 season at BB&T Ballpark. Wednesday’s crowd was the fifth largest crowd in BB&T Ballpark history. Charlotte’s attendance of 115,487 and average attendance of 8,884 through 13 games this season is currently tops in all of Minor League Baseball in 2018. The Knights actually outdrew the Miami Marlins, who were also home over that six-game stretch (April 27-May 2) by 11,345 more fans. The Knights sold out three-consecutive games on their opening homestand from Thursday, April 12 to Saturday, April 14. The team has compiled 115 sell-outs since their opening on April 11, 2014.
HOME RUN KNIGHTS: Catcher Kevan Smith hit a home run in back-to-back games (Tuesday and Wednesday at BB&T Ballpark). His three home runs are tied for the team lead with Daniel Palka, José Rondόn, and Patrick Leonard… Infielder Matt Skole, who has reached base in seven-straight games, hit his first home run of the season last night — the 103rd of his minor league career.
