KNIGHTS KNOTES — May 8, 2021
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights will continue their six-game series against the Gwinnett Stripers tonight from Truist Field. First pitch of tonight’s game is on tap for 7:04 p.m. from Uptown Charlotte.
LAST 10: The Knights have dropped three of their first four games of the season and eight of their last 10 home games at Truist Field dating back to August 24, 2019 (finished their final homestand of 2019 with losses in five of six games).
LAST KNIGHTS GAME: The Charlotte Knights fell to the Gwinnett Stripers by a score of 19–1 on Friday night from Truist Field. Charlotte’s lone run of the game came on a solo home run by left fielder Mikie Mahtook in the bottom of the seventh inning.
HOME RUN KNIGHTS: Through four games this season, the Knights have tallied five home runs. Tim Beckham, Matt Reynolds, Blake Rutherford, Gavin Sheets and Mikie Mahtook have all homered this year. The home runs by Rutherford and Sheets 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).
TO-KNIGHTS STARTING PITCHER: LHP Matt Tomshaw makes his 2021 season debut tonight. Last year, he pitched for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the Independent America Association. He went 5–3 with a 2.69 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) over 80.1 innings pitched. In 2019, Tomshaw put together a solid effort with both the Double-A Birmingham Barons and the Charlotte Knights. Overall with the Knights, he posted a 4–2 record with a 3.93 ERA and 32 strikeouts over 36.1 IP (11 games/5 games started). Tomshaw proved to be a solid contributor to the Knights down the stretch.
DOWN THE STRETCH: Over his final four starts in 2019, LHP Matt Tomshaw posted a 2–1 record with a 1.57 ERA over 23.0 IP. On August 24, 2019 with the Knights in a pennant race, he allowed just two runs over six innings pitched en-route to a 5–3 win. He struck-out a career-high 11 batters and improved to 2–0 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts (19.0 IP) since returning from Double-A. He allowed just one run on five hits over four innings in his last start of the season on August 30 at Norfolk.
FAMILY AFFAIR: Making his first career start in Triple-A on Tuesday, 1B/OF Gavin Sheets went 2-for-5 with the home run and four RBIs. His homer traveled 430 feet to tie the game at 3–3 in the bottom of the third inning. The 25-year-old slugger is the second member of his family to play in Charlotte, joining his dad, Larry Sheets. The elder Sheets played for the Charlotte O’s in 1980 and 1983. He hit 25 home runs with the O’s in 1983.
AT THE HELM: Manager Wes Helms notched his first career victory on Wednesday night. Originally tabbed to manage the Knights last season but didn’t get the chance due to the cancellation of the season (COVID-19), Helms won his second career game as a manager. He made his managerial debut on Tuesday — 478 days from when he was first hired as manager (January 13, 2020). The 2021 season marks his third overall in the White Sox system (2019 was spent with the Birmingham Barons and 2020 at the alternate site in Schaumburg, IL). In 2016, he was inducted into the Gaston County Sports Hall of Fame. Just two years later, Helms returned to baseball in a coaching role with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (2018).
