Offense was hard to come by in this matchup, so despite a strong effort from the pitching staff, the Knights fell short.
The Bulls broke through in the top of the first inning against Knights starter Kyle Kubat. Josh Lowe drove in the first run of the game with a single, and an RBI ground out by catcher Rene Pinto made it 2-0. The good news is that Kubat did not allow any runs after that, and neither did any of Charlotte’s relievers. Kubat got four strikeouts, and the bullpen got eight. Also, Knights pitchers made things easy on themselves by displaying excellent control, as they did not issue a single walk.
On the other side, in the second inning, Micker Adolfo crushed a long home run to cut the deficit in half. How long, exactly? 475 feet.
Home run
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) September 15, 2021
Noun
A fair hit that allows the batter to make a complete circuit of the bases without stopping and score a run.
Micker got ALL of this baseball and crushed it 475-feet with a 110 MPH exit velocity!
Knights trail the Bulls 2-1 in the third!#FunKnights | #ArmorUp pic.twitter.com/gJU5cVHyRu
As amazing as that home run was, though, it only gave the Knights one run, and they still trailed by one. Unfortunately, the Knights could not put one on the board again.
In fact, the Knights only had one at-bat with runners in scoring position, and they finished 0-for-1 in those situations. That opportunity came in the bottom of the fifth, when Adam Engel stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second with two outs. Engel struck out swinging to end the threat.
In the eighth, Matt Reynolds led off with a single, but he was caught trying to steal second base, and the Knights went down quietly after that. In the ninth, Mikie Mahtook grounded into a double play to wrap it up.
Poll
Who was the Knights MVP?
This poll is closed
-
84%
Micker Adolfo: 1-for-3, HR
-
11%
Matt Foster: 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
-
4%
Matt Reynolds: 2-for-3
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0%
Blake Rutherford: 1-for-2, BB
Poll
Who was the Knights Cold Cat?
This poll is closed
-
60%
Adam Engel: 0-for-4, 2 K
-
26%
Mikie Mahtook: 0-for-4, GIDP
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2%
Jake Burger: 0-for-4, K
-
9%
Kyle Kubat: 4 2⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K
Unfortunately, the Birmingham Barons could not play tonight due to the rain in Montgomery.
— Montgomery Biscuits (@BiscuitBaseball) September 15, 2021
Instead of a recap for a nine-inning game tonight, we will have two recaps of seven-inning games on Friday.
It was not Winston-Salem’s night, as they took the loss in a one-sided game against the Tourists.
Despite the final score, Dash starting pitcher Kaleb Roper had a decent performance. He allowed three runs in five innings, but he struck out 10 while only issuing one walk. Sharp contact was the only issue for the former 29th round pick, who allowed all three of his runs on homers. In the top of the first, shortstop Shay Whitcomb hit a solo home run to open the scoring, and the score remained 1-0 until the fourth. Then, Wilyer Abreu hit a two-run shot to give the Tourists a pair of insurance runs.
Despite those home runs, though, Roper missed a lot of Asheville bats, and when he left the game, the Dash only trailed by two. The Dash got one run back on an RBI single in the fifth by Travis Moniot. That single drove in Brandon Bossard, who reached on an error to open that inning.
Unfortunately, the Dash did not get any closer than that. The bullpen did not take care of business, allowing seven runs (all earned) in four innings. The most damaging inning was the eighth, when Asheville scored four runs on four hits against reliever Edgar Navarro. Meanwhile, the offense did not score after that RBI single by Moniot, as the hitting skills of José Rodriguez (recently promoted to Double-A) were missed tonight.
Poll
Who was the Dash MVP?
This poll is closed
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13%
Luis Curbelo: 2-for-4, 2B
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86%
Travis Moniot: 3-for-4, 2B, RBI
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0%
Luis Mieses: 2-for-5
Poll
Who was the Dash Cold Cat?
This poll is closed
-
92%
Edgar Navarro: 1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 K
-
7%
Alex Destino: 0-for-4, 2 K, 5 left on base
Like the Barons, the Cannon Ballers could not play tonight due to the weather.
Due to rain and continued storms in the area, tonight's game has been postponed. More info on a potential reschedule date will be shared once that decision is made. Tickets for tonight's game will be exchangeable for any remaining game this season. pic.twitter.com/JdipxqIOD3
— Columbia Fireflies (@ColaFireflies) September 15, 2021
The time and date for the makeup game have not been announced.