The Knights inexplicably bring in a lefty to face 1B Wes Clarke. He proceeds to rip a 1-0 line drive single into the left CF gap. Plates two more. 9-2 Sounds.
Sparks. Solo jack over the LF wall. Another Sparks rip. He's been the most consistent offensive presence for at least two months. 100 mph rocket 378 feet. 2-0 Shuckers.
Nava does it again. Just another clutch RBI poke. It's all he does. Love him. Just love him as a player. Rips a single up the middle infield with the infield in, one down, and Owen Miller standing at 3rd. 5-2 Sounds.
Wilken snags a hard hit liner to his glove hand side to flash leather just a half inning after his line drive HR. Fantastic early going for the young man!
Wilken turned on an inside slider that came back over. Solo rip. His 16th. That ball was scorched. You love to see it. 104 mph dart. 366 feet over that LF wall. 1-0 Shuckers. Two hard hit balls last night. HR today. Let's get away from August STAT! Woot woot!
He digs deep and gets the swinging K on a high inside heater that arm side runs above the zone. Fantastic pitch. He escapes and will look to bounce back in the next frame with a cleaner inning.
Kuehner is already running into trouble in his first frame. Just walked a batter in a long 3-2 count. Pitch count at 25. Bases juiced. Two down. Hopefully, he can dig deep here and escape. 0-0 game.
Miller and Dorrian hit consecutive bloop singles (RF and CF, respectively) and Hicklen crosses. 2-2 game in Charlotte. Runners on 1st and 2nd. One down.
He also said:
"I think you know in my time as a Hillcat I don't get excited about foul balls. I definitely don't get excited by opponents' foul balls."
😅
Home plate ump just blew a two-run jack by Castillo. My goodness. That ball was crushed. It was inside the foul pole. Ump blew the call. Man. Unreal. Stanley came to home plate to chat briefly. Both announcers knew it was a homer. Capital Lame. LOL.
Diaz just continues to show a lack of refinement with his throwing arm. He throws a lazy ball to 1B in an attempted pick-off move and catapults it into RF. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen weak throws or slow throws that have resulted in SB or runners advancing. It's a problem. Mercifully, Castillo made an accurate throw to the cut-off and Guilarte threw a dart and the runner was nabbed at 3B.
Hardin gives up a deep fly to the LF warning track Garcia leaps and graps it before falling into the wall. One down. Hardin is pulled already. Not a debut performance to remember whatsoever. Is what it is. 3-2 lead. Man on first. One down.
The opener walk steals 2B on a delayed steal - Diaz caught framing for too long (silly lack of awareness). Hardin then is left out to dry by the sub-par defense of Luis Castillo who lumbers toward the warning track and fails to track the ball into his glove as it falls on the dirt. Hardin gives up a first pitch oppo liner to LF on the first pitch to the next batter. 3-2 Mudcats. Diaz has to be sharper - this is a repeated pattern of lack of sharpness behind the dish. And Castillo has to do better with his glove on that play. All this being said, Hardin isn't sharp.
Really poor start from Cargo. A start I've seen before in Triple-A. Can't locate off-speed early. Then hanging pitches left and right as he advances in the frame. Almost gave up a 3-run jack twice - one was a fly out to the CF warning track on a dead center heater. Lefty smacks a loud double off the wall. Hard hit grounder to 3B Dorrian made a really solid stab and throw on from near the shallow LF grass. Ugly first frame. Not sharp. Sounds trail 2-0.
Hardin is not dialed in the zone - just missing around the edges. He did just hit a batter in a 3-1 count on a heater that rode up and in to a righty. A line out to SS and a weak ground out to 2B previously.
Carlos has now given up an RBI single to LF. Not sharp early whatsoever. Sounds trail 1-0. Men on 1st and 2nd.
Hardin ends his frame with another weak ground out to 2B.