The Kannapolis Intimidators had Easter Sunday off, and apparently Bryce Bush spent it rolling a boulder.
The 19-year-old third baseman appeared to be the victim of an overly aggressive assignment based on his first 13 games at Low-A. He was just 5-for-52 with three walks and 22 strikeouts, good for a .096/.158/.115 line. Making matters worse, he committed nine errors in 10 games at third base.
But over the last three games in Charleston, he might be on to something. On Monday, he reached base four times (single and three walks). On Tuesday, he went 2-for-5 and avoided striking out for just the second time all season.
He strung together a third strong performance on Wednesday, going 1-for-3 with a walk and, again, no strikeouts. Better yet, the hit was a triple in the seventh inning that tied the game.
Bush still has a ways to go to erase the awful start, but his OPS at least starts with a "4" now, with a slash line at .145/.239/.194.
It's worth noting that Bush has occupied the DH spot for these last three games. Maybe they're trying to get him going in one facet of the game instead of attempting to solve two at a time.
Charlotte 9, Toledo 6
- Charlie Tilson is now hitting .388 after going 3-for-5 with a triple. He struck out once.
- Daniel Palka was 0-for-5 with a strikeout and six stranded.
- Zack Collins went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Danny Mendick, 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Jordan Stephens: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
- Ian Hamilton: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Jackson 9, Birmingham 0
- Joel Booker went 2-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Laz Rivera, 1-for-5.
- Luis Gonzalez and Gavin Sheets were both 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Micker Adolfo went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Ti'Quan Forbes went 1-for-4.
Winston-Salem 5, Wilmington 2
- Nick Madrigal went 1-for-2 with a double and three walks, and was 1-for-2 on the basepaths.
- Lincoln Henzman: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
- Zach Lewis keeps up his season of weird lines: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Kannapolis 2, Charleston 1
- Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-4.
- Steele Walker went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Bryce Bush, 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.
- Luis Curbelo was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- That's more like it, Davis Martin: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 1 HR
