Following up on the Rickwood Classic, James Fegan wrote a great story about his experience in Birmingham for The Athletic, although Bernardo Flores deserves a lot of the credit for being One Of Us:
Hanging out on that scaffolding hours before the game was White Sox left-handed pitching prospect Bernardo Flores, who climbed the ladder and stared out onto Rickwood Field, imagining some of the Negro League and MLB greats of the past — which he can rattle off endlessly — playing on some of the grass his teammates are warming up on.
“It’s kind of cool to know some of the great guys have been here like Willie Mays patrolling center field or Reggie Jackson coming out here, or Piper Davis, or Alonzo Perry or Rollie Fingers when he was coming up too on the mound,” Flores said. “Just kind of going through, it’s just amazing. It’s an incredible feeling.”
Near the end, he notes that Flores was "fiddling around with a decades-old glove he bought, which had White Sox legend Billy Pierce's signature printed on the side."
Indianapolis 4, Charlotte 0
- Danny Mendick went 0-for-4.
- Daniel Palka wore the collar with silver sombrero.
- Zack Collins was 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Joel Booker had the only good night: 2-for-2 with a walk.
More:
*The Knights have been shut out in three of the last four games.
Birmingham 5, Montgomery 2
- Luis Robert went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Luis Basabe was 0-for-4.
- Luis Gonzalez went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Gavin Sheets made his 1-for-4 count, as it was a grand slam.
- Ti'Quan Forbes singled, walked twice and struck out. He was also caught stealing.
- Kyle Kubat: 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- Alec Hansen: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
More:
*Sheets' slam:
Winston-Salem 10, Carolina 5
- Nick Madrigal went 2-for-4 with a walk and two stolen bases.
- Steele Walker, 1-for-3 with a walk, sac fly and a stolen base.
- Carlos Perez had a rare two-strikeout night but went 1-for-4.
Hickory 5, Kannapolis 3 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Lenyn Sosa went 0-for-3.
- Romy Gonzalez, 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
- Corey Zangari went 1-for-3 with a homer and a strikeout.
- Luis Curbelo also homered for a 1-for-3 game.
- Jhoandro Alfaro was 0-for-2.
- Jonathan Stiever: 5 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 2 WP
Kannapolis 2, Hickory 1 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-3 with a double.
- Romy Gonzalez matched his Game 1 performance.
- Luis Curbelo was 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout.
- Corey Zangari went 1-for-3.
- Jason Bilous: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
