In the throes of last year's lockdown, one day shy of exactly one year ago, we talked about the ways we'd missed taking in a game. Atop my list was the short-notice random midweek evening, and after using an open night to take in the Nashville Sounds-Gwinnett Stripers game on Wednesday I'm pleased to report it's as good as I remember.
After one week of reduced-capacity attendance, Nashville removed the restrictions, save four social-distanced sections in the park. But the nice thing about midweek Triple-A ball is that 100 percent capacity on a Wednesday looks a lot like 40 percent limit the Sounds had established during the first week.
It's about a 10-minute drive to the ballpark, and takes less than 10 additional minutes to park, walk and get through the gates. I had a couple beers and a pork sandwich, watched a top-30 prospect have a big night (the Braves' Drew Waters), and saw a few old friends (Yolmer Sánchez, Ryan Goins, Jonathan Lucroy). The relaxed nature of it all is why I'm ambivalent about Nashville being considered a potential expansion market. The availability of low-key-but-good baseball is one of the sport's strengths, and it's nice to take the game up on that.
Durham 5, Charlotte 4 (10 innings)
- Luis González singled twice, walked once and struck out twice.
- Blake Rutherford went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Jake Burger looked overmatched for the first time, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.
- Gavin Sheets wasn't much better: 0-for-5 with three strikeotus.
- Brian Goodwin walked twice and struck out twice.
Notes:
*The Knights struck out 19 times over 10 innings.
*Cohoes' Zack Remillard was promoted to Charlotte for the first time, taking the roster spot of Joel Booker. He opened the season by hitting .295/.458/.455 with nine walks against seven strikeouts for Birmingham. It seems like a rather fluky sample for a 27-year-old whom the White Sox used to plug roster holes between Kannapolis and Birmingham over the last three full seasons, but this is coming after a spring in big-league camp where he appeared in a team-high 25 games and posted a .435 OBP over 23 plate appearances. He's always been on my radar due to Capital Region reasons, but maybe give him a faint blip on yours.
Montgomery 16, Birmingham 4
- Ti'Quan Forbes went 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Micker Adolfo's numbers are surging: 2-for-3 with a homer and an HBP.
- Carlos Pérez was 1-for-4.
- Kade McClure gave up seven in the second: 1.1 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
Notes:
*Adolfo has avoided striking out in three consecutive games, over which he has reached base eight times. His line of .255/.327/.532 is close to where you want him.
Jersey Shore 4, Winston-Salem 1
- Lenyn Sosa went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Yolbert Sanchez, 0-for-3 with a walk and a K.
- Luis Curbelo went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Duke Ellis had the Dash's other hit, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a K.
- Luis Mieses wore the golden sombrero.
- Harvin Mendoza was 0-for-2 with a sac fly.
- Jason Bilous: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Notes:
*Bilous now 26 strikeouts against two walks this year, an impressive ratio considering he hadn't even achieved 2:1 at any level.
Columbia 8, Kannapolis 2
- James Beard was 1-for-3 with an HBP.
- Lency Delgado, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- José Rodriguez went 1-for-4 with a K.
- Bryan Ramos doubled, walked, got plunked and struck out.
- DJ Gladney went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts.
- Benyamin Bailey hiked his average over .100 by singling twice, striking out in his two other plate appearances.
- Matthew Thompson: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
