The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers still have a two-digit win total, but they improved to 7-6 for the month of June by opening their series against the Down East Wood Ducks with consecutive victories.
If one were to try to distill the course of the Ballers' season into one player, it'd probably be DJ Gladney. He played a big role in Kanny's 6-2 victory on Tuesday, going 3-for-4 with a homer and a walk. Just as importantly, he didn't strike out, which was something he was doing in bunches.
Gladney basically got week-plus off after a rough crash at the end of May. He had a golden sombrero in the second game of a doubleheader on Carolina on Ma 30, then resurfaced in a doubleheader against Fayetteville on June 4 and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
At the time, Gladney's line sagged to .162/.295/.297. His 37-percent strikeout rate was backloaded by a cluster of 22 K's over 41 plate appearances over the final 10 games he played during that stretch.
Since resurfacing for everyday play on June 9, he appears to be invigorated. He's 10-for-23 with two homers and two doubles over the last six games. Just as crucially, he's struck out just three times against three walks. Consequently, the Ballers are 5-2 since he returned.
Charlotte 11, Jacksonville 2
- Luis González went 1-for-4 with a double, HBP, strikeout and stolen base.
- Gavin Sheets went 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.
- Jake Burger went 2-for-5 with a homer, double and strikeout.
- Jace Fry: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Notes:
*Tim Beckham homered twice for the second straight game. Six of his eight homers have come at Truist Field, but his splits are otherwise narrow -- partially because he hadn't done much anywhere until this week. He's up to .232/.275/.491 on the season.
Mississippi 2, Birmingham 1
- Romy Gonzalez wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Micker Adolfo went 1-for-3 with a strikeout and an HBP.
- Carlos Pérez was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Ti'Quan Forbes went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Konnor Pilkington: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Winston-Salem 3, Greensboro 2
- Lenyn Sosa singled twice and struck out once.
- Luis Curbelo went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
- Duke Ellis was 1-for-3 with a K.
- Luke Shilling: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Kannapolis 6, Down East 2
- Jose Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with a stolen base.
- Chase Krogman went 1-for-5 with a double and three strikeouts.
- Bryan Ramos and Caberea Weaver both cooled off, going 0-for-5 with a K.
- Luis MIeses went 3-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Harvin Mendoza went 1-for-5.
- DJ Gladney went 3-for-4 with a homer and a walk.
- Andrew Dalquist: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
