It's possible that it could all be coincidence, but there were a lot of unusual elements of Charlotte's 2-1 loss to Jacksonville that draws notice with only a couple of days before the trade deadline. You had:
*Jimmy Lambert pulled after two scoreless innings and 27 pitches.
*Mike Wright coming in relief of Lambert in the top of the third, except he wasn't on the active roster before the game (perhaps because he's a starter and wasn't expected to throw Wednesday).
*Jake Burger being replaced defensively in the top of the ninth, even though he started at third and the game was tied at 1.
*Wes Helms not being made available after the game to explain the various moves.
These could all be coincidental collisions of minor-league randomness, but this is what it would look like if the game was truly afoot.
Jacksonville 2, Charlotte 1
- Luis Robert went 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Jake Lamb was 2-for-4.
- Yermín Mercedes went 0-for-4 with a K.
- Jake Burger went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Micker Adolfo was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Jimmy Lambert: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Rocket City 8, Birmingham 7 (10 innings)
- Romy Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with two walks and two strikeouts.
- Carlos Pérez was 1-for-4 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Yolbert Sanchez went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Blake Battenfield: 4 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 3 HR
Winston-Salem 9, Greensboro 8
- Yoelqui Céspedes went 3-for-5 with a double, a strikeout and a CS.
- Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- So did Luis Curbelo, also he also struck out twice.
- Davis Martin: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
Salem 6, Kannapolis 4
- Jose Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with a triple and a strikeout.
- Bryan Ramos logged his first multi-hit game since July 8 with a 2-for-5 night.
- Luis Mieses also was 2-for-5.
- Harvin Mendoza went 1-for-4 with a K.
- DJ Gladney, 1-for-3 with a sac fly and a strikeout.
- Caberea Weaver was 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Chase Krogman went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Andrew Dalquist: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
(Photo by Laura Wolff / Charlotte Knights)
