If Noah Schultz's first start in Charlotte could be described as "back to basics," his second start for the Knights was "back to Birmingham," in the sense that he had a hard time dialing in his command in the first inning, and that put him behind the 8-ball the rest of the way.
Schultz plunked a batter with his first pitch and loaded the bases with two more walks over the course of four batters, then gave up a bases-clearing double off the very top of the left field wall to Ryan Kreidler before he could escape the inning. The second opened with a Manuel Margot triple just out of the reach of Brooks Baldwin in right center, and after a groundout, Schultz allowed the next four batters to reach on two walks sandwiching two singles.
Yet it could've been worse, because he'd given up five runs through 1 ⅓ inning, and the Mud Hens still had the bases loaded with a pair of righties coming to the plate. After a visit from pitching coach Scott Aldred, Schultz didn't throw a fastball the rest of the evening.
To Brewer Hicklen, he threw a pair of changeups for a 1-1 count, got a swinging strike on a slider, and then went back to the changeup for another whiff and the second out. Kreidler followed, and after launching a full-count four-seamer in his first plate appearance, he didn't see another kind of fastball in his second trip. Schultz got ahead with a swinging strike on a slider, missed with a slider and a changeup, evened the count with a slider, and then got Kreidler to swing over one more breaking ball to leave the bases loaded.
Getting righties off of Schultz's sinker was a point of concern when I talked to Double-A pitching coach John Kovalik a few weeks ago, and he said the changeup had been the most effective pitch. It appears as though it's going to have to become a bigger part of his arsenal.
Charlotte 7, Toledo 5
- Brooks Baldin went 1-for-4 with a sac fly.
- Colson Montgomery was 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Tim Elko homered, doubled twice, struck out once and stole another base.
- Bryan Ramos went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Dru Baker, 1-for-3 with an HBP, strikeout and stolen base.
- Noah Schultz: 2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP, 31 of 60 pitches for strikes.
- Tyler Schweitzer: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 21 of 35 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 6, Knoxville 5
- Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-5 with a K.
- William Bergolla was 3-for-5, and was caught stealing.
- DJ Gladney singled, walked and struck out thrice.
- Jacob Gonzalez went 3-for-4 at the plate and 1-for-2 on the basepaths.
- Shane Murphy: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 46 of 78 pitches for strikes.
Winston-Salem 3, Greensboro 2 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Sam Antonacci went 1-for-3 with a stolen base.
- Braden Montgomery and Samuel Zavala both were 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
Greensboro 4, Winston-Salem 0 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Sam Antonacci went 0-for-3.
- So did Jeral Perez, who struck out twice.
- Braden Montgomery doubled, singled and struck out.
- Samuel Zavala, 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Fredericksburg 6, Kannapolis 2
- Ryan Burrowes went 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Caleb Bonemer and Ronny Hernandez both were 1-for-4 with a K.
- As was Abraham Nuñez, but he doubled.
- George Wolkow went 1-for-4, and was caught stealing.
ACL Rangers 1, ACL White Sox 0 (10 innings)
- Adrian Gíl went 0-for-3 with a K
- Maximo Martinez is back: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
DSL Marlins 11, DSL White Sox 4 (7 innings)
- Alejandro Cruz went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Christian Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with a triple and a strikeout. He was also caught stealing.
- Frank Mieses singled, walked, struck out, hit a sac fly and stole a base.
- Yordani Soto was 1-for-3 with a K.
