Caleb Bonemer had the day off on Saturday, which may or may not have been planned, since he was hit in the helmet by a 96 mph fastball in his final plate appearance on Friday.
It's the second straight April that Bonemer has taken a pitch to the head, although unlike last year, it appeared to hit only the bill of his helmet. It sent his headwear side-spinning toward the backstop, but Bonemer immediately got to his feet, collected his helmet and started heading to first. Guillermo Quiroz and the trainer intercepted him, but Bonemer stayed in the game with a smile. It was a better scene than the previous April in Kannapolis, when he left the game with a towel over his face.
That said, a precautionary day off seems like the least they could do.
Charlotte 2, Jacksonville 0
- Rikuu Nishida and Jacob Gonzalez both were 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Jarred Kelenic, 2-for-4 with a homer and a double.
- Shane Smith: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HBP, 46 of 83 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*Statcast was back in Jacksonville, and showed Smith averaging 96.2 mph with his fastball and topping out at 99.
Winston-Salem 7, Asheville 6
- Colby Shelton went 3-for-4 with a homer and a walk.
- Anthony DePino doubled twice, singled, struck out twice and stole a base.
- Boston Smith was finally humbled: 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
- George Wolkow homered, singled, walked and struck out twice.
- Kyle Lodise doubled, walked twice, struck out twice and stole a base.
- Seth Keener: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 17 of 29 pitches for strikes.
Myrtle Beach 6, Kannapolis 0
- Jaden Fauske was 1-for-4.
- Billy Carlson wore the collar.
- Javier Mogollón was 0-for-2 with a walk, HBP, strikeout and stolen base.
