Great starts turn into no-decisions, RISP failure in the lowest minors, and worst of all another rough start in Triple-A for Noah Schultz
Charlotte Knights 7, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (Statcast box)
Charlotte’s season-long march to get back to and better than .500 carries on, as Sergio Santos’ charges are now back to within a game of the good stuff at 39-40. And that could not have been accomplished tonight without the aid of a hot bat from Tim Elko, with three hits and three hard-hits. The Bunyanesque first baseman clocked in with the first, fourth and 17th hardest-hit balls of the game, and strangely enough his homer came on the 17th, with doubles up top.
Have a game Tim Elko!!
This Home Run is Tim’s third extra-base hit already! pic.twitter.com/3XZlDoJvJw
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) June 28, 2025
Not to be overlooked is Colson Montgomery, with a double (second hardest-hit) and single (15th) in the game to surge past .200 batting (.205).
Oh shit OK, well let’s fully bury this lede: Noah Schultz was knocked from the box after just two innings, forcing the bullpen into overtime duty (which they handled with aplomb, seven scoreless frames). The blue-chip southpaw threw just 31-of-60 pitches for strikes, walked four, and was touched for five earned. Schultz’s first inning damage was a game-opening hit-by-pitch, two walks to load the bases, and double and a single, three runs all told, and the inning only ended on a play at the plate/bad Mud Hens baserunning. The second inning for Schultz went triple-single-single-walk-walk to load the bases, although with the sacks packed Schultz whiffed two to escape further damage.
Birmingham Barons 6, Knoxville Smokies 5
Stop if you’ve heard this one before: Shane Murphy pitches splendidly, but a lack of O behind him and/or bullpen collapse snatches a win from his grip; dude’s got a 1.73 ERA with a … 6-3 record. Can’t do better than scoreless without grabbing a bat, Shane, sorry man.
You can almost see the win vanishing:
Baseball Savant
Drew Dalquist was tagged with five earned runs in just a third of an inning, gasp. At least Eric Adler, who blew his fourth Double-A save, recovered enough to earn Murphy’s win. Steak dinner on you tonight, Eric.
Winston-Salem Dash 3, Greensboro 2 (7 innings) (opener)
Greensboro 4, Winston-Salem Dash 0 (7 innings) (nightcap)
Hey, if the Dash could steal away with a 1-1 record for just 14 innings of baseball every day, I think they’d take that deal. Shout-out to nightcap starter Frankeli Arias, following in the finest Shane Murphy tradition by entering the game with a 1-5 record despite a 3.61 ERA and throwing in the towel early with the offense putting up just two hits behind him.
In the opener, lookit Phil Fox not only rocking the two-inning save but throwing just one ball off of the plate in the process. Move the closer up, Sox.
Fredricksburg Nationals 6, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 2
Overall an uninspiring game from the CBs, who have just collapsed this midseason: 2-5 to start the second half, 3-13 in their last three series, and 34-39 overall. Pick up the few highlights in the poll below, but just one walk against nine Ks for the hitters and just one of eight hits for extra bases, while only Liam Paddack at the very back end of the pen threw well today. It’s sort of a miracle this was just a four-run loss.
ACL Rangers 1, ACL White Sox 0 (10 innings)
In the crazy world of the Arizona Complex League, some games are randomly run out at seven innings, while other times scoreless games push to extras despite first-pitch temps at 104°. Pitchers were smoking tonight, which makes it a shame the game ended so oddly.
Now, I’m working off of the play-by-play at MiLB and let’s be frank, it’s hard to take a league too seriously without even pitch tracking (no, not the “strike zone box,” literally just tallies of strikes and balls). But in the bottom of the 10th, Complex Sox pitcher Alvaro Rios coaxed a line out to start the inning, and then to set up an inning-ending double play intentionally walked the next batter. Then … intentionally walked another hitter? Putting a run in sac-fly scoring position makes no sense, so perhaps this is just an artificial intelligence writeup of the play-by-play. At any rate, curious strategy aside, Rangers second baseman Williams Wong rendered the controversy moot with a single for a walk-off winner.
Trivia: Have you ever heard of a team going 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position? OK, besides the 2024 Chicago White Sox. Well, the Complex Sox pulled that one off tonight!