Davidson Homers Again, Knights Beat Bats 7-1
July 27, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Charlotte Knights News Release
(Louisville, KY) - The Charlotte Knights scored in each of the first four innings to take a 5-0 lead on their way to a 7-1 victory in the first of a four-game series with the Louisville Bats - Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Matt Davidson hit his 16th home run of the season and Scott Carroll delivered six strong innings to earn then win, snapping the Knights four-game losing streak.
Davidson's first-inning home run pushed his team-leading total to 16 on the season and gave Charlotte an early 2-0 lead. The Knights third baseman is tied with Richie Shaffer of the Durham Bulls for the third-most homers this season, four behind International League leader J.P. Arencibia - also of the Bulls. The 2015 IL All-Star and Home Run Derby participant ranked fourth in the league with 20 long balls in 2014, his first season as a Knight.
Carroll made his 10th start of the season for the Knights, and tossed a season-high-tying 6.0 innings of one-run ball to earn his fourth win. The 30-year-old has made 12 appearances out of the White Sox bullpen over two stints this season, but has acted exclusively as a starter while at the Triple-A level in 2015. The right-hander scattered six hits and a season-high five walks on the day, but used double-plays in three of his six innings to allow only one run.
Knights catcher Kevan Smith and Triple-A rookie Chris Jacobs each joined Davidson with multi-hit performances, with Smith's 3-for-4 night leading all Knights batters. Jacobs tallied his first Triple-A extra-base hit with a lead-off double in the fourth inning, and gave the Knights a 6-1 lead in the top of the ninth inning with his first career Triple-A RBI.
Tony Cingrani was saddled with the loss in his first start since being optioned to Louisville from Cincinnati, allowing four runs on six hits over three innings pitched. In addition to the Davidson two-run homer, Micah Jonson added an RBI-ground-out and Chris Marrero plated Davidson with a third-inning sacrifice-fly to complete the scoring against Cingrani.
Johnson added a sacrifice-fly of his own in the fourth inning, scoring Jacobs to push the Knights advantage to 5-0. The two-RBI night for the speedy second baseman gave him 32 on the season in 64 Triple-A games.
Leury Garcia rejoined the Knights on Monday after a brief stint with the White Sox. The 24-year-old gave Charlotte their 7-1 lead with a bases-loaded, RBI-ground-out in the ninth inning. He also saved a run by throwing out Irving Falu at home from his center field position for the final out of the fifth frame.
Jarrett Casey hurled a pair of scoreless innings in relief of Carroll, and Junior Guerra recorded the final three outs to seal the 7-1 victory. The pair of relievers allowed only one hit and one walk between them.
The Knights will continue their ten-game road trip on Tuesday with the second of four games against the Bats. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. for each of the remaining three matchups, and you can catch all the action on the Knights flagship station, ESPN 730 AM.
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