Johnson Dazzles, Knights Beat G-Braves 4-2 Thursday
August 13, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Charlotte Knights News Release
(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) - Erik Johnson's all-star season continued on Thursday as he dazzled in front of a sold-out crowd in Uptown Charlotte.
Johnson (9-8, 2.45) tossed six shutout innings, Rob Brantly drove in three runs, and the Charlotte Knights beat the Gwinnett Braves by a score of 4-2 on Thursday in the finale of the four-game series from BB&T Ballpark. The Knights welcomed 10,212 fans to the ballpark -- the 28th sell-out crowd of the season and 30th overall in 2015.
The Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the G-Braves in the bottom of the third inning thanks to key back-to-back doubles. Ethan Wilson roped a two-out double to left field and Chicago White Sox infielder Emilio Bonifacio followed with an RBI double to give the Knights an early 1-0 lead. Bonifacio, who was playing in his third game on his major league rehab assignment, went 2-for-4 with the RBI.
One inning later, Brantly went to work. The Charlotte backstop, who is hitting .350 with the Knights in 10 games since his promotion from Double-A Birmingham, lined a two-run single to left field. Brantly's single off Gwinnett starter Victor Mateo (1-1, 3.50), gave the Knights a 3-0 lead at that point.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Brantly came through again with an RBI single to score Jason Coats. Charlotte's lead was at 4-0 at that point. That was all they needed on Thursday.
Mateo allowed all four of Charlotte's runs and was saddled with the loss. The Dominican native walked two batters and allowed seven hits on the night.
Overall, Johnson allowed just four hits and struck-out eight batters en route to his ninth win of the season. The California native, who started the Triple-A All-Star Game in Omaha, Nebraska last month, increased his lead in the International League in strikeouts with 123. Reliever J.B. Wendelken came on in the seventh inning in relief of Johnson and allowed Gwinnett's only two runs of the game. Gwinnett catcher Jose Yepez recorded a two-run double in the seventh against Wendelken, which made it a 4-2 game at that point.
Charlotte relievers Blake Smith and Junior Guerra retired the final six batters on the night to seal the victory for the Knights. Guerra struck-out two batters in the ninth inning to notch his fourth save of the season. The win was Charlotte's fourth on the season-long 10-game homestand, which came to a close.
The Knights will now hit the road and make the trek to Toledo, OH to open a three-game series against the Toledo Mud Hens. RHP Hector Noesi (1-2, 3.44) will get the start for the Knights in the opener against Toledo RHP Tim Melville (4-9, 5.18). Pre-game radio coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN Radio 730 AM and www.charlotteknights.com. The "Voice of the Charlotte Knights" Matt Swierad will have the call for all of the action.
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