Charlotte beats Medlin, sweeps G-Braves

LAWRENCEVILLE -- The Charlotte Knights scored three times in the first inning against starter Kris Medlen and never trailed, going on to a 5-2 win over the Gwinnett Braves on Saturday night at Coolray Field.

With the win, the Knights not only swept the first half of the home-and-home series, but also closed to within a half game of the G-Braves for first place in the International League South Division.

Medlen (0-1), making his first start with Gwinnett since 2009 as he works toward returning to Atlanta as a starter, took the loss with four runs on five hits over 2 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four.

Josh Phegley (3-for-4, two RBI) and Greg Golson (3-for-5, RBI) combined for six of the Knights' 10 hits on the night. Golson doubled to lead off the game and came around to score when the next batter, Drew Garcia, singled him home. Charlotte drew a 3-0 lead after a two-run single by Phegley scoring Garcia and Brent Morel later in the inning.

Dan Johnson homered off Medlen in the third inning, his third blast in his last two games against Gwinnett. The former IL Most Valuable Player finished 1-for-5 with the home run, his 14th of the season, raising the lead to 4-0.

The G-Braves cut the deficit to 4-2 with a pair of runs off Knights' starter Terry Doyle in the fifth inning. Felix Pie doubled and Collin DeLome singled, breaking up a run of 11-straight batters retired by the right-hander. Jose Yepez doubled down the left-field line to score Pie and Lance Zawadzki grounded out to score DeLome, but Doyle got Luis Durango to fly out to right, stranding Yepez.

Doyle (5-3) allowed just those two runs on four hits over 6.0 innings, walking none and striking out six. Charlotte relievers Donnie Veal and Brian Omogrosso combined to allow one hit over the final three innings while striking out five.

Buddy Carlyle threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings and Anthony Varvaro threw scoreless ball over two frames to keep the game within reach, but the Knights added a run in the ninth on Cory Gearrin. Gearrin saw an 11 1/3-inning scoreless streak snapped as Ozzie Martinez doubled and scored on a single by Golson.

Pie extended his multi-hit games streak to a team-best four, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. In his last five games, Pie is batting .389 with seven hits, four runs scored, three doubles and one RBI. Yepez was the only other G-Brave with an extra-base hit on the night, going 1-for-2 with an RBI double.

The International League South-leading Gwinnett Braves (32-24) begin a 10-game road trip on Sunday as they continue the home-and-home series in Fort Mill, SC against the Charlotte Knights (32-25). G-Braves' right-hander Julio Teheran (4-2, 3.57) will oppose Charlotte right-hander Dylan Axelrod (4-2, 2.36) at Knights Stadium, first pitch scheduled for 5:15 PM. The game will be broadcast on radio on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM with Tony Schiavone calling play-by-play.