CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Gwinnett Braves lost to the Charlotte Knights by a 6-2 score on Friday night in game one of the four-game series at BB&T Ballpark.
With their fourth straight loss, the G-Braves(39-40) fell below the .500 mark for the first time since June 6.
Charlotte (35-44) opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning off Gwinnett starting pitcher Kris Medlen. Nicky Delmonico dribbled an infield single up the third base line and moved to third on a double to right by Cody Asche. Danny Hayes drove Delmonico in from third with a ground out to second for a 1-0 lead.
The G-Braves tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second as Sean Kazmar Jr. (6) crushed the first pitch he saw from Charlotte starting pitcher Tyler Danish to left for a two-out solo home run.
The tie did not last long as in the bottom of the fourth, Hayes (14) drilled a 3-0 pitch from Medlen to right for a solo homer and a 2-1 Knights’ advantage. The Charlotte lead climbed to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth as Ronald Bueno (3) hit a two-out solo homer to right off Medlen.
The G-Braves got a run back in the top of the sixth inning as Xavier Avery (6) led off with a solo homer to left off Danish, cutting the Charlotte lead to 3-2.
However, a two-out infield single by Yoan Moncada with a runner on third in the bottom of the seventh pushed the Charlotte lead to 4-2. In the bottom of the eighth, Rymer Liriano (5) hit a two-out, two-run homer off Gwinnett reliever Dan Winkler for a 6-2 lead.
Medlen (L, 0-2) pitched 6.2 innings with seven hits, four earned runs, one walk and four strikeouts. Evan Phillips tossed a scoreless third of an inning and Winkler worked 1.0 inning with one hit, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts.
For Charlotte, Danish (W, 2-6) tossed 7.0 inning with six hits, two earned runs, one walk and four strikeouts. Brad Goldberg (H, 3) pitched 1.0 inning and struck out two. Gregory Infante went 1.0 inning with one walk and one strikeout.
At the plate for the G-Braves, Ozzie Albies went 2-for-4 for his team-leading 22nd multi-hit game of the season. Avery was 1-for-3 with a solo home run to extend his on-base streak to 15 games. Kazmar was 1-for-4 with a solo homer.
For Charlotte, Delmonico was 2-for-4 with a run. Hayes was 1-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBIs. Liriano went 1-for-4 with a two-run shot.
The G-Braves and Knights meet in game two of the four-game series on Saturday night in Charlotte. Right-hander Lucas Sims (6-3, 3.98) is scheduled to start for Gwinnett, while Charlotte will counter with right-hander Carson Fulmer (6-5, 5.47). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m
