CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Matt Wisler tossed a seven-inning complete-game shutout to lead the Gwinnett Braves (40-41) to a 7-0 win over the Charlotte Knights (36-45) in game three of the four-game series and game two of a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at BB&T Ballpark.
The Knights won the first game, the completion of Saturday’s suspended game, 8-3. Action resumed in the top of the fifth inning with the score tied at 2-2, but Rob Brantly’s two-run single off reliever Jason Hursh put Charlotte in front 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth.
Sean Kazmar Jr. (7) cut the deficit to 4-3 with a solo homer to left off Charlotte reliever Matt Purke in the eighth, but the Knights answered with a four-run bottom of the eighth against Dan Winkler. Danny Hayes notched an RBI single and Brantly (6) followed with a three-run homer to right.
Lucas Sims started game one and worked 4.0 innings with four hits, two earned runs and four strikeouts. Hursh (L, 2-2) tossed 2.0 innings with three hits, two runs and one walk. David Peterson pitched 1.0 scoreless inning and Winkler went 1.0 inning with four hits, four earned runs and two strikeouts. Offensively for Gwinnett, Kazmar Jr. went 3-for-4 with the homer and an RBI.
Carson Fulmer pitched 4.0 innings for Charlotte in game one, yielding two runs on four hits and striking out eight. Relievers Brian Clark (W, 3-1), Purke (H, 8) and Zack Burdi combined on 5.0 innings of one-run baseball. Brantly went 2-for-5 with a homer and five RBIs, and Hayes went 3-for-4 with a double, homer and three RBIs.
In the 7-0 win in game two, the G-Braves did all their damage via the long-ball. Rio Ruiz (6) belted a two-out solo homer off Charlotte starter Lucas Giolito in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead. In the third, a solo homer by Ozzie Albies (7) raised the lead to 2-0. Kyle Kubitza (4) smashed a three-run shot and Xavier Avery (7) drilled a two-run homer in a five-run fourth to make it 7-0. The four homers were a single-game season high for Gwinnett.
Wisler (W, 4-5) produced the first complete-game shutout performance of the season for Gwinnett. He went 7.0 innings with three hits, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts.
Albies paced the game two attack by going 3-for-4 with the solo homer for his team-leading 23rd game of the season. Avery went 1-for-3 with a homer to extend his on-base streak to 17 games. Kubitza was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, and Carlos Franco was 3-for-3 with a run scored.
Giolito (L, 2-8) gave up all four homers in game two to pick up the loss. He worked 3.2 innings with nine hits, seven earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts. Colton Turner pitched 2.1 innings, gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two. Bobby Parnell tossed 1.0 inning with one walk and two strikeouts.
For the Knights, singles by Jacob May, Nicky Delmonico and Cody Asche accounted for the only three hits off Wisler.
The G-Braves finish the series and the road trip on Monday night at BB&T Ballpark, first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Aaron Blair (5-4, 5.22 ERA) is set to start for Gwinnett, while Charlotte has right-hander Chris Volstad (1-3, 6.69 ERA) scheduled.
