CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Knights jumped on Gwinnett Braves’ starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang early and came away with a 6-2 win Saturday night in game two of the three-game series at BB&T Ballpark.
After the G-Braves (3-7) failed to score in the top of the first against Charlotte starter Erik Johnson, the Knights got on the board in the bottom half. With Neftali Soto on first following a fielder’s choice, Matt Davidson hit a towering two-run home run to left for a 2-0 Charlotte lead.
The G-Braves cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the third as Joe Benson led off with a double to right and scored on a single to right by Matt Kennelly.
But Charlotte(7-3) got that run right back in the bottom of the fourth as Engel Beltre reached on an infield single and moved to third on a single to right by Trayce Thompson. Dan Black hit into a 6-4-3 double play, scoring Beltre from third for a 3-1 Knights’ lead.
The Charlotte lead grew to 6-1 in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and Leury Garcia on first, Wang walked Tyler Saladino to put two on. Sanchez dropped a bloop double down the left field line scoring Garcia for a 4-1 lead. Soto then drilled a single to center, bringing in both Saladino and Sanchez for a five-run advantage.
The G-Braves added a run in the top of the eighth. Jarrett Casey walked Eury Perez, who was then forced out at second on a ground ball hit by Jose Peraza.Adonis Garcia moved Peraza to third with a double down the third base line, and Peraza then scored on a single to left by Pedro Ciriaco to make it 6-2.
Wang (L, 0-1) went 7.0 innings for Gwinnett with 12 hits and six earned runs. He walked one and struck out none. Aaron Kurcz pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth with two strikeouts.
Johnson (W, 2-0) worked 5.0 innings with four hits, one earned run and four strikeouts. Jake Petricka (H, 1), on a Major League rehab assignment for the Chicago White Sox, went 1.0 inning with two walks and two strikeouts. Casey (H, 1) worked 2.0 innings with two hits, one earned run and two walks. Zach Phillips pitched a scoreless top of the ninth with one hit.
Offensively for the G-Braves, Garcia was 1-for-3 with a double to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Perez was 1-for-2 and swiped his league-leading seventh base. Elmer Reyes was also 1-for-3.
For Charlotte, Sanchez went 3-for-4 with an RBI, Davidson went 1-for-4 with his second homer of the season and two RBIs and Soto went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
The G-Braves and Knights will conclude the three-game series at BB&T Ballpark Saturday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. Right-hander Mike Foltynewicz (0-1, 2.08 ERA) will make his third start of the season for Gwinnett. Charlotte will start right-hander Shawn Haviland (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com.
Gwinnett’s next home game is April 27 at 6:35 p.m. against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. To purchase tickets, call the Coolray Field Ticket Office at 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.
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