Michael Kopech's starts had tilted between successful and ugly this season, so in a way, his outing on Wednesday was overdue.
He filled the box score, which isn't necessarily great for a pitcher -- 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 WP, and just 57 of 100 pitches for strikes. The upside: Unlike other starts, where a lack of control did him in, this time he was able to endure less-than-optimal command to hack his way through five innings despite averaging 20 pitches per inning from the very start.
Here are Kopech's postgame thoughts, courtesy of our man in Charlotte:
https://twitter.com/followmefor3/status/999480349267808256
Norfolk 6, Charlotte 3
- Charlie Tilson went 3-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Eddy Alvarez, 0-for-4.
- Michael Saunders made his Charlotte debut, going 1-for-4 with a double.
- Michael Kopech: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 WP
Jackson 9, Birmingham 5
- Danny Mendick went 1-for-5 with two strikeotus.
- Zack Collins, 1-for-3 with two walks.
- Eloy Jimenez also went 1-for-3 with two walks, but struck out once.
- Jameson Fisher went 0-for-4 with a K.
- Tito Polo went 1-for-3 with a sac bunt.
Winston-Salem 3, Buies Creek 1 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Luis Alexander Basabe and Ti'Quan Forbes were both 0-for-3.
- Alex Call also went 0-for-3, but with two strikeouts.
- Gavin Sheets homered for the second straight day, and tripled and singled as well.
- Micker Adolfo singled, walked and struck out.
- Yermin Mercedes went 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Joel Booker struck out and bunted.
Buies Creek 10, Winston-Salem 4 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Joel Booker went 1-for-4 with a homer and a strikeout.
- Luis Alexander Basabe went 3-for-4 with a homer.
- Alex Call, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Micker Adolfo was 1-for-4.
- Gavin Sheets went 0-for-2 with two walks.
- Ti'Quan Forbes, 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Yeyson Yrizarri was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
*More:
*Here's Sheets' homer via James Fegan:
*Fegan also provided an update on Dylan Cease's season, which is currently in a mustache phase.
Kannapolis 3, Greensboro 2
- Luis Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with a stolen base.
- Justin Yurchak was 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Evan Skoug, 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout.
- Carlos Perez went 0-for-4 with a K.
- John Parke: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
- Tyler Johnson: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
