Braden Montgomery was denied the title of Fortnight's Finest -- and Jeral Perez validated the honor by hitting his 20th homer of the season on Tuesday -- he and Tim Elko both earned a spot on the most recent Baseball America Hot Sheet. It's a slightly less prestigious honor, but it's a decent consolation prize.
Regarding Montgomery:
Over his first 12 games with Double-A Birmingham, Montgomery hit just .239/.286/.326. However, this week against Pensacola, he turned things around in a big way. He collected hits in all six games, including four multi-hit efforts. He reached base in more than half his plate appearances, limited his strikeouts and looks like he might be turning a corner. Despite above-average production at every level, Montgomery’s season has been at times uneven, as he’s shown less game power than expected.
And regarding Elko:
Elko showed he could hit for power but didn’t hit for average or get on base in a brief 20-game stint with the White Sox. But in Triple-A, he’s been a terror for International League pitchers. Elko moved into second place in the IL in home runs this week with 24—one more than Samuel Basallo and Jose Rojas, and six behind Bob Seymour.
Birmingham 4, Rocket City 3
- William Bergolla was 1-for-4 with a sac bunt.
- Sam Antonacci went 0-for-3 with an HBP and a sac bunt.
- Wilfred Veras was 1-for-4 with a double.
- Braden Montgomery's doubles streak ended, but he's hit in eight straight after going 1-for-2 with two walks.
- DJ Gladney went 1-for-4 with a triple.
- That's more like it, Hagen Smith: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 47 of 75 pitches for strikes.
Winston-Salem 5, Wilmington 1
- Samuel Zavala went 1-for-3 with two walks.
- So did Jeral Perez, but his hit was his 20th homer.
- Kyle Lodise hit his first homer in his best game as a pro, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk.
- Ryan Burrowes was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, and he was picked off.
Highlights:
*Lodise's first:
Delmarva 12, Kannapolis 9
- Ely Brown went 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.
- Caleb Bonemer returned to the lineup as DH, going 2-for-4 with a double, walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- George Wolkow drove in five during a 3-for-5 night, coming up a triple shy of the cycle. He struck out once and stole a base.
- Ronny Hernandez homered, walked twice, struck out twice and stole a base.
- Colby Shelton went -for-5 with a strikeout.
- Mathias LaCombe: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 27 of 48 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*Kannapolis led this one by scores of 5-0, 8-2 and 9-4, but instead have lost nine straight.
*Wolkow's homer was his 12th of the year, and his third off a lefty. Get a load of this Bases Loaded-assed camera angle.
DSL White Sox 10, DSL Mariners 8 (7 innings)
- Yordani Soto was 2-for-3 with a double, walk and CS.
- Jose Mendoza went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
- So did Alejandro Cruz, who was also caught stealing.
Notes:
*This is the same box score from Farm Fortnight, for the record.
