Home Runs Lead Knights To 8-5 Win

(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) - A quartet of home runs and a solid night from the bullpen gave the Charlotte Knights an 8-5 win over the Gwinnett Stripers in the finale of their two-game series on Thursday night.

For the Knights, the win is their seventh straight at home and improves their International League best home record to 29-13.
The Knights got their bats going early in the game as Adam Engel led off the first with a single. Two hitters later, Alcides Escobar lined a home run over the left-center field fence, a two-run shot for his ninth of the season to give Charlotte a 2-0 lead.
After that, the skies above BB&T Ballpark opened up, causing a 58-minute rain delay. Once play resumed, Matt Skole drew a walk before Yermin Mercedes doubled the Knights' lead to 4-0 with a towering two-run homer to left, his first at the Triple-A level.
In the third, Mercedes did it again, this time with a three-run homer to left, his second of the night, to increase the Charlotte lead to 7-1 in the third.
Engel added to the Charlotte lead with a solo home run in the fourth, his ninth of the season to put the Knights up by seven runs.
From there, Charlotte reliever Jordan Guerrero was able to hold the lead. Over 5.0 innings out of the bullpen, he gave up five earned runs on seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Dylan Cease originally got the start for the Knights and threw a scoreless inning, but was removed following the rain delay.
With Charlotte up 8-5 in the seventh, Matt Foster (W, 2-1) entered from the bullpen and pitched 2.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to earn the win. In the ninth, Thyago Vieira (S, 6) kept the Stripers off the board to finish the win and earn the save, his team-leading sixth of the season.
Mercedes led the way offensively for the Knights by going 3-for-4 with the two home runs and five RBI in his fourth career multi-homer game. Engel added three hits and Escobar drove in a pair of runs in the win.
The Knights hit the road to begin a weekend series with the Norfolk Tides on Friday night. First, the two teams will complete a suspended game from May 5 at 5:05 p.m. before the regularly scheduled game after. Pre-game radio coverage of the 5:05 p.m. game is set for 4:50 p.m. on 730 The Game ESPN Charlotte. The "Voice of the Charlotte Knights" Matt Swierad will have the call for all of the action.