The week started with the final game of the series in Brooklyn. Charlotte secured the sweep with a 7-4 victory. Andy Bishop had 3 hits and 2 RBI and Fawwaz Amin had 3 hits, including his 7th home run in the win.
The highlight of the week was the three game sweep of the Charm City Jimmies in front of three large crowds at Family Dollar Field.
The opener was a 6-5 final, in which Josh Clark earned his 5th win by allowing 1 unearned run on 5 hits with 10 strikeouts in 5 innings.
The middle game of the series was a 7-2 blowout. Starter Andres Gonzales made a triumphant return to the big leagues, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits in 6.2 innings. Banger Dan hit his first home run of the season and Ra’id bin Tamir drove in 3 runs to lead the offense.
The series finale was a 7-6 win for the Flyers. Andy Bishop had 3 hits and 2 RBI and Banger Dan broke a tie in the 7th inning with an RBI single to put Charlotte in the lead for good.
The week ended with two games in Edmonton as the Atlantic Division began to face off against the Frontier Division. The two teams split the first two games and will have two more next week. Mauro Mendoza gave up a grand slam to Jowtown in the bottom of the 4th inning, but ended up with the win because Dallas “Firecracker” Dixon crushed a grand slam of his own in the 6th. Charlotte won 9-6.
The Jackrabbits came away with a 5-2 win in the next game because Carl Vincent gave up 3 home runs and the Charlotte offense couldn’t get ever things going.
Outside of Little Johnny Rasmussen, Josh Clark, and Mauro Mendoza, the starting rotation has been a bit of a revolving list of players. The successful return of Andres Gonzales this week is a positive sign that the team hopes is a sign of the future. Carl Vincent has struggled since joining the team from the IL but he has kept the team in the game in 3 of his last 4 starts. The bullpen has already seen several changes, with Jim Thompson signed in late April and Lorenzo Aguilar claimed off of waivers about a week later. More changes may be coming. The struggles of Pete Benoit and Bryan Longstaff had lead to them being waived and designated for assignment. Charlotte has also signed several pitchers to minor league deals with the understanding that if they pitch well, there is a path to the big league squad. Those pitchers are Joe Jackson, Juan Oliver, Ivan Ruiz, and Brady Miller. The team is clearly committed to continuing the competition for major league pitching roles as the staff sits 10th in the Johnson League in ERA late in May.