The week started out with two games in New Orleans. The Flyers and Crawdads split the first two games of the set. In Monday’s game, Ivan Ruiz was solid over 5.1 innings, but the offense never got off the ground. The Crawdads won 3-1.
In the series finale, Tadataka Yoshikawa drove in 2 runs in the 5th inning. That proved to be more than enough, as Little Johnny Rasmussen and the bullpen shut down the New Orleans offense for a 3-0 shutout victory. For Rasmussen, it was his 11th win of the season.
The Flyers got a day off on Wednesday before hosting a 4 game set against the division leading Montreal Blazers. In the first half of the season, Charlotte lost 5 of the 6 games they played against the Canadian squad. This series was different. The Flyers played great baseball and the Blazers looked somewhat lethargic.
Game 1 was a 2-1 Charlotte win, featuring a clutch 8th inning home run by Fawwaz Amin.
Game 2 was another win for the Flyers. This time, the final score was 6-5. Dallas Dixon and Manny Toledo each homered in the winning effort.
Game 3 was the lone win for the Blazers. Andres Gonzales and Jim Thompson both struggled on the mound in the 6-4 game.
The series finale featured a lot of offense, led by a 3 hit, 4 RBI game by Fuad Demirel. The Flyers won 9-6.
The Charlotte front office recently made a couple of moves with an eye to the future. Mauro Mendoza has been outstanding for the Flyers this year. He is currently 9-1 with a 3.13 ERA. The front office rewarded him by signing him to a long term deal. Mendoza will be in Charlotte for at least the next 4 years. The Flyers also have team options for a 5th and 6th year on the deal. He will make about $6.5 million per year. The team also signed star shortstop Robert Menzies to an extension. His recent injury history is part of why there is only 1 guaranteed year on the deal. Menzies will be in Charlotte next year, making $12 million. If he plays most of the season, he will make another $1.5 million. There is also a team option for Menzies to return in 2060 at $11.5 million with the same incentive bonus added on. Time will tell whether or not these extensions work out for the club, but at first glance, I think these are positive moves.