Knights slug four homers, hold off late Gwinnett rally for 5-4 win

Charlotte turned a power surge into a 5-4 win over Gwinnett in the opener of a six-game series at Gwinnett Field in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and the result pushed the Knights to back-to-back victories. For the Chicago White Sox, the bigger question is whether this version of Charlotte’s lineup is starting to force attention, because the Knights did not scratch out this win, they bludgeoned their way into it with four home runs and then survived a late comeback.

Jacob Gonzalez set the tone immediately, launching a leadoff homer in the second inning for his league-leading 15th long ball of the season. Braden Montgomery followed with an RBI double, then the inning-long pressure only grew in the fourth, when Oliver Dunn and Korey Lee went back-to-back with solo shots. Austin Hays added the homer that proved to be the difference in the fifth, giving Charlotte all five runs before the game had fully settled in. Lee finished 3-for-4, and Rikuu Nishida added a pair of hits from the leadoff spot, making the top of the order part of the story rather than a mere setup for the middle of the lineup.

Jonathan Cannon gave the offense room to breathe by holding Gwinnett down through the first five innings and allowing just one run. Charlotte needed that cushion once the Stripers finally broke through, scoring in the fifth, then adding another run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to tighten the game. Adisyn Coffey, Chris Murphy and Ben Peoples each worked through trouble in relief as Gwinnett kept pressing, but the Knights never let the game flip.

Gwinnett, which entered the night at 26-20, got RBI hits and run-producing swings from Jim Jarvis, Brett Wisely, Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Rowdy Tellez, and Austin Gomber absorbed the loss after Charlotte’s early barrage put the Stripers on the ropes. The tying run reached the plate in the ninth, but Gonzalez, shifting from power source to finisher, threw out the runner at home to end it and preserve the win.

The finish fit Charlotte’s recent offensive stretch. Two days earlier, the Knights beat Norfolk 15-3, with Gonzalez going 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and four RBI. Dunn had already earned International League Player of the Week honors earlier in the month, and Gonzalez arrived in Gwinnett carrying the same distinction, a sign that Charlotte’s attack has multiple bats hot at once. That kind of depth is what can change a Triple-A roster picture, and it was enough to make one one-run lead stand up. Charlotte and Gwinnett were scheduled to meet again Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. ET.