McDougal shines again, but Knights fall to Redbirds 6-4

Tanner McDougal kept Charlotte in the game long enough to make the White Sox think harder about his next step, even if the Knights still fell 6-4 to Memphis on Saturday night at Truist Field.

The 23-year-old right-hander worked a season-high six innings, allowed only three hits and struck out eight, with the Redbirds’ only real damage against him coming on Bligh Madris’ two-run homer in the fifth. For a Charlotte staff that has needed stability, McDougal’s outing was the kind that matters more than the final score. The White Sox fifth-round pick in 2021 out of Silverado High School in Las Vegas entered the start with a 2.40 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 15.0 innings, and he looked every bit like a pitcher forcing a promotion conversation by the hour.

Memphis, the International League West leader and the first professional baseball team to reach 10 wins this season, improved to 11-3 by taking game five of the six-game set. Charlotte slipped to 6-7, but the Knights again played a tight game against a team that has put pressure on every opponent in the series.

Charlotte struck first when Dru Baker turned speed into a run, stealing second and then sprinting home on an errant throw. Memphis answered with Madris’ homer, then finally broke the game open in the eighth when Joshua Báez launched a three-run shot. By then, Charlotte had already seen enough to know it was still within reach, especially after Darren Baker lined an RBI double in the seventh to pull the Knights back even.

The problem was the Redbirds’ power. Colton Ledbetter added three hits and two runs scored, and Brycen Mautz controlled Charlotte over 6.0 innings by allowing only one unearned run. Scott Blewett covered 1.1 innings in relief before Luis Gastelum finished it with a five-out save.

Charlotte had one last surge left in it. Korey Lee ripped a 427-foot two-run homer in the eighth to cut the deficit and bring Truist Field to life, but Memphis tacked on an insurance run in the ninth. LaMonte Wade Jr. gave Charlotte a final chance when the tying run came to the plate, only for a foul ball down the right-field line to slip just wide.

For Charlotte, the loss stung. For McDougal, it was another strong answer, another outing that looked more like a pitcher settling into upper-level reliability than one merely passing through.