Bautista Blast Completes Gwinnett Comeback

CHARLOTTE, NC - The Gwinnett Stripers, on the strength of ninth-inning homers from José Bautista  and Dustin Peterson  rallied to beat the Charlotte Knights by an 8-6 score Tuesday night in game two of a three-game series at BB&T Ballpark.

The Stripers trailed 6-4 heading to the top of the ninth, but Danny Santana  greeted reliever Gregory Infante with a triple to right-center. Rob Brantly  followed with a double to right to cut the Charlotte lead to one at 6-5. After one out, Bautista crushed an Infante fast ball on a 3-2 pitch off the scoreboard in left for a two-run homer and a 7-6 lead. Bautista's blast (1) was estimated at 428 Feet. Then with two outs, Peterson cracked a solo homer (3) to left for an 8-6 lead and the eventual win.
Charlotte had taken an early 1-0 lead on a first-inning RBI double by José Rondón that hit the lip of the grass at third and skipped down the left field line and scored Charlie Tilson from first.
Gwinnett battled right back to go up 2-1 with a two-run top of the second. Rio Ruiz  led off with a single off Charlotte starter Michael Kopech and scored when Pete Bourjos tripled to right center in his first at-bat as a Striper. Santana then drove Bourjos home with a sacrifice fly to left.
But in the bottom of the third, two critical errors by Bautista and Santana, combined with a solo homer from Kevan Smith off of starting pitcher Matt Wisler , plated four runs and a 5-2 Charlotte lead.  
The Knights extended the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth as Rondon singled, was balked to second by Wisler and moved to third on a Wisler throwing error on an attempted pickoff. Smith singled in Rondon with the sixth and final run for the Knights.
The Stripers comeback began in the top of the sixth when Ruiz led off with a single to center off Kopech and moved to third on a double by Bourjos.  Both then scored when Charlotte first baseman Casey Gillaspie misplayed a ground ball hit by Santana.
After two and a half scoreless innings, the Stripers rallied for the ninth inning win.
Wisler pitched 6.0 innings with nine hits and six runs (five earned) allowed, and six strikeouts. Miguel Socolovich  worked 1.0 inning with two hits and one strikeout.  Rex Brothers  (W, 1-0) and Josh Ravin  (S, 1) each worked scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth with two strikeouts apiece to secure the victory.
Kopech also went 6.0 innings with seven hits, four runs (three earned), two walks and six strikeouts. Rob Scahill (H, 2) tossed 1.0 inning with one strikeout. Jace Fry (H, 2) struck out the side in order in the eighth. Infante (BS, 2) (L, 0-1) went 1.0 inning with four hits and four earned runs allowed.
For the Stripers, Bourjos went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, an RBI and two runs after re-signing with Atlanta on a Minor League deal earlier in the day. Santana was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Peterson was 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a single. Ruiz was 2-for-4 with two runs and Bautista went 1-for-4 with a two run homer.
Smith led Charlotte with a 3-for-4 night with two singles, a solo homer and two RBIs.
The Stripers (9-14) finish the three game series in Charlotte Wednesday morning with an 11:05 first pitch. LHP Luiz Gohara  (0-1, 5.63 ERA) will pitch for Gwinnett. The Knights (10-14) will start LHP Matt Tomshaw (0-0, 7.20 ERA). Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 and 93.5 FM The Other Side of the River beginning at 10:35 a.m.