Knights Continue Winning Ways, Beat the Stripers 7-5 on Sunday

Payton Homered & Had a Four-Hit Game

Mark Payton is now hitting .338 in the month of June. (Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights)

By Tommy Viola

June 23, 2024

(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) -- Over the last two months, Charlotte outfielder Mark Payton has been one of the hottest hitters in the International League. Payton went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a first inning home run to propel the Charlotte Knights to a 7-5 win over the Gwinnett

(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) -- Over the last two months, Charlotte outfielder Mark Payton has been one of the hottest hitters in the International League.

Payton went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a first inning home run to propel the Charlotte Knights to a 7-5 win over the Gwinnett Stripers in the finale of the six-game series from Truist Field in Uptown Charlotte on Sunday night. The Knights won five of six games in the series and have now won seven of the last eight games.

On the first pitch of the game from Gwinnett starter Taylor Widener, Payton ripped his fifth home run of the season. The home run was his second in as many days. He added two doubles, scored four runs and even walked once on the day. With the four-hit day, Payton is now hitting .294 on the season. For the month of June, Payton is hitting .338 with all five of his home runs and 19 of his 23 RBI. He hit just .071 through his first 14 games of the 2024 season. He turned things around in May, as he hit .339 during that month.

While the Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Payton’s first-inning home run, the Stripers battled back and scored five runs in the top of the third inning off Chicago White Sox RHP Mike Clevinger, who continued his major league rehab and started the game for the Knights on Sunday. Clevinger allowed five runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings pitched. Gwinnett right fielder Eli White hit a two-run home run off Clevinger in the five-run third inning.

In the bottom of the third inning, Charlotte third baseman Wilmer Difo continued his hot hitting and ripped his fifth home run of the season, which pulled the Knights to within two runs. The Knights moved even closer in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to an RBI single by designated hitter Carlos Pérez.

Down by a score of 5-4, the Knights bounced back in a big way in the bottom of the seventh inning and took a 7-5 lead thanks to a key RBI single by Zach DeLoach and a two-run single by Rafael Ortega.

RHP Jordan Leasure (1-0, 0.00), who tossed a scoreless seventh inning, earned the win for the Knights. RHP Sammy Peralta added a scoreless eighth inning and RHP Deivi García fanned two batters in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.

The Knights will now have an off day on Monday before heading to Norfolk, VA to open a six-game road trip against the Norfolk Tides (Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) on Tuesday. The “Voice of the Charlotte Knights” Matt Swierad will have the call beginning at 6:30 p.m. on www.CharlotteKnights.com. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday night from Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA.