Knights Knotes — Game 10 Tonight…
SERIES INFO: The Knights and Norfolk Tides continue their four-game series tonight at Harbor Park with first pitch of game three set for 7:15 p.m. 
The Knights and Tides split a four-game series earlier this season at Knights Stadium. The Knights took the first two games from Norfolk, before dropping the last two. The Knights are 151-145 against the Tides all-time. Last season the Knights went 6-5 against the Knights at Harbor Park and went 13-8 for the season against the Tides. All-Time, the Tides are 75-69 against the Knights at Harbor Park. The Knights have now lost four straight to Norfolk after winning the first two games against them this season. Overall, the Knights enter play with a three-game losing streak.
TODAY’S GAME: RHP Terry Doyle (0-1, 17.18) faces the Norfolk Tides for the first time in his career tonight. He’ll look to snap the Knights four-game losing skid to Norfolk (and thir. Doyle ended last season with Birmingham by recording four-straight victories. Tonight’s he’ll vie for his first win since 9/1/11 vs. TEN. Last season, Doyle posted a 0-3 mark with a 4.50 ERA in five April starts with Winston-Salem.
More on Knights Starter: Doyle, 26, was taken by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 2011 Rule 5 draft. He posted a 16.88 ERA in three starts with the Twins this spring and was then offered back and returned to the White Sox on March 21. Doyle was sharp in the AFL this past fall – posting a 4-0 mark with a 1.98 ERA.
Tides Starter: RHP Steve Johnson (1-0, 1.80) makes his second start of the season and second against the Knights in ‘12. Johnson allowed one run on three hits over five innings to beat the Knights on April 7 at Knights Stadium. The win was Johnson’s third against the Knights in his career. Johnson won two games against Charlotte last season and posted a 2-1 mark with a 3.38 ERA in four starts. He went 2-7 with a 5.56 ERA in 17 games for Norfolk last season. He also went 5-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 10 games for Bowie, Johnson entered the 2012 season with a career Minor League record of 46-44 with a 4.33 ERA in 146 games (137 starts).
YESTERDAY’S GAME: The Knights played and lost their first extra-inning game of the season on Friday night. The last time the Knights played an extra-inning game was 8/23/11 in Gwinnett. The Knights lost that game 7-6. The Knights tied their season-high losing streak with the loss and have once again lost three-in-a-row. The most games in a row the 2011 Knights lost was six.
Coincidence? The Knights last 14-inning game was on was 8/12/11 against… the Tides. The Knights won that game 4-3 on walk-off wild pitch at Knights Stadium. Dallas McPherson was at the plate when Tides reliever Zach Phillips uncorked a wild pitch, which scored Eduardo Escobar from third base. Knights reliever Dan Remenowsky got the win. Six current Knights appeared in that game (Danks, Kuhn, Gallagher, McPherson, Omogrosso, and Phegley).
Four for Texas: Texas native Conor Jackson ripped four-hits on Friday and finished the contest 4-7 with an RBI. The four-hit affair was Jackson’s first since 9/21/08 with Arizona. Jackson had two four-hit games that season with the D’backs (also had four hits on 4/18 vs. SD). For his career, Jackson has had six four-hit games (6/25/06 and 8/25/06 w/ARI, 4/23/05 & 6/16/05 w/TUC). Jackson is hitting .350 against the Tides in five games this season (7-20, 4 R, HR, 3 RBI)
Slippery Start: After beginning the season 2-0, the Knights have lost six of their last seven games. The start to the season is similar to last year’s start. The 2011 Knights began the year by winning their first five games and then had their troubles. Last year’s squad then lost their next six games and 12 of 14 after starting 5-0.
Fix of Six: The Knights used a season-high six pitchers on Friday in the extra-inning loss. It was the first time the Knights used six pitchers in a game since August 2, 2011, when the club lost to Durham 18-3 at Knights Stadium.
Hester the Pest-er: John Hester’s game-winning home run put the Tides in the win column for the third-straight time against the Knights last night. The Georgia native also had a home run against the Knights last season – it didn’t win the game, however.
Look Ahead to Sunday: LHP Eric Stults (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will get the nod in Sunday’s finale. Stults was sharp in his 2012 season debut. He did not allow a run in six innings against Durham on April 10 in Durham. Dating back to last season, Stults has not allowed a run in 10-straight innings.
Knight Fever 