MEMPHIS, Tennessee (REDBIRDS COMMUNICATIONS STAFF) – The Memphis Redbirds finished the 2021 season in style, rallying back from an early deficit to take down the Charlotte Knights (Triple-A affiliate, Chicago White Sox) by a 4-3 final on a sunny Sunday at AutoZone Park.
Jordan Hicks started in a rehab appearance for Memphis (61-67, 4-4) and Charlotte (47-81, 2-6) rudely greeted him. Danny Medick and Romy Gonzalez homered in consecutive at-bats to start the game. The Knights had just one home run in the first two games of the series. Hicks went two innings in his rehab outing, allowing those two runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
After that, Johan Oveido and Matthew Liberatore starred on the mound at AutoZone Park. The two pitchers “piggybacked” Hicks with great success, combining to allow just one run and three hits in 6.0 innings with seven strikeouts. Liberatore was particularly excellent. The top pitching prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals system worked 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out four batters. He faced the minimum amount of batters.
John Parke turned in a heck of a short start fir Charlotte, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. From there, the Knights bullpen could not hold the lead. They allowed three runs in the sixth inning on just one hit. Two walks and fateful error caused the runs to score and knot the game up.
In the eighth, the “Rallybirds” capped off one final rally in the 2021 season. With runners on second and third, Alec Burleson slapped a two-strike, opposite-field single into left field, scoring Juan Yepez and ensuring Memphis would win the last game of the year. *_Jake Walsh *_capped off the campaign by working a 1-2-3 ninth, earning his first save of the season.
