Charlotte Knights use a record seven pitchers to no-hit Durham Bulls

Bullpen game transforms into a 2-0 keepsake win

Where many Charlotte bullpen games over the past few seasons have ended in catastrophe, or at least with black humor, the Knights finally got one to click, with a 2-0 no-hitter on Sunday in at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

In an International League first, the White Sox Triple-A affiliate Knights used seven pitchers in the win over the Durham Bulls, at Trust Park in Charlotte.

After scheduled starter Johan Domínguez had to go on the injured list, an emergency call was made to Birmingham Barons middle reliever Garrett Schoenle, a southpaw who began this season at High-A Winston-Salem.

Schoenle led things off, in his Triple-A debut no less, throwing three strong innings. Fraser Ellard, Jordan Leasure, Joe Barlow, Sammy Peralta, Deivi García carried the next five, and Adisyn Coffey took the ninth to earn his second save for Charlotte. Ellard, pitching the fourth inning, was awarded the win in relief, upping his Knights mark to 2-2.

It’s the fifth-ever no-hitter for the Knights as a Triple-A team, and the first for the club since 2017 — a seven-inning no-no by future White Sox star Lucas Giolito on May 25 of that year.

Ian Eskridge compiled the final three outs of the game:

The nature of a seven-pitcher no-hitter isn’t completely unique, but is novel enough that the club hardly knew how to celebrate, as you can see in the final out footage from the Knights Twitter account.

A no-hitter rarely needs much offensive support, which is good, because the Knights didn’t provide much today. Despite nine hits (headlined by three singles from Zach DeLoach), the only runs to score didn’t need driving in: home runs from Wilmer Difo (fifth inning) and Colson Montgomery (sixth):

Although it ended up as an needless extra run for Charlotte, Montgomery’s round-tripper was especially bitter for Durham, as the Knights led off the sixth and popped foul on the first pitch, a ball that Bulls catcher René Pinto dropped; four pitches later, Colson cashed in on the fumble.

Charlotte pitchers combined to throw 86-of-131 pitches for strikes in the game. Only two balls were hard-hit by the Bulls all game: Austin Shenton was retired on a 94.6 mph fly out to center to end the first inning off of Schoenle, and C.J. Hinojosa tightened a few sphincters with a 99.9 mph screamer of a line out to center in the eighth. DeLoach, in center, take a bow.

The win is a sweet moment in what otherwise has been a rough year in Charlotte, with the no-hitter pushing the Knights record to 28-40. Durham drops to 33-36 on the year.

[No Cold Cat poll on a no-hitter-day.]