The Charlotte Knights picked the right night to wake up the bats.
After a week of quiet offense, Charlotte piled up 12 hits, scored 10 runs and beat the Norfolk Tides 10-6 in its penultimate game of the 2026 season. The Knights (80-68) matched the number of runs they had scored in the rest of the series combined, then held on after Norfolk chipped away late.
It wasn’t clean. Charlotte played a bullpen game, used five pitchers and committed three errors.
The first two miscues helped the Tides score a pair of unearned runs in the top of the first. But the offense gave the pitching staff plenty of breathing room, and the Knights did just enough to secure their second win of the series over Norfolk (58-88).
Tyler Gilbert started the game and worked the first three innings, allowing one earned run and three total on two hits, a walk and two strikeouts. Even with the shaky defense behind him, Charlotte had already jumped out to a 4-0 lead, which let Gilbert settle in and limit the damage.
Pierce George followed with two scoreless innings and picked up his first win at the Triple-A level. Called up to Charlotte just a day earlier, George completed his climb through all four Chicago White Sox minor league teams in 2026. He’s now at a 3.56 ERA on the year across 51 games and 65 2/3 innings.
The Knights did most of their damage early, and nearly every big swing came with two outs. Charlotte scored four in the first, two in the second and three more in the third before tacking on an insurance run in the ninth.
Five of the nine starters finished with multi-hit games, and five different hitters drove in runs. Mario Camilletti led the way with four RBIs.
The first inning rally started with a Rikuu Nishida walk and rolled from there. Jake Cave knocked in Nishida with an RBI single, Ryan Galanie added another hit to keep the inning alive, and Camilletti followed with his ninth home run of the season.
Cave kept going in the third, opening the inning with a solo shot to make it 5-2. Norfolk then handed Charlotte more chances with a pair of walks, and the Knights took full advantage.
A double from Andy Weber and an RBI single from Korey Lee pushed the lead further. In the next inning, Camilletti cashed in on a Tides error, and Junior Perez lined a double down the left-field line to stretch the margin to 9-3.
Norfolk did make a push. Bryan Ramos, an old friend, launched a solo homer in the sixth, and the Tides added a two-run shot a couple innings later to cut the lead to three. That made it 9-6 and gave Charlotte a brief scare.
Shane Smith shut the door from there. He struck out two of the three batters he faced to finish things off, and Perez added the final run in the top of the ninth to restore a four-run cushion.
Smith still has a 5.57 ERA on the season, but he’s been much better lately. Since August 29, he hasn’t allowed a hit outside of one rough outing on September 5, and he owns a 3.86 ERA over seven innings this month.
The walks are still an issue, though - he has nine of them against just four strikeouts over his last nine appearances.
The Knights have one game left, and they’ll try to end the season with another win.
In Other News...
White Sox May Have A Sean Burke Decision Taking Shape
The White Sox have spent much of their extension energy looking elsewhere for now, but the conversation around young pitching is starting to get more interesting. Washingtons reported push to lock up Cade Cavalli, coming on the heels of his strong 2026 season, offers a useful comparison point for Chicago as it weighs how to handle Sean Burke, whose own performance this year has put him in the same general conversation.
Chicago does not appear to be at the decision stage yet, and the clubs current extension focus remains on other players. Still, Burkes emergence gives the White Sox something to consider for the road ahead, especially if they decide the next wave of planning should center on their young arms rather than only the position-player side of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Former White Sox Infielder Just Hit Another Rough Turn
Lenyn Sosas path has taken another sharp turn, with the Toronto Blue Jays releasing the infielder after his stint with Triple-A Buffalo. Sosa had landed in the Toronto system after being outrighted in mid-August, following the trade that sent him over from the White Sox, and he was trying to carve out a role in the organization down the stretch.
For Chicago fans who watched him come through the system, it has been a difficult season to track. Sosa was slowed by injuries and never found much rhythm offensively in 2025, leaving him in a precarious spot before Toronto moved on. His latest release adds another layer of uncertainty to a career that once looked like it might still have a clear path forward. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Win Turned On One Tense Moment And A Huge Vargas Night
The White Sox found themselves in the kind of tight, late-inning spot where one call can shape the whole night, and Will Venables successful challenge made sure a tying run never crossed for Detroit. It was the sort of moment that can get lost in the box score but tends to loom large in a game like this, especially with Sean Burke giving Chicago six solid innings and allowing just one run to keep the club in control.
Miguel Vargas made sure the bigger story stayed on the Chicago side of the ledger. His home run capped a night that kept stacking milestones, including a team first that speaks to just how complete his season has become. For a White Sox club looking for any sign of momentum, it was the rare game where the pitching held the line and one bat did enough damage to make the rest matter less. [Read more 🡒]