Charlotte Knights outfielder sets blistering pace as team heads into All-Star break

As the Charlotte Knights enter this week’s Triple-A All-Star break, few players in the International League are as hot at the plate as outfielder Rymer Liriano.

Liriano is batting .357 (25-for-70) with five home runs, 13 RBIs and 15 runs scored over his past 21 games. Entering Sunday’s series finale against the Louisville Bats, when he went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, he boasted the fourth-highest batting average, third-most home runs and third-most runs scored in the league since June 18.

During his torrid stretch, Liriano has posted two games in which he’s hit two home runs, the most recent coming in Wednesday’s defeat against the Durham Bulls.

Monday: Yoan Moncada hit a two-run home run, his 11th of the season, but Chris Volstad surrendered four runs and the Gwinnett Braves won 4-2 in a game that was called in the bottom of the sixth inning because of rain.

Tuesday: The Knights received a strong start from Reynaldo Lopez, who allowed one run over six innings. However, Bulls starter Brent Honeywell pitched six shutout innings to help steer his team to a 1-0 victory.

Wednesday: Liriano homered twice, but Tyler Danish allowed four runs before turning the ball over to the bullpen, which also surrendered four runs in the 8-4 loss against Durham.

Thursday: Charlotte trailed 4-0 entering the eighth inning, when the offense erupted for nine runs en route to an 11-7 win over the Bulls. A three-run homer by rehabbing Chicago White Sox infielder Tyler Saladino (back) highlighted the inning.

Saturday: The Knights scored five runs against the Bats on Friday before the game was suspended due to heavy rain in the bottom of the fourth inning. When play resumed Saturday, the team tacked on 11 more runs for a 16-4 victory. In Game 2 of the doubleheader, Lucas Giolito tossed a complete-game shutout in a 1-0, seven-inning win.

Sunday: With the score tied at 2 through eight innings, Cody Asche hit a two-run double in the top of the ninth inning to give Charlotte a 4-2 lead. However, in the bottom of the inning, Louisville scored three runs off Zack Burdi and Bobby Parnell to secure a 5-4, walk-off win.

What’s next: The Knights will take Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off for the Triple-A All-Star break before beginning a four-game home series against Gwinnett at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.

This story was originally published July 9, 2017 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Charlotte Knights outfielder sets blistering pace as team heads into All-Star break."