Bottom of the first Thursday night, two outs, and the Charlotte Knights were piling on: Nolan Jones had just clubbed a 430-foot, three-run homer, and Andy Weber followed two batters later with a two-run shot. Then Riley Unroe, playing his second game in a Knights uniform, went back-to-back with Weber. Three homers in one two-out burst, a 6-1 lead after one inning, and by the end of the night a 9-2 win over the Nashville Sounds that put your Knights up two games to one in the series.
It capped a week at Truist Field that already had plenty going on. Munetaka Murakami arrived Tuesday on his Major League rehab assignment and the Knights rolled 8-2; Nashville took Wednesday's game 6-3 behind a four-run seventh. Thursday belonged to the other new arrival.
So who is Riley Unroe? Here is what the official record says. The transaction log has him assigned to Charlotte on Wednesday, listed as a second baseman. He is a 30-year-old switch-hitter, born in New Orleans, and the record shows no big-league debut. He made his Knights debut Wednesday night at shortstop and went 0-for-4 in the loss. Thursday he moved to right field and delivered the kind of night that makes a roster move look like a masterstroke: 2-for-4, two home runs, three runs batted in, and, in the club's own telling, a sliding catch in right for good measure. Second baseman on paper, shortstop Wednesday, right fielder Thursday. The man is not picky. (The club's release said he "made a statement." Two homers in your second game will do that.)
The second homer came in the fifth, a two-run shot off the Atrium Health Home Run porch in right. Michael Turner tacked on an RBI single in the sixth, and that closed the scoring at 9-2.
The pitching held up its end. Jonathan Cannon worked five innings, struck out four, and limited Nashville to two runs. Tanner McDougal, activated off the seven-day injured list on Tuesday, threw a scoreless inning for the second time this week. And Duncan Davitt slammed the door with three innings of one-hit, five-strikeout relief for his first save of the season.
And the Murakami Watch, for those keeping score at home: the White Sox superstar did not appear Thursday. The official box score lists him on the bench, with Ryan Galanie at first base. Two games, one night on the bench, still in Charlotte. The Watch continues.
Game Four is Friday night, 7:04, down at Truist Field. If the new guy is on the lineup card, check which position first. Then watch the at-bats.