White Sox Minor League Update: April 14, 2018

No Chicago White Sox baseball again, and none tomorrow as well. But fear not, minor league baseball has you covered (well, besides Birmingham today). The Charlotte Knights bullpen blew a quality start by Michael Kopech, on this day of all days. Winston-Salem attempted a five-run comeback, and Kannapolis blew a late lead — but thanks to a runner being on second to start the 10th inning, both clubs won.

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Charlotte Knights (5) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRaiders (10)

Those ’83 jerseys, though.

Ryan Cordell: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K

Charlie Tilson: 0-for-4, 1 BB, 1 K

Jose Rondon: 1-for-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Casey Gillaspie: 1-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K

Daniel Palka: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Michael Kopech: 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K ***MVP***

Thyago Rivera: 1 ¹⁄₃ , 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K

It was not a typical Michael Kopech Day in Charlotte. He only struck out three hitters in his six innings. Hitters were able to come around on his fastball and make hard contact, but Kopech was able to weather the storm, unlike Target Field. He was able to force soft contact when it was needed on two inning-ending double plays. The best takeaway for Kopech today was that he pitched instead of threw when it counted most, and made it through six innings, unlike his last start. Fellow top MLB prospect Gleyber Torres was 0-for-3 against Kopech. However, then the bullpen came in, and caved in, blowing a 5-1 lead in the seventh inning. The RailRaiders did not look back, pinning a 10-5 loss on the Knights.

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Birmingham Barons vs. Montgomery Biscuits

Postponed - doubleheader tomorrow

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Winston-Salem Dash (6) vs. Carolina Mudcats (5)

Six straight wins for Winston-Salem.

Joel Booker: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI 1 BB, 1 K, Walk-Off Single ***MVP***

Blake Rutherford: 2-for-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Luis Alexander Basabe: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB

Micker Adolfo: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K

Gavin Sheets: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K

Yermin Mercedes: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 1 K

Yeyson Yrizarri: 2-for-5, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 SB

Ricardo Pinto: 4 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K

Luis Martinez: 4 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K

The game looked lost for the Dash heading into the eighth. Ricardo Pinto did not pitch like somebody who will end up in Charlotte, but Luis Martinez was able to keep Mudcats hitters at bay. Then the bottom of the eighth came. Joel Booker started the onslaught with a solo shot. Luis Alexander Basabe followed that up with a two-run bomb and the next batter, Micker Adolfo, went deep. Finally, Yermin Mercedes was able to tie the ballgame with a homer to tie the game at 5-5. Booker came up clutch again in the bottom of the 10th and won the game, 6-5, with an RBI single.

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Kannapolis Intimidators (4) at Charleston RiverDogs (3)

A win and a Nelly concert! What a day.

Luis Gonzalez: 0-for-2, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 SB

Justin Yurchak: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB

Craig Dedelow: 0-for-5, 0 BB, 2 K

Anthony Villa: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Tate Blackman: 1-for-5, 0 BB, 3 K

Parker Rigler: 4 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K

Tyler Johnson: 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 17 pitches 17 strikes ***MVP***

Kannapolis is back in the win column, thanks to a successful bullpen outing that covered 5 ²⁄₃ innings and only allowed one run. The night was capped off by closer Tyler Johnson, who threw every pitch for a strike (17), along with three strikeouts. Look for Johnson to shoot up the relief pitcher depth chart this season. Meanwhile, the Kanny bats did not provide much excitement, but at least they were much more patient today. In yesterday’s game, the Intimidators struck out 16 times against three walks. Today, Kannapolis hitters improved to nine strikeouts against with six walks in a 4-3, 10th-inning win.