Desert Dogs drop opener, 4-2

Hey, welcome to our “Minor League Update,” Arizona Fall League-style.

We won’t necessarily recap all AFL games, as White Sox farmhands aren’t guaranteed action in every game. But chances are, in all but a few cases, we’ll be on the scene with a brief take on the ballgame, along with linescores of every White Sox players in action that night.

Surprise Saguaros 4, Glendale Desert Dogs 2

The Glendale Desert Dogs lost their AFL opener on Wednesday night, 4-2, and White Sox farmhands played a role in both the good and the bad:

Micker Adolfo (DH) 1-for-4, HR (1), R, RBI (1), 2 K (.250 BA, 1.250 OPS)
Blake Rutherford (CF) 0-for-3, 2 K, BB, E (1) (.000 BA, .250 OPS)
Gavin Sheets (1B) 0-for-4, 2 K (.000 BA, .000 OPS)
Vince Arobio (RP, 7th) IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, HR, WP, HB, 22 pitches/10 strikes (18.00 ERA)
Bennett Sousa (RP, 8th) IP, K, 11 pitches/7 strikes (0.00 ERA)

As you can see, it was a wildly-varying experience for the White Sox AFL first-timers. Really, only Sousa acquitted himself well, not missing a beat from his stellar regular season. You have to think a strong AFL puts Sousa in Charlotte to start 2020, with an outside shot at breaking camp with the White Sox if he so impresses.

Adolfo, who showed great power and a layoff’s lack of timing in his brief AZL rehab stint last month, shows same tonight, with an eighth-inning dinger (just the second Glendale hit of the game) and two Ks.

Overall, White Sox hitters went 1-for-11 overall, thanks to hitless efforts from Rutherford and Sheets. The normally sure-handed Rutherford even committed an error in center field, a position he may be adjusting to a bit after playing most of his regular season in right.

Finally, worst for last, as the regular season-ascendant Arobio got rocked in his first AFL outing, yielding a leadoff home run and then a walk-FC-FC-wild pitch sequence that scored a second run, giving Saguaro an essentially insurmountable 4-0 lead. One positive note, relatively speaking: After Arobio let in the second run on a wild pitch, the Saguaros strung together a single-walk-hit batsman to load the bases back up with two outs, and Arobio coaxed a ground out to Sheets to hop out of the frying pan.