It’s been a long season for everyone and José Rodríguez is no longer picking up two hits per game like he was during his stint with the Winston-Salem Dash. Still, though, today he reached twice, the first time a third-inning walk where he was immediately erased via force out, the second a seventh-inning single that scored Lars Nootbar from a triple (Nootbar, a Cardinals prospect, ended up hitting for the cycle). Rodríguez also stole a base, his first nabbed bag of the AFL season.
Yoelqui Céspedes was back in action today as well, also going 1-for-5; he hit his second Desert Dog double and was stranded on second in the fourth inning. Both he and Rodríguez have had some difficulties fully adjusting at the plate; Rodríguez’s OPS fell to .651 today and Céspedes’ to just .536.
Two Sox pitchers got into this game and they both kind of blew it; although J.B. Olson is credited with a hold, he also gave up two hits and a walk to the first three batters of the seventh, then exited after inducing a run-scoring double play. Zack Thompson (there are so many of them, this one a Cardinals prospect who is not a former White Sox prospect) entered and allowed one further run credited to Olson to score.
The Dogs scored one in the ninth to tie it at five, and the game reached the 11th without the team able to score any of their ghost runners. Caleb Freeman then took the mound, balked the Scorpions ghost runner to third, then allowed a walk-off single to the first batter faced. Due to the run being unearned, his ERA drops to 1.93 (3 ⅔ innings, one earned run).