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White Sox Minor League Update: May 19, 2021

It was a tough day on the farm, as the affiliates went 0-4

By Joe Resis
Knight of honor: Mike Wright pitched a quality start, but the Knights fell in extra innings.
Laura Wolff (@laurawolffphoto)

The Knights were looking to recover from yesterday’s 7-2 loss to Durham and start a new win streak. This one went into extra innings, but they could not get it done.

Mike Wright, a 31-year-old righthander who played for the NC Dinos of the KBO last year, started on the mound for the Charlotte Knights. Wright’s evening went well, though it did not start out that way. In the bottom of the first, the Bulls got off to an early lead. Durham second baseman Vidal Bruján launched a leadoff home run to put the Knights in an early 1-0 deficit. However, Wright recovered, and he was very difficult to solve after the early homer.

The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fifth, when the Knights bats came to life. Brian Goodwin drew a leadoff walk, and Tim Beckham singled him over to second. Then, catcher Nate Nolan stepped up to the plate, looking to turn around his slow start to the season, and boy, did he.

This was Nolan’s first home run of the season, and it gave the Knights a 3-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Wright continued shutting down the Bulls, and his final line was outstanding: six innings, one run, three hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts.

After a scoreless seventh inning by reliever Kodi Medeiros, the Knights ran into trouble in the following inning. Will Carter entered the game, and control was an issue, hitting the first batter he faced and issuing a walk to put runners on first and second. Bruján drove in his second run of the day, as his RBI single made the score 3-2. Then, with two outs, Taylor Walls hit an RBI single, and the game was tied once again.

The Knights had a golden opportunity to retake the lead in the ninth, as Seby Zavala, Goodwin, and Beckham drew three consecutive walks with one out. However, Nolan and Marco Hernández struck out to end the threat.

In the 10th, Blake Rutherford came through in the clutch with an RBI single to drive in the free baserunner. Unfortunately, the Knights did not build on that single, as three consecutive strikeouts (their 17th, 18th, and 19th of the night!) prevented them from adding any insurance runs.

Danny Dopico, a righthander who pitched a scoreless ninth inning, was not as sharp in the 10th. Dopico issued a dreaded leadoff walk, and Bruján drove in yet another run with an RBI single. Elite prospect Wander Franco flew out, but that was as promising as the Knights situation got. Walls drew a walk to load the bases, and Josh Lowe hit a sacrifice fly to seal it.

This was the second straight Knights loss, though they have still won four of their past six. Charlotte fell to 6-8 on the young season.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 10%
    Nate Nolan: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
    (9 votes)
  • 78%
    Mike Wright: 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 9 K
    (64 votes)
  • 2%
    Luis González: 2-for-4, BB
    (2 votes)
  • 8%
    Blake Rutherford: 1-for-5, go-ahead RBI in 10th
    (7 votes)
82 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 79%
    Jake Burger: 0-for-5, 4 K
    (65 votes)
  • 7%
    Gavin Sheets: 0-for-5, 3 K
    (6 votes)
  • 13%
    Will Carter: 2⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (11 votes)
  • 0%
    Danny Dopico: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K
    (0 votes)
82 votes total Vote Now

The Barons have gotten off to a good start, but this game was one to forget, as the Biscuits won this matchup by double digits.

By the time starter Kade McClure left the mound in the second inning, the Barons only had a minuscule chance of winning the game. Montgomery got two runs in the top of the first with two RBI singles. The Barons got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first, as former Indiana Hoosier Craig Dedelow launched his fifth homer of the season to make it 2-1. Dedelow has a sparkling OPS of 1.248, and at this rate, a promotion will be in order soon.

Unfortunately, however, Montgomery put up seven more in the top of the second, putting the game out of reach. During that disastrous inning, McClure allowed six hits, and two of those left the ballpark. He was finally pulled from the game after issuing a walk to load the bases with the score at 6-1. Reliever Jake Elliott could not strand any of the three runners he inherited, so by the end of the inning, the Montgomery was up, 9-1.

On the bright side, Micker Adolfo and Ian Dawkins went deep for the Barons. Besides the three home runs, however, there were not many positives from this game.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 4%
    Craig Dedelow: 1-for-4, HR
    (3 votes)
  • 1%
    Ian Dawkins: 2-for-4, HR
    (1 vote)
  • 94%
    Micker Adolfo: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, HBP
    (68 votes)
72 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 95%
    Kade McClure: 1 1⁄3 IP, 9 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 1 K
    (57 votes)
  • 1%
    Mitch Roman: 0-for-4, 2 K, throwing error
    (1 vote)
  • 3%
    Anderson Severino: 2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    Zach Muckenhirn: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (0 votes)
60 votes total Vote Now

The Winston-Salem Dash entered tonight at 7-6, but they could not remain above .500, as their bats were quiet up and down the lineup.

After two singles by the BlueClaws, they had runners on the corners with only one out in the first. Designated hitter Rudy Rott grounded into a force out, but a run scored on the play to give Jersey Shore a 1-0 lead. The BlueClaws led from that point onward. Dash starter Jason Bilous had no walks and eight strikeouts, but it just was not enough. During his five innings of work, Bilous allowed two runs (both earned), and the Dash finished with only one run on two hits.

The Dash scored their lone run in the fifth inning, and no hits were required. Tyler Osik was hit by a pitch, and Duke Ellis drew a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a wild pitch, Osik and Ellis advanced a base, and Harvin Mendoza drove in Ellis with a sacrifice fly.

Unfortunately, only Luis Curbelo and Ellis got hits, both were singles, and the Dash finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Tomorrow will be better for Winston-Salem.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Duke Ellis: 1-for-3, BB
    (0 votes)
  • 96%
    Jason Bilous: 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 8 K
    (51 votes)
  • 3%
    Tyler Osik: 0-for-2, BB, HBP, R
    (2 votes)
53 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 9%
    Dan Metzdorf: 3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K
    (5 votes)
  • 82%
    Luis Mieses: 0-for-4, 4 K
    (42 votes)
  • 5%
    Lenyn Sosa: 0-for-4, K
    (3 votes)
  • 1%
    Evan Skoug: 0-for-3, 2 K
    (1 vote)
51 votes total Vote Now

The 2021 season has not gone as planned for the Cannon Ballers, and sadly, that did not change tonight.

Unlike the other affiliates, the Cannon Ballers scored first in their game, as they put a pair on the board in the second. Starter Matthew Thompson pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the top of the second. Then, the Cannon Ballers rode that momentum in the bottom half. Bryan Ramos led off that inning and was hit by a pitch. After a double by DJ Gladney, Kannapolis had runners on second and third with no outs. Iván González drove in a run with a ground out, and Benyamin Bailey singled home the second and final run for the Cannon Ballers.

Thompson had a decent start on the mound for Kannapolis, allowing two runs (both earned) in 4 1⁄3 innings. Though Thompson allowed eight hits, he was able to use the ground ball to his advantage to wiggle out of trouble. The bullpen, however, was not as successful at limiting damage.

When reliever Martin Carrasco entered the game, the game was tied at two. Carrasco had no walks and four strikeouts in 2 1⁄3 innings, but the contact he allowed was problematic. The wheels fell off in the seventh inning, when the Fireflies pulled away. Maikel García led off with a double and advanced to third on a balk. Darryl Collins singled home García to give Columbia a 4-2 lead. After a strikeout, a grounder to shortstop could have resulted in an inning-ending double play. But, an error by José Rodríguez opened the door for a big inning, and the Fireflies took advantage. Two hits later, it was 7-2, and the game was out of reach.

Due to this one-sided loss, Kannapolis fell to 1-13. At least they have one win on the season. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait long for the elusive second victory.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 3%
    DJ Gladney: 1-for-4, 2B, R
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    James Beard: 1-for-3, HBP
    (0 votes)
  • 62%
    Benyamin Bailey: 2-for-4, RBI
    (32 votes)
  • 31%
    Matt Thompson: 4 1⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 K
    (16 votes)
  • 1%
    McKinley Moore: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
51 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 71%
    Martin Carrasco: 2 1⁄3 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 5 H, 0 BB, 4 K
    (33 votes)
  • 17%
    Lency Delgado: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (8 votes)
  • 10%
    José Rodriguez: 1-for-4, K, fielding error
    (5 votes)
46 votes total Vote Now

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