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White Sox Minor League Update: May 28, 2021

A split slate in the minors as the Knights have a good one and the Dash hold on

By Julie Brady
Gavin Sheets, in a Dash uniform, is in the followthrough of a big swing at the plate, viewed from his open side
Gavin Sheets was only able to hit one home run tonight, as the Knights routed the Tides.
Winston-Salem Dash
Knights/Tides linescore
Batter section of box score
Pitching box score

Box score link

The Knights, themselves the victims of a brutal and lopsided drubbing against the Gwinnett Stripers in early May (19-1!), returned the favor to a completely different team as they beat the Norfolk Tides 17-5 on Friday. This turns around a six-game losing streak and a three-game streak against the Tides, and does so in a big way.

It might be easier to list out the Knights who did not have a huge offensive night, but “huge offensive night” is relative here as even Matt Reynolds and Nate Nolan, both of whom picked up just one hit apiece, still reached base twice each, as they also walked. How about this: The Charlotte Knights went 25-for-49 tonight, good for a .510 team batting average. Uhh, two Knights, Gavin Sheets and Brian Goodwin, had four-hit nights? Blake Rutherford, Tim Beckham, and Marco Hernández all had three hits? Sheets and Mikie Mahtook hit home runs. Beckham and Goodwin hit one double each and Rutherford hit two.

But what about the other players?? Surely if they haven’t been mentioned yet, the rehabbing Adam Engel and the resurrecting Jake Burger had poor nights?? No. Engel went 2-for-4 with two RBIs before being replaced by Mikie Mahtook, likely because this was a huge blowout in which Engel already got his at-bats (Mahtook went 2-for-2 with two RBIs). Burger, meanwhile, went 2-for-5 with a walk and RBI of his own, scoring two runs.

Mike Wright pitched a needlessly good game, giving up two runs on just five hits (no walks!) over seven innings. Tayron Guerrero lowered his ERA to almost less than 10 with a scoreless inning, and Jacob Lindgren bumped his ERA to above 10 by allowing three runs in his inning.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 76%
    Gavin Sheets: 4-for-6, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, K
    (95 votes)
  • 11%
    Brian Goodwin: 4-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K
    (14 votes)
  • 0%
    Mikie Mahtook: 2-for-2, HR, R, 2 RBI
    (1 vote)
  • 11%
    Mike Wright: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K (W)
    (14 votes)
124 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 2%
    Matt Reynolds: 1-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
    (2 votes)
  • 10%
    Nate Nolan: 1-for-5, 2 R, BB
    (9 votes)
  • 87%
    Jacob Lindgren: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, K, WP
    (78 votes)
89 votes total Vote Now
Barons/Trash Pandas linescore
Batter box score
Pitcher box score

Box score link

John Parke had a second straight substandard start, allowing three earned runs (four total), just enough to damn the Barons to just their eighth loss of the season. Kyle Kubat allowed two unearned runs in relief, those unearned runs for each pitcher spurred by Romy González and Jameson Fisher errors, respectively. Luckily, we do have something in the “You Love to See It” section today: Alec Hansen, throwing two innings, walking NONE and striking out four. One hit, no runs. This has been … You Love To See It.

The Barons were only able to scrap up seven hits against the Trash Pandas, two alone by Ian Dawkins, who scored on a JJ Muno single in the third. This was it for the team until the eighth inning, when Fisher hit a solo shot off of … Tyler Danish, one of two hits the former Sox prospect allowed in 3 ⅔ innings.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 10%
    Ian Dawkins: 2-for-4, R, K
    (9 votes)
  • 4%
    Jameson Fisher: 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, K, E
    (4 votes)
  • 84%
    Alec Hansen: 2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
    (72 votes)
85 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 68%
    John Parke: 4 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, 6 K (L)
    (41 votes)
  • 20%
    Ti’Quan Forbes: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (12 votes)
  • 11%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (7 votes)
60 votes total Vote Now
Crawdads/Dash linescore
Batter box score
Pitcher boxscore

Box score link

The Dash jumped out to a comfortable early lead that came uncomfortably close to vanishing, but they were able to hold on by the skin of a baseball’s teeth like, their logo used to have, for a 5-4 win, as Wilber Perez threw three innings of one-run ball to finish the Crawdads. The team jumped out in front with three runs in the first, one coming on Alex Destino’s third double, scoring Lenyn Sosa, the other two coming on a High-A Special (two errors on one play, by two different defenders). The Dash added two more in the second, when Luis Curbelo tripled in Sosa and Yolbert Sánchez from their singles.

Sosa was the only Dash with a multi-hit night, both of those singles upon which he scored, but Sánchez also both reached and scored twice (single, walk), saving his batting average from dipping sub-Mendoza. Duke Ellis also singled and walked but did not score. Harvin Mendoza is, unfortunately, sub-Mendoza as he went 0-for-4, and Travis Moniot was 0-for-3 before his ejection in the seventh inning for a reason that I wish they would put in box scores (argued balls and strikes? Called the ump an MFer? Did a little dance, but it was bad? Who’s to say).

In a reversal, it was 10-foot-tall bullpen guy Lane Ramsey making just his second-ever start as a pro in his third season of being one. High-A opener! Ramsey’s excellent 2021 continues, and he went two innings and allowed just a two-out single in the second as his only baserunner. His reliever was Taylor Varnell, who is in his first year not exclusively starting. Varnell threw twice as many innings as Ramsey, and although he gave up three runs, because they were the first three runs he’s allowed all season his ERA rose all the way to … 1.69. In his 16 innings of work with the team, the lefty has walked six and struck out 21.

Perez came into this one in relief and his only blot came in the eighth and let the Crawdads within one: A one-out walk led to a wild pitch led to a Sosa throwing error led to an unearned run. However, Perez had no trouble in the ninth, and in fact the walk was his only baserunner.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Alex Destino: 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, K
    (0 votes)
  • 49%
    Lenyn Sosa: 2-for-4, 2 R, K, E
    (27 votes)
  • 29%
    Luis Curbelo: 1-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI, K
    (16 votes)
  • 21%
    Yolbert Sánchez: 1-for-3, 2 R, BB
    (12 votes)
55 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 13%
    Harvin Mendoza: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (7 votes)
  • 9%
    Travis Moniot: 0-for-3, 2 K
    (5 votes)
  • 76%
    Daniel Millwee: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (39 votes)
51 votes total Vote Now
Cannon Ballers/Mudcats linescore
Batter box score
Pitcher boxscore

Box score link

What can you even say about another Kannapolis loss at this point? It seems like anything is just piling on, but at the same time, they’re still prospects racking up stats as part of the system. Psychologically, this cannot be a fun year for these kids. I don’t know what they need, but they didn’t have it today.

The Ballers finished the game with six hits; they walked once and struck out 13 times. DJ Gladney picked up two hits, both singles, and José Rodriguez, Lency Delgado, and Benyamin Bailey hit one apiece. Tyler Osik doubled and scored the lone Ballers run of the game on a sixth-inning Bryan Ramos sacrifice fly.

Drew Dalquist had both the shortest and worst outing of his fledgling career at 1 ⅓ innings pitched and five runs allowed, all earned. Then Jesus Valles went 2 ⅔ innings of one-run ball, despite allowing six hits. Sammy Peralta and McKinley Moore were the pitching standouts of the game, each going two innings, striking out four, and allowing no hits or runs.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 86%
    DJ Gladney: 2-for-4, K
    (43 votes)
  • 14%
    Tyler Osik: 1-for-4, 2B, R
    (7 votes)
  • 0%
    Bryan Ramos: 0-for-3, RBI, K
    (0 votes)
50 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    This feels like punching down
    (52 votes)
52 votes total Vote Now

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