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White Sox Minor League Update: May 30, 2021

If only we could give some of the runs the Barons got to some other teams, because Birmingham scored enough for the entire White Sox system

By Darren Black
The Barons scored a lot of runs, in large part with singles.
@BhamBarons

With the rainout yesterday for the Knights, they turned to Jonathan Stiever again, and he did not have a good day on the mound. He allowed two runners to reach base in the first, one via a hit-by-pitch, but was able to get out of the inning unscathed, however, it was a sign things were not great for Stiever. He allowed four runs the next inning to put Charlotte in a 4-0 hole that they couldn’t climb out of. After getting the first out of the second, he walked back-to-back hitters, and they were driven in by Willy Yahn. The next batter, Mason McCoy, took Stiever deep to give Norfolk that 4-0 lead.

Gavin Sheets did get a run back the next inning with a RBI single, but that was it for the Knights. The only other real hitting success came from Zach Remillard, who had two hits, including a double.

The bullpen was where the talent was today, though, because Charlotte actually outhit Norfolk in this 4-1 loss. Danny Dopico, Jace Fry (!), Alex McRae, Will Carter, and Nik Turley combined for six no-hit innings, McRae was the only one to allow a base runner.

Of the bullpen bunch, Dopico and Fry were the best: Dopico went two innings and had thee strikeouts, and Fry, in his second rehab game, went one inning and struck out two again. Fry has looked good so far, and the Sox bullpen needs his arm. The other rehabber, Adam Engel, added a single today, so at least the MLB players did something even if the Knights didn’t win.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 18%
    Zach Remillard: 2-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K
    (22 votes)
  • 14%
    Gavin Sheets 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (17 votes)
  • 28%
    Danny Dopico: 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (33 votes)
  • 38%
    Jace Fry: 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (45 votes)
117 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 78%
    Jonathan Stiever: 2 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K
    (82 votes)
  • 16%
    Seby Zavala: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K
    (17 votes)
  • 5%
    Tim Beckham: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K
    (6 votes)
105 votes total Vote Now

Offense, offense, offense, and some more offense, that’s what this game was for the Barons, with a cameo of good pitching. Every single hitter for Birmingham had at least a hit, reached base twice, and scored at least one run. In total, the Barons had 17 runs, off of 20 hits and nine walks. In fact, they actually walked more than they struck out (six), too. They were an offensive juggernaut.

It is hard to pick a hitter who did best, but let’s go over a few.

Zack Granite had the biggest hit of the day, and it was the last run — a solo homer for No. 17. Micker Adolfo, Craig Dedelow, Mitch Roman, and Laz Rivera each had three hits on the day. Adolfo actually reached base five times thanks to a couple more walks, and he now has an OPS of more than .800. Of those guys with three hits, Adolfo and Rivera doubled, but the vast majority of the hits today were singles: a grand total of 11.

The pitching was good, Jason Bilous went just two innings and allowed a run; he had 25 pitches over those two innings, so it was probably more because of that. Jake Elliott came in as the long man and threw three shutout innings, JB Olson and Peter Tago combined for another three scoreless on top of that, to help the blowout look better. Only Bennett Sousa came in and had a truly bad day out of any of the Barons players. He allowed three runs in his inning, probably his worst outing of his season. Good thing it came in a runaway game.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 6%
    Zack Granite: 2-for-6, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (8 votes)
  • 71%
    Micker Adolfo: 3-for-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K
    (87 votes)
  • 14%
    Laz Rivera: 3-for-5, 2 R, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
    (18 votes)
  • 2%
    Craig Dedelow: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
    (3 votes)
  • 4%
    Mitch Roman: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 BB, 0 K
    (5 votes)
121 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 88%
    Bennett Sousa: 1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (77 votes)
  • 11%
    Ti’Quan Forbes: 1-for-6, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
    (10 votes)
  • 0%
    Carlos Pérez: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
    (0 votes)
87 votes total Vote Now

Another poor offensive day this Sunday, this time in Winston-Salem. Isaiah Carranza got the start today and though he did not do great, he did his job well enough to keep the game close despite getting zero support. Carranza went four innings, and the fourth inning was the lone bad one, in which he allowed all three of his runs. Dan Metzdorf came in after him, in what now looks like a two-starter day. Metzdorf got through four innings of his own, with a lot more success. He only allowed one run and struck out four, and was able to lower his ERA to 6.92 with this outing.

Again, the offense was not really there, it was truly bad. The Dash could only muster four hits, and just one was an extra-base hit. Yolbert Sánchez had a double, and he added a single too, now on a three-game hitting streak. Harvin Mendoza added a hit, and though it was just a single, he is supposed to be much better than what his .170 batting average at this moment. With that, the Dash are back down to .500 for the third Sunday in a row.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 52%
    Yolbert Sánchez: 2-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K
    (37 votes)
  • 45%
    Dan Metzdorf: 4 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K
    (32 votes)
  • 2%
    Travis Moniot: 1-for-3, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
    (2 votes)
71 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 67%
    Daniel Millwee: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 3 K
    (41 votes)
  • 31%
    Lenyn Sosa: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K
    (19 votes)
  • 0%
    Alex Destino: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K
    (0 votes)
  • 1%
    Lazaro Leal: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
61 votes total Vote Now

The opener of this doubleheader was, well, not great. The Cannon Ballers could not squeeze in a run, and thanks to a bad inning, the pitching faltered. The five hits Kannapolis put together came from five different players, including singles from Lency Delgado, Bryan Ramos, and DJ Gladney. Gladney also walked, the only walk among Ballers hitters; Gladney was also the only CB to reach base twice. Maybe more was in store from this lineup if it was a nine-inning game, but a 2-21 team does not get the benefit of the doubt.

Chase Solesky got the start, as Kannapolis ended up only needing two pitchers to get through seven innings. Solesky cruised through the first three innings, but he and Gladney got into trouble in the fourth: Gladney allowed a runner to reach base on a throwing error, and Solesky allowed two more hits after that to push home the first run of the game.

The fifth inning is where the game got off the rails, as four runs crossed the plate. Solesky put on the first four batters of the inning, which included an RBI single, and then the third run came around because of a throwing error from Victor Torres. Joe Gray Jr. capped off the bad inning with a two-run shot to put the game at 5-0, and that is where it stayed.

Ty Madrigal helped keep the deficit at five with a scoreless 1 1⁄3 innings.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Game 1 MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 47%
    DJ Gladney: 1-for-2, 1 BB, 1 K
    (25 votes)
  • 52%
    Ty Madrigal: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K
    (28 votes)
53 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Game 1 Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 15%
    Victor Torres: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Error
    (8 votes)
  • 74%
    Chase Solesky: 4 2⁄3 IP, 4 ER (5 R), 1 BB, 8 K
    (38 votes)
  • 7%
    Caberea Weaver: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K
    (4 votes)
  • 1%
    José Rodriguez: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
51 votes total Vote Now

They had it! They were so close!

The Cannon Ballers had 4-0 lead after three innings in a seven-inning matchup, and even a starter did well. Matthew Thompson went three scoreless innings with six strikeouts, easily his best performance of the season. He did allow four runners, but when you strike six people out in three innings, it is a bit easier to strand those guys on base.

To get the lead to 4-0, Caberea Weaver opened the game up with a solo homer, and everything seemed like it was going to go so well. In the next inning, Iván González drove in two with a single, and Benyamin Bailey got the RBI for the fourth run. Again, it was smooth sailing.

Then, the fourth inning came along, with the bullpen and an untimely error.

Rigo Fernández and Kevin Folman were on the mound for the eight-run fourth. They were all over with their command, leading to four walks; Fernández actually threw more balls than strikes. Thanks to a DJ Gladney error, just two of the runs were earned, both credited to Fernández, but the pitching really wasn’t doing well. The Mudcats added a ninth run of the game in the fifth to really put the game out of reach.

For prospect happiness, Bryan Ramos hit a homer in the seventh, his second of the year. So at the end of the day, Matthew Thompson and Bryan Ramos did come cool things. That’s the takeaway for this now 2-22 Kanny team.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Game 2 MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 77%
    Matthew Thompson: 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K
    (53 votes)
  • 17%
    Caberea Weaver: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 0 K
    (12 votes)
  • 4%
    Bryan Ramos: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
    (3 votes)
68 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Game 2 Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 40%
    Rigo Fernández: 1⁄3 IP, 2 ER (4 R), 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K
    (21 votes)
  • 17%
    Kevin Folman: 1⁄3 IP, 0 ER (4 R), 2H, 2 BB, 0 K
    (9 votes)
  • 42%
    DJ Gladney: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 4 K
    (22 votes)
52 votes total Vote Now

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