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White Sox Minor League Update: June 15, 2021

Brilliant pitching by the Barons highlights a split night for the affiliates

By Joe Resis
Power up: Tim Beckham hit two home runs during Charlotte’s 6-4 loss to Jacksonville.
Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights

Reynaldo López looked to get back on track and pave a smoother path to Chicago for himself. While López racked up seven strikeouts, he got hit hard when the Jumbo Shrimp managed to put the bat on the ball. The Knights ultimately could not overcome that early 3-1 deficit.

In the top of the first, Jacksonville got on the board rather quickly. After a leadoff single, Lorenzo Quintana doubled to put runners on second and third with one out. Then, Jacksonville got the first run of the game on an RBI groundout by Chad Wallach.

While the top of the second also started off with a leadoff single, but López got three consecutive strikeouts to keep the deficit at one. Unfortunately, the third was not as easy. That inning, Jacksonville got back-to-back singles to open the inning, and Wallach collected his second RBI with the third single of the inning.

Meanwhile, the Knights failed to get any hits in their first two innings. However, Tim Beckham launched a solo home run in the third to trim the deficit in half.

That was Beckham’s fifth home run of the season, but the Knights could not build on that home run. Soon afterward, the Jumbo Shrimp got an insurance run back in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.

López allowed three earned runs in only 4 2⁄3 innings, which lowered his season ERA slightly, to 8.31. It remains very difficult to see a role for him on the 2021 White Sox.

The Knights got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, when Marco Hernández drove an RBI double to left. The story of this game, however, was that whenever the Knights got close, the Jumbo Shrimp gave themselves a bit of a cushion. In the sixth, Jacksonville used a dreaded leadoff walk, a double, and a triple against reliever Tyler Johnson to extend their lead to three.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mikie Mahtook hit a solo shot, and two batters later, Beckham hit his second homer of the day. Those homers trimmed the deficit back down to one, but that was as close as the Knights got in this one.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 97%
    Tim Beckham: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI
    (68 votes)
  • 2%
    Danny Dopico: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    Mikie Mahtook: 1-for-4, HR, RBI
    (0 votes)
70 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 64%
    Reynaldo López: 4 2⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 7 K
    (50 votes)
  • 11%
    Tyler Johnson: 1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (9 votes)
  • 24%
    Blake Rutherford: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (19 votes)
78 votes total Vote Now

The Barons pitching staff did an excellent job from start to finish, and that made the last few innings of this victory very comfortable.

Kade McClure started on the mound, and he did more than enough to earn his first victory. McClure retired the first 10 he faced, and even opposing hitter No. 11 was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. That double and a walk were the only parts of McClure’s performance that even resembled a blip on the radar.

Meanwhile, like the Braves offense, Barons hitters got off to a quiet start. However, it would not remain that way for Birmingham. In the top of the fifth, the Barons used three singles, a hit by pitch, and an error to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Laz Rivera’s single drove in a pair, and that turned out to be the decisive hit of the game.

Micker Adolfo drove in a pair of insurance runs when he doubled in the seventh, and Carlos Pérez added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0. Rivera wrapped up the scoring with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, in the eighth.

Relievers Zach Muckenhirn and Jake Elliott combined to pitch four scoreless innings to allow the Barons to run away with this one.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 78%
    Kade McClure: 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K
    (50 votes)
  • 12%
    Laz Rivera: 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
    (8 votes)
  • 0%
    Zack Granite: 2-for-4, BB, RBI
    (0 votes)
  • 9%
    Ti’Quan Forbes: 3-for-4, R
    (6 votes)
64 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 98%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (49 votes)
  • 0%
    Carlos Pérez: 0-for-3, BB, RBI
    (0 votes)
  • 2%
    JJ Muno: 0-for-2, K, 2 HBP
    (1 vote)
50 votes total Vote Now

Winston-Salem fell behind early on, and although the bullpen had an excellent evening, the Dash could not quite complete the comeback.

Taylor Varnell started for the Dash, and the first two innings went quite smoothly for him. However, left fielder Matthew Fraizer hit a solo home run to give the Grasshoppers an early lead. Then, in the fourth, Fabricio Macias added a pair of insurance runs when he launched a two-run homer. The home run by Macias came right on the heels of a throwing error by third baseman Johan Cruz, so an unearned run crossed the plate.

Through four innings, Winston-Salem’s offense did not show many signs of life. However, Evan Skoug ensured that the Dash did not go down quietly. In the bottom of the fifth, Skoug hit his first home run with the Dash, and that reduced the deficit to two.

Relievers Cooper Bradford, Wilber Pérez, and Edgar Navarro combined to throw four shutout innings to give the Dash an opportunity to rally. In the ninth, the Dash nearly came through in the clutch with their backs to the wall. With two outs and nobody on base, Skoug tripled to right. Then, AJ Gill walked, and E.P. Reese singled to drive in Skoug. However, the game ended on a pop out in foul territory by Duke Ellis.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    Evan Skoug: 2-for-3, BB, HR, 3B, 2 R, RBI
    (48 votes)
  • 0%
    E.P. Reese: 1-for-3, RBI
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Edgar Navarro: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
48 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 71%
    Duke Ellis: 0-for-5, 3 K
    (32 votes)
  • 6%
    Luis Curbelo: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (3 votes)
  • 22%
    Johan Cruz: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, throwing error
    (10 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

This was not the most aesthetically-pleasing game, as both teams committed three errors. Even though the Cannon Ballers allowed six unearned runs to score, they managed to rally to pull off an improbable win.

Bryan Ramos started the scoring in the top of the first inning when he reached on an error. That came right after a leadoff single by José Rodríguez and a walk by Chase Krogman. In the bottom of the first, though, Lency Delgado made an error to allow Luisangel Acuña, Down East’s leadoff hitter, to reach base. Acuña came around to score, and two more Down East runs scored with two outs, so all went on the scorecard as unearned runs.

In the second, Obie Ricumstrict hit a solo home run for the Wood Ducks, and that made the score 4-1. That was the only earned run that the Wood Ducks scored throughout this game.

In the fourth, the Wood Ducks put three more unearned runs on the board. That rally started with another Down East player reaching base on a Delgado error. Thomas Saggese, the player who reached on the error, came around to score on a single. Later, once again, two runs scored with two outs, and Kannapolis trailed by a score of 7-1.

That seemed to be an insurmountable deficit, but it was not. Bryan Ramos got the comeback started with a solo homer in the sixth. After that, the Cannon Ballers took advantage of some good luck. Delgado reached base after a dropped third strike, and walks to Harvin Mendoza and Victor Torres loaded the bases. With two outs, Samil Polanco drove in a pair to trim the deficit to three.

In the seventh, Krogman drew a dreaded leadoff walk, and Ramos homered for the second consecutive inning. That made the score 7-6, and suddenly, the Cannon Ballers were right back in the game.

Kannapolis still trailed by a score of 7-6 entering the ninth, though, so the comeback remained a tall order. But, the top of the ninth went about as well as it could have gone. Krogman drew a dreaded leadoff walk yet again, and Ramos got hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Then, Luis Mieses drove in both baserunners with a double, and just like that, the Cannon Ballers had an 8-7 lead. Two batters later, Caberea Weaver drove in Mieses with a sacrifice fly, and McKinley Moore sealed it by pitching a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 98%
    Bryan Ramos: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2B, 3 RBI
    (51 votes)
  • 0%
    Samil Polanco: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
    (0 votes)
  • 1%
    Luis Mieses: 1-for-5, 2 RBI, go-ahead double in ninth
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Ty Madrigal: 2 2⁄3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K
    (0 votes)
52 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 54%
    Lency Delgado: 1-for-3, BB, 2 K, three errors
    (25 votes)
  • 34%
    Angel Acevedo: 3 1⁄3 IP, 7 R (1 ER), 6 H, 1 BB, 5 K
    (16 votes)
  • 10%
    Victor Torres: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
    (5 votes)
46 votes total Vote Now

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