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White Sox Minor League Update: June 20, 2021

A rainout and three losses, as Taylor Varnell and the Barons offense shine

By Darren Black
Taylor Varnell did his job, but the bullpen and offense failed him today.
Tiffany Wintz/South Side Sox

This was an odd one, not because of any player or play, but for most of this game, the teams were mirroring run production each inning. No team held a lead for longer than a couple of outs until the end, but somebody obviously has to win in this age of no ties in baseball. Unfortunately, it was the Mississippi Braves.

For eight innings, the scores were the same. In the first three, it was 0-0. After the fourth it was 5-5, and after the fifth, it was 6-6. That is where the score would stay until the Braves walked it off with a homer in the ninth.

Mitch Roman and Joel Booker opened the scoring in the fourth inning with five RBIs between them. Roman got his two RBIs with small ball (a single), and Booker brought the big stick with a three-run homer.

Meanwhile, Kade McClure was smooth sailing for those first three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth with a 5-0 lead. He just kept allowing hit after hit including a homer before the game was tied at 5-5. McClure was lifted in the fourth after only recording one out, allowing five runs total. In the fifth inning, Jameson Fisher scored on a wild pitch to retake the lead, but Jake Elliott gave up the lead just as quick.

The game stood at 6-6 until the ninth, as the bullpens on both teams threw darts. Andrew Pere came in for an inning and struck out two, and Zach Muckenhirn had trouble in the seventh inning but bailed himself out with three strikeouts to keep the game tied.

It was not until the ninth when the bullpen finally faltered, in Félix Paulino’s second inning of the game. He had gone through the eighth relatively smoothly, but he allowed the walk-off homer to the first batter he saw in the ninth.

Just like that, after being tied all game, the Barons lost on the second pitch of the final inning.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 53%
    Romy González: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 SB
    (23 votes)
  • 4%
    Carlos Pérez: 2-for-5, 0 BB, 0 K
    (2 votes)
  • 41%
    Joel Booker: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K
    (18 votes)
43 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 22%
    Kade McClure: 3 1⁄3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K
    (11 votes)
  • 75%
    Micker Adolfo: 0-for-5, 0 BB, 4 K
    (36 votes)
  • 2%
    Félix Paulino: 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
48 votes total Vote Now

Taylor Varnell did all he could to keep the Dash in the game, but once he left, the bullpen faltered and the offense could not get anything going. Varnell, the “old man” of the Dash, was able to pitch five innings while just allowing one run. After that, the bullpen allowed six runs over the last four innings. Edgar Navarro, Sal Biasi, and Luke Shilling combined for those six runs, but the offense did not do anything to make the total bullpen implosion matter.

It seems to be a Class-A White Sox baseball trend today of the offense getting gobsmacked. Yolbert Sánchez, Lenyn Sosa, and Lázaro Leal were the only hitters to collect hits. Sosa was the only one to get extra bases, with his seventh double of the year. Tyler Osik, who has really struggled this season with the bat as he moves over to catcher, was the only player to reach base twice, twice walking.

None of this was anywhere close to what the Dash needed, but Varnell was by far and away the winner in this one. Unfortunately, Yolequi Céspedes did not do much today, for those on Céspedes watch.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    Taylor Varnell: 5 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K
    (32 votes)
32 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 54%
    Luke Shilling: 1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (24 votes)
  • 2%
    Edgar Navarro: 1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
  • 43%
    Yolequi Céspedes: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K
    (19 votes)
44 votes total Vote Now

It was just a five-inning game, but it ended as another brutal loss for the Cannon Ballers. Kannapolis only needed two pitchers in this shortened game, Angel Acevedo and Sammy Peralta. Neither of them did really well, as Acevedo allowed at least a run in each of his three innings — so in a five-inning game, that is tough to make up for an offense.

In this case, the lineup didn’t really do much, anyway. It only had two hits on the day, one from Caberea Weaver (who also walked), and the other from Samil Polanco. There really isn’t much else to say about this snoozefest, and it was probably better for Kannapolis that this game was called after 4 1⁄2 innings so everybody could get home.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 30%
    Nobody
    (10 votes)
  • 36%
    Caberea Weaver: 1-for-1, 1 BB, 0 K
    (12 votes)
  • 33%
    Player’s dads, who got to see them for dinner
    (11 votes)
33 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 92%
    Angel Acevedo: 3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K
    (26 votes)
  • 7%
    Lency Delgado: 0-for-2, 0 BB, 2 K
    (2 votes)
28 votes total Vote Now

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