White Sox Minor League Update: June 30, 2021

The start of this game was tough for the Knights, but things did not end up that way in tonight’s victory.

With two outs and nobody on base in the top of the first, starter Mike Wright allowed a solo home run to Zach Jarrett. It was not the finest performance from Wright, who has been one of Charlotte’s most reliable starters. However, thanks to some timely hitting and good breaks from the offense, Wright got credit for the win.

Seby Zavala, whose hitting has been subpar this season, launched his fifth home run of the season to tie it in the second inning. The third inning also went nicely, as the Knights scored twice with two outs. With a runner on second (Nick Williams after a double) and two outs, Blake Rutherford hit an RBI single to put the Knights ahead. Rutherford advanced to second on a throwing error after his single, and Jake Burger, who has been on fire lately, doubled him home.

In the fourth, however, the Tides retook the lead. With one out, after a single, stolen base, and another single, it was a 3-2 game. Wright then hit a batter, which put runners on first and second, still with only one out. After a soft ground out that advanced both baserunners, the Tides had two runners in scoring position. Mason McCoy drove in both of those runners with a single, and the Tides led by a score of 4-3.

In the sixth, even though nobody got credit for an RBI, the Knights put three more on the board. With one out, Burger singled, and with two outs, Mikie Mahtook doubled to put runners on second and third. Then, control eluded Norfolk starter Dean Kremer. Zavala drew a walk to load the bases, and Kremer threw a wild pitch. Burger scored on the wild pitch, and Mahtook also scored after Norfolk’s catcher made a throwing error. Just like that, the Knights led by a score of 5-4, and they were not done. Kremer threw another wild pitch, and it got away far enough to allow Zavala to score.

Though Zavala did not get an RBI in that bizarre inning, he picked up his second of the day by hitting a sacrifice fly in the eighth. That was the final run of the game for either side, as Tayron Guerrero and Nik Turley each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. The bullpen sealed the deal or the Knights, so they held on for a 7-4 win.

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Due to poor weather, the Barons and Lookouts only completed five innings tonight, but it was just enough to call this an official game. The Lookouts used a big fifth inning to come out on top in the short matchup.

Zack Granite led off with a single in the bottom of the first, and he advanced to second on a walk. Granite advanced to third on a fly out to right field, and Carlos Pérez drove him in with a ground out to make it 1-0. Unfortunately, that was the only time a Baron crossed home plate safely.

John Parke started on the mound for the Barons, and while things started out nicely for him, they would not end up that way. Parke only allowed two runners to reach base safely during his first three innings on the mound, and neither of them reached second base. In the fourth, however, the Lookouts got a triple and a single to tie the game, and the fifth was more problematic.

With the game tied at one, Parke allowed a leadoff single to Braxton Lee, and TJ Hopkins drove him in with a triple. Hopkins scored on the play due to a throwing error by Micker Adolfo, and it was 3-1. The Lookouts added an insurance run on an RBI single by Yoel Yanqui. The Barons went down without scoring in the fifth before the game was called.

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The Dash used a pair of homers to jump out to an early lead but ultimately fell in a tight game against the Drive.

Luis Curbelo opened up the scoring in the top of the second. Curbelo led off that inning by launching his 10th home run of the season. It was Curbelo’s second home run in as many days, and his three-run homer last night opened up the scoring in that game, too.

In the third, Yoelqui Céspedes doubled Winston-Salem’s lead with a solo homer of his own.

However, Greenville did not go down easily. A single, walk, and wild pitch allowed the Drive to have runners on second and third with no outs. The Drive put one on the board with a sacrifice fly, but that was all they managed to score that inning.

The fifth inning was far more damaging to Winston-Salem’s win probability. During that inning, Davis Martin struggled with control, issuing two walks and hitting a batter. It is mighty difficult to pitch out of trouble after issuing that many free passes, and unsurprisingly, Martin could not do it. A sacrifice fly tied the game, and a two-run single by Kole Cottam put the Drive ahead, 4-2.

In the sixth, Céspedes drew a dreaded leadoff walk. Céspedes promptly stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error. He then scored on a ground out to cut the deficit in half.

Céspedes also got the party started in the eighth inning. This time, he reached first base safely by laying down a good bunt. Céspedes used his speed to his advantage (again) and advanced to third on a single by Yolbert Sánchez and an error by the center fielder. Lenyn Sosa drove in Céspedes with a single to tie the game.

Unfortunately, that was as good as Winston-Salem’s situation got in this game. Reliever Isaiah Carranza, who had an otherwise excellent performance, allowed a solo homer to Tyreque Reed. The Dash went down quietly in the top of the ninth, so they fell by a score of 5-4.

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It was a tough night for starter Martin Carrasco and the Cannon Ballers, who fell behind in the top of the first and could not catch up.

The first two hitters to face Carrasco probably should have been retired. One of them struck out, but the other reached on an error by first baseman Harvin Mendoza. With one out and a runner on first, Carrasco allowed a single to Brett Wisely and a double to Diego Infante. Infante’s double made it a 1-0 game, and then, a two-out triple by Abeziel Ramirez made it 3-0. After a walk, the RiverDogs perfectly executed a double-steal to extend their lead to four. Due to the error, all four runs were unearned, though Carrasco’s stuff was far from its finest tonight.

Ty Madrigal held down the fort with three excellent innings in relief to prevent the game from getting out of hand. In those three innings, Madrigal racked up six strikeouts and only issued one walk.

When Marcus Evey took over on the mound in the sixth, though, the RiverDogs woke up again. Johan López launched a solo home run to give Charleston another insurance run, and it was 5-0.

The bottom of the sixth was the high point of the game for the Cannon Ballers. Daniel Millwee drew a dreaded leadoff walk, and a double, HBP, and RBI ground out later, it was 5-1. With two on and two outs, Mendoza launched a three-run homer to make it 5-4, and Kannapolis was right back in the game.

Unfortunately, the Cannon Ballers were unable to tie the game. The teams traded solo home runs in the seventh (Charleston’s Brett Wisely and Kannapolis’ Chase Krogman). In the last two innings, the RiverDogs added a pair of insurance runs while the Cannon Ballers went down quietly.