clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

White Sox Minor League Update: July 28, 2021

Winston-Salem’s comeback is the highlight of a 1-3 day on the farm

By Joe Resis
Reliability at its finest: Yoelqui Céspedes had three hits in Winston-Salem’s thrilling victory.
Tiffany Wintz (@TiffW96)/South Side Sox

The pitching was outstanding on both sides, but unfortunately, a ninth-inning RBI triple for Jacksonville was the decisive hit in this one.

Righthander Jimmy Lambert got a surprise start today under odd circumstances, as Mike Wright was not allowed to pitch. Lambert pitched two excellent, scoreless innings in which he struck out three and did not allow a baserunner. Most of the Knights relievers also had strong performances, as the pitching staff gave the team a good chance to win the game.

Unfortunately, it was not the offense’s night. Things got off to a good start, as Luis Robert led off the bottom of the first with a single. Then, Jake Lamb singled to put runners on the corners, and there were still no outs. Unfortunately, Yermín Mercedes struck out, and Jake Burger grounded into a double play, so the game remained scoreless.

With the score still 0-0 in the third, Robert hit a double with one out, but he was stranded at second base.

In the fourth, Justin Twine got the Jumbo Shrimp on the board with an RBI single. That made the score 1-0, but it appeared the Knights might tie it in the sixth. Jake Burger singled with two outs, and Mikie Mahtook sliced a double to center. However, Burger was tagged out trying to score on the double, and the side was retired.

The Knights finally got the equalizer in the seventh, when Nate Nolan singled to drive in Micker Adolfo, who drew a dreaded leadoff walk. Unfortunately, it was not enough, as back-to-back extra base hits by the Jumbo Shrimp in the ninth gave them a 2-1 lead they did not relinquish. Matt Foster, who pitched the ninth, struck out the only other three batters he faced, but took the loss.

Off the field, there was some interesting activity. Hopefully, these mysteries get solved in the near future.

At least in Burger’s case, the removal appears to have been precautionary.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 64%
    Luis Robert: 2-for-4, 2B
    (44 votes)
  • 0%
    Jake Lamb: 2-for-4
    (0 votes)
  • 13%
    Nate Nolan: 2-for-3, RBI
    (9 votes)
  • 22%
    Jimmy Lambert: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (15 votes)
68 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 76%
    Yermín Mercedes: 0-for-4, K
    (49 votes)
  • 7%
    Matt Reynolds: 0-for-4
    (5 votes)
  • 15%
    Matt Foster: 1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K
    (10 votes)
64 votes total Vote Now

The Barons put up a lot of runs, but Blake Battenfield did not have his best stuff, and Birmingham dropped a close one in extras.

The Trash Pandas scored the first run of the game on a solo home run in the first inning by Luis Aviles Jr. The situation got worse for Battenfield and the Barons after a double, a walk, and an error by Yolbert Sánchez made it 2-0.

The Barons rallied in the third, when Carlos Pérez started the comeback by hitting a single. Jameson Fisher followed with his seventh home run of the season to tie the game.

The Barons took the lead in the fourth, when Joel Booker turned into a superhero. With two outs and nobody on base, Booker singled. Then, Booker stole second. Then, he stole third. On top of it, the Rocket City’s catcher made a throwing error on the second steal attempt, so Booker scored. Thanks to this unique run, Birmingham had a 3-2 lead.

The bottom of the fourth, though, was a nightmare for Battenfield. Though the righthander retired the first two Trash Pandas of the inning, the next five got extra base hits. Aviles Jr. hit another home run, and Brendon Davis also went deep, as Rocket City went back-to-back. By the end of the inning, the Trash Pandas led by a score of 6-3.

Birmingham got two runs back in the fifth, when Xavier Fernández hit a two-run homer. That was the fifth of the season for Fernández, and it made the score 6-5. The Barons got the equalizer again in the sixth, when Booker ran all over the Trash Pandas once again. Booker reached on an error and proceeded to steal two more bases. Stop me if you have heard this before, but when he stole third, the catcher made an error that allowed Booker to score.

The Trash Pandas took the lead with an RBI single in the sixth, the score remained 7-6 until the ninth. With the Barons’ backs against the wall, Ian Dawkins tripled home the tying run with two outs.

The 10th inning went poorly for the Barons. Birmingham went down quietly, while Rocket City got a leadoff single, so the free runner on second advanced to third. The Trash Pandas got the winning run on a wild pitch by Anderson Severino.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 70%
    Jameson Fisher: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
    (34 votes)
  • 8%
    Xavier Fernández: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB
    (4 votes)
  • 12%
    Joel Booker: 1-for-5, 4 SB, 0 CS, 2 R
    (6 votes)
  • 8%
    Emilio Vargas: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K
    (4 votes)
  • 0%
    Ian Dawkins: 1-for-5, 3B, RBI
    (0 votes)
48 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 80%
    Blake Battenfield: 4 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 5 K
    (36 votes)
  • 0%
    Anderson Severino: 1 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, wild pitch
    (0 votes)
  • 20%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-5, 4 K
    (9 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

The Dash fell behind early, but the offense came to play, as Winston-Salem picked up the organization’s only win of the day.

Davis Martin, Winston-Salem’s starting pitcher, got off to a strong start on the mound. Martin got through the first three innings with ease, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced The only one who reached base drew a walk, and was stranded on first. The fourth inning, however, was a struggle, as the first five Grasshoppers reached base safely. Two of them scored on a single by Liover Peguero.

The fifth inning was also a struggle, but for a different reason. The Grasshoppers scored two more, but this time, instead of using small ball, they did it with back-to-back solo home runs. Martin was removed after five innings of work, and when he departed, the Dash trailed by a score of 4-0.

The rest of the game was a roller coaster. Eight runs were scored in the sixth inning, four by each team. Yoelqui Céspedes singled, Lenyn Sosa walked, and Alex Destino singled to load the bases with no outs. Gunnar Troutwine’s two-run single and Travis Moniot’s two-run double were the big hits that inning. In the bottom half, though, Grant Koch hit a grand slam with two outs against reliever Cooper Bradford. Just like that, Greensboro was back up by four.

However, for the second straight inning, the Dash scored four runs. Destino had another hit, and this time, his hit made an even larger impact on the game. Destino’s three-run homer was his 12th of the season, and it cut the deficit to one. Moniot drove in the tying run with a soft ground out.

In the eighth, Destino came through again. This time, he singled to right to score Céspedes, who had led off the inning with a double. That single turned out to be the game-winning hit. Brian Glowicki got the save with a perfect ninth inning.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 29%
    Yoelqui Céspedes: 3-for-5, 2B, 3 R
    (18 votes)
  • 70%
    Alex Destino: 3-for-5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
    (43 votes)
  • 0%
    Brian Glowicki: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
61 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 11%
    Davis Martin: 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K
    (5 votes)
  • 77%
    Cooper Bradford: 1 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K
    (34 votes)
  • 11%
    Evan Skoug: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
    (5 votes)
44 votes total Vote Now

This was yet another close game on the farm, but unfortunately, this one did not turn out as well as it did for the Dash.

Andrew Dalquist was the starter for the Cannon Ballers. Just like the Dash game, the starting pitcher for the Good Guys got off to a good start, but things did not end on a high note. Dalquist got through the first two innings unscathed, retiring six of the first seven he faced. Salem got on the board in the third inning, though, when Gilberto Jiménez hit an RBI single.

The Cannon Ballers took advantage of some sloppy defense to tie it in the bottom of the third. José Rodríguez hit a triple, and Bryan Ramos reached on an error with two outs, so Rodríguez scored an unearned run.

After a quiet fourth inning, the first five Red Sox to bat in the fifth reached base safely (two singles, a walk, a hit by pitch, and an error). After the error by shortstop Samil Polanco, Dalquist was removed from the game. Reliever Martin Carrasco stranded both runners he inherited.

Kannapolis did not go down quietly, however. After a pair of singles and a passed ball to open the sixth, Luis Mieses drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Caberea Weaver reached on an error, which allowed another run to score, and that made it 4-3. Unfortunately, that was all the Cannon Ballers managed to score, and the Red Sox’s eighth-inning rally gave them a lead that Kannapolis could not come back from.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 39%
    Bryan Ramos: 2-for-5, R
    (15 votes)
  • 34%
    Luis Mieses: 2-fot-5, R
    (13 votes)
  • 18%
    DJ Gladney: 1-for-3, RBI
    (7 votes)
  • 2%
    José Rodríguez: 1-for-5, 3B, R
    (1 vote)
  • 5%
    Karan Patel: 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K
    (2 votes)
38 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 22%
    Caberea Weaver: 0-for-4, K
    (8 votes)
  • 61%
    Andrew Dalquist: 4 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K
    (22 votes)
  • 16%
    Samil Polanco: 1-for-5, K, error
    (6 votes)
36 votes total Vote Now

More From South Side Sox